Time travel, or just an illusion? Eagle eyed art lovers have spotted what appears to be a satellite in a four-century old painting of Jesus Christ. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are depicted in the ‘Glorification of the Eucharist’, a painting by Ventura Salimbeni from 1595. But in the background is something surprising – a blue sphere with spikes sticking out of it, which some people have interpreted as Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth in 1957. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Steve Mera, chairman of the Manchester Association of Paranormal Investigation & Training (MAPIT) and a paranormal specialist and lecturer, said at a conference: “You start to find a lot of religious connotation linked in with the UFO phenomenon. “This painting [the Eucharist] was painted in the 1600s and nobody ever really knew what that was a painting of, until we kind of looked at Sputnik, which was the first satellite to pass round the Earth,” he said. “What is really, really interesting is it is surprisingly similar to Sputnik, even to the point there is a little nodule there (on Sputnik) and the exact same nodule on the side there [on the object in the painting].” Clearly, Salimbeni wouldn’t have known about Sputnik. Or would he…? Mera added: "Did they somehow have knowledge of future events?" Well, we can probably assume not. Instead, experts think the ball is a representation of the so-called celestial sphere (or the universe), while the spikes indicate God’s power over it. But for conspiracy theorists, it’s yet another win for time travel. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Midfielder Romeo Lavia will undergo a medical on Wednesday ahead of his move to Chelsea, while Hakim Ziyech is close to exiting Stamford Bridge. The Blues agreed an initial £53million fee to sign Lavia from Southampton on Tuesday, which could rise to £58m in add-ons, the PA news agency understands. Lavia is now in London to go through his medical tests but Ziyech will be the latest player to go through the exit door at Chelsea after an agreement in principle was reached with Galatasaray for his transfer. It has been a whirlwind few days for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, with the British record capture of Moises Caicedo from Brighton completed on Monday. Caicedo’s transfer could eventually total £115m and a day later the Blues closed in on the signings of Lavia and Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise. After Lavia made it known to Southampton on Monday that he favoured a move to west London, Chelsea and the recently-relegated Saints reached an agreement for his transfer on Tuesday night. Lavia will sign for an initial £53m with Southampton able to receive a further £5m in add-ons. The spending under owner Todd Boehly shows no sign of slowing down though, with Olise’s £35m release clause activated on Tuesday, PA understands. It allows Chelsea to now negotiate personal terms with the highly-rated Crystal Palace winger. Olise is currently out injured with a hamstring issue and his current club Palace are reported to be unhappy with Chelsea’s conduct during their pursuit of the France Under-21 international. PA understands Chelsea are comfortable they have done nothing untoward and Olise is expected to finalise his move this week. Ziyech should leave after Chelsea and Galatasaray reached an agreement for his transfer on Wednesday, but the Morocco forward still has a medical to complete after moves to Paris St Germain and Al Nassr collapsed earlier this year. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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