THE CLAIM / THE CROSSES
Marks that seem to vanish behind the scenery.
RECORD / AT A GLANCE
FALSE
The crosses were etched on a glass plate inside the camera. On bright white areas, thin black lines wash out in exposure and copying. They never truly pass behind anything.
THE EVENTS / THE CLAIM / THE RECORD
1969
NASA’s Hasselblads carry a glass grid for measurements.
READ THE FILE
If a mark disappears behind an object, the picture was composited.
A glass plate, bright suits and many copies.
Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE
1 claim people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.
The crosshairs are on a glass plate; bright areas bleed over thin black lines.
Who says it: Fox 2001.
OPEN THE RECORD
Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.
Primary institutional record. Carried from the first edition and re-listed 23 October 2026; cited for the specific point in the text.
Peter Knight’s cultural history dates Kaysing’s book to 1976; Roger Launius calls an earlier pamphlet 1974. No first edition was inspected. The article’s problematic HSCA chronology is not repeated here.
NASA technical history establishes the measuring plate and camera modifications. It does not provide a forensic verdict on every scan.
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If a mark disappears behind an object, the picture was composited.
The crosses are supposed to be on top of everything in the image. If one seems to stop at the edge of a bright object and continue on the other side, that looks like a layer was pasted over it. [1][2]
Primary institutional record. Carried from the first edition and re-listed 23 October 2026; cited for the specific point in the text.
Peter Knight’s cultural history dates Kaysing’s book to 1976; Roger Launius calls an earlier pamphlet 1974. No first edition was inspected. The article’s problematic HSCA chronology is not repeated here.
A glass plate, bright suits and many copies.
NASA’s cameras had a glass Réseau plate pressed against the film, engraved with a grid of small crosses used for measuring distances in photos. [1]
A thin black line on a bright white object can be swamped by light spilling over from the bright area, especially after copying and printing. The cross is still there, just too faint to see in that spot. The best scans often show the faint line. [2]
Checking the exact frame number in the best available scan is the fair test. A crop in a meme may be several generations from the original. [2][3]
NASA technical history establishes the measuring plate and camera modifications. It does not provide a forensic verdict on every scan.
Primary institutional record. Carried from the first edition and re-listed 23 October 2026; cited for the specific point in the text.
Peter Knight’s cultural history dates Kaysing’s book to 1976; Roger Launius calls an earlier pamphlet 1974. No first edition was inspected. The article’s problematic HSCA chronology is not repeated here.
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