This newspaper article screams the headline 'UFO Wonder' and suggests the unknown object is a cable-car. Note the wires added to the photo.

Since the publication of the photo and article concerning an alleged rectangular UFO, photographed on May 6, 2006, I have received numerous emails concerning the sighting. German newspapers are in an uproar with many making Tushar Bhatt, featured in the photo, an instant celebrity and others labeling the sighting and photograph a hoax! Click here for original story.

The photo to the left shows a German newspaper with a headline declaring 'UFO Wunder', and then goes on to suggest the object is a cable-car and actually draws in the heavy wires needed to support it. Even E.T. the Extraterrestrial from Steven Spielberg's movie of the same name makes an appearance in the story.

I received an email from Ferhat who lives in Germany and wrote, "I'm pretty sure, that this isn't an UFO but a DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) street lightning. The photo shows signs of strong overexposure, the sky is white, and the leaves of the tree have unusual shapes and suffer from purple fringing. You can't rely on anything if you have overexposure, which means: data loss.

Ferhat did his homework and went to Google Maps and captured a photograph, which is featured directly below, of the city of Madgeburg, near the Elbe river, close to Allee Center. He draws our attention to the middle of the street and what do you see? A street lamp. At 7:00 pm, the sun is behind the object, so the mast of the lightning case disappears in the photo due to overexposure.

He added, "just wanted to inform you quickly, that the alleged UFO captured on a photo in Germany turned out to be a street lamp, a clear hoax, as expected. The suspended lamp is well known and for everyone to see, one simply had to pass the same place twice to see that."

Apparently a local newspaper did just that and discovered to their satisfaction that the UFO is a street lamp. Some wonder if the sighting and photograph were released to the media in an attempt to make money.

As a result of the controversy and the alleged hoax I contacted Mr. Bhatt and asked him directly did he alter the photograph in any way to perpetuate a hoax?

This is his answer: "Honestly, I did not fake the photograph at all. I took the 'Bildzeitung' newspaper reporter to the very spot where the photograph has been taken and he took many photographs at the same spot along with me. Today, June 6, 2006, itself a news channel reporter came to me and I also took him to the same spot and he took video of me at the same spot."

"I must admit that, there are many street lamps there on the road behind the steep hill as it's the city center. The T.V reporter took a long video at the same spot to show it to a UFO scientist in Dresden. So, the matter is open for investigation by experts. and I also want a logical explanation for that thing which I photographed", he added.

"The photo is original and I am not at all a photographic expert. So, I am also waiting for the scientific and logical explanation of the photo and whatever it is I am ready to accept it. I will inform you as soon as I get the answer after the various UFO expert analyses", stated Tushar.

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