Solway Firth Spaceman
Photographer: Jim Templeton
Date: May 23, 1964
Location: Burgh by Sands, Cumbria, England, UK
Jim Templeton, an amateur photographer, took this photograph of his five-year-old daughter on May 23, 1964, on the marshes near Burgh by Sands in Cumbria, England. When the developed photographs came back from the chemist, a figure that appeared to be wearing a spacesuit appeared in the background behind his daughter — a figure Templeton said he did not see when taking the shot. He reported it to local police, who concluded nothing untoward had occurred. The photograph was published in national newspapers, sparking enormous public interest. Kodak examined the negative and confirmed it was not a double exposure. The photograph has been debated for decades; skeptics believe it shows Templeton's wife, who was present and wearing a white dress, photographed from an unexpected angle that made her head invisible against the bright sky.
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