The night photos of the latest North Korean Hwasong-15 missile launch appear to have been faked, CNN reported today, as reported by B92.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced last Sunday, after the launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile "Hwasong-15", that North Korea "finally achieved the great historical goal of completing its nuclear power, which is why it has been building missile power.
Still, Marko Langbroek, a space expert who monitors North Korea's missile program, noticed something "strange" about the photos released by Pyongyang's state media. It is about the arrangement of stars behind the launched rocket.
According to him, the constellations are placed opposite, which in reality is not the case at all.
According to CNN, Langbroek determined the direction of the photos based on the shape of the smoke from the rocket engine. He supported his claims with photos and posted all of this on his Twitter account.
So, I just discovered that the North Koreans DID tamper with theirs #Hwasong15 launch photo's! Two images from clearly the same viewpoint, but dramatically different star backgrounds! Orion (Southeast) versus Andromeda (Northwest)! @planet4589 pic.twitter.com/ZzhFa3HwaM
— Dr. Marco Langbroek (@Marco_Langbroek) December 4, 2017
CNN reports that North Korea said it launched another intercontinental ballistic missile last Wednesday early morning local time, which it claims is the most advanced to date and is capable of hitting US territory.
So, I just discovered that the North Koreans DID tamper with theirs #Hwasong15 launch photo's! Two images from clearly the same viewpoint, but dramatically different star backgrounds! Orion (Southeast) versus Andromeda (Northwest)! @planet4589 pic.twitter.com/ZzhFa3HwaM
— Dr. Marco Langbroek (@Marco_Langbroek) December 4, 2017
Langbroek, who is stationed in the Dutch city of Leiden, says he has been watching the launch photos since North Korea released them, and very studiously. He noticed that "something is not right."
As he says, to shoot the stars, photographers use longer exposures to light more. However, a longer exposure means that motion is captured as a blur. When photographing rockets at night, photographers would use a wide open aperture and a fast shutter speed to capture a quick comparison of the rocket.
"The stars wouldn't show up clearly there, even in North Korea, where the pollution is very low. They looked so sharp, it just didn't look good," said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who agreed with Langbroek's opinion that the photos from North Korea may have been "faked".
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