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.@DuitsyWasHere and I took a second look at this photo of the ATACMS-look-alike test (META-TACMS?) from last month using Tungstene. We think this was a real test, and the dimensions of the missile and launcher have not been altered. (1/7) 
First, can we appreciate for a minute what a beautiful example of missile photography this is? This filter shows how sharp the warhead and serial number are; how they grab the viewer's attention. It's possible the missile has been artificially sharpened for effect. (2/7)
This filter shows quantification. If there were obvious photoshopping, the sort that the Norks have done in the past, it would show up here. Now, there are ways to disguise anomalous quantification, but as a first level of analysis it looks clean. (3/7)
Here, I've drawn a line up the missile along the serial number and interrogated the color coordinates. Note that as we move away from the light source, the red/blue/green intensities gradually attenuate. About what we would expect. (4/7)
The sort of manipulation suggested by @RocketSchiller would inevitably impinge on the surrounding space. This filter, showing true spectral color, reveals almost perfect concentric circles of heat energy, from blue to red along the spectrum. Pretty! And difficult to fake.(5/7)
My personal favorite, a .gif of Principle Component Analysis on 50 different classes of the image. Nifty, but nothing pops out as being out of place.(6/7)
Bottom line: if the DPRK propaganda teams are altering this image, they've gotten REALLY good at it. I think the parsimonious explanation for the squashed-looking serial numbers might be--different stencils?(7/7)
