UFO's... What do you think?

[k0ua]

I have personally observed a UFO; it was casually sluffed off by the media as a weather balloon, but I can testify that it was not like any weather balloon I have ever seen. It was early morning, I went out to get the paper...it at first looked like the moon on steroids, only it was about 4 or 5 times larger, perfectly round in shape, a dull silvery white color, and remained perfectly still. It was difficult to determine its actual location, although it appeared to be perhaps a 3/4 of a mile away. There were no other features or marks. I saw it again on the way to work, about a half mile South of where it was originally, and standing perfectly still. The thing hung around for another few hours, according to other reports, and then just disappeared.

I was working as a Research Chemist at an industrial research facility at the time, so I was not unaccustomed to observing phenomenon and describing them. I admit that I don't know what it was, but in talking to the late Hayden Hughes, he said that my description was consistent with objects spotted by others at different times in the past.

I am sincerely asking this, not ragging on you. What about the appearance of the object you observed would have been inconsistent with it being a balloon?

 

[houstonscott]

I have personally observed a UFO; it was casually sluffed off by the media as a weather balloon, but I can testify that it was not like any weather balloon I have ever seen. It was early morning, I went out to get the paper...it at first looked like the moon on steroids, only it was about 4 or 5 times larger, perfectly round in shape, a dull silvery white color, and remained perfectly still. It was difficult to determine its actual location, although it appeared to be perhaps a 3/4 of a mile away. There were no other features or marks. I saw it again on the way to work, about a half mile South of where it was originally, and standing perfectly still. The thing hung around for another few hours, according to other reports, and then just disappeared. I was working as a Research Chemist at an industrial research facility at the time, so I was not unaccustomed to observing phenomenon and describing them. I admit that I don't know what it was, but in talking to the late Hayden Hughes, he said that my description was consistent with objects spotted by others at different times in the past.

The one thing it wasn't was an alien space craft.

 

[/pine]

Considering the fact that you can go in Wally World and buy a tank of helium and a bag of large balloons that have LEDs inside that light up when inflated...make for a lot of sightings...
Have you ever released a helium balloon and watched it when it hits the jet stream?...it's more dramatic at night when there is a light in the balloon...

 

[bumperm]

Okay here's another one, though I make no assertions to what it actually was, it sure wasn't a balloon. I don't tell this story often:

I was a Navy electronics tech stationed at Tarlac Naval Radio Station (Capus) in the Philippines in 1965. Tarlac was on a high plateau and had numerous high power transmitters, including a couple of 500' towers (VLF) to communicate with submarines. We were some 24 kilometers from Clark AFB, but otherwise the area was low green forest and was where the Bataan Death March ended - a memorial was in our antenna field.

One evening I was driving the jeep to our remote building about a mile from the main structures. In the distance (maybe 3 miles), I saw a glowing area behind a low mountain range. This area was all lush green forest so no chance it could be a fire, and to my knowledge there was nothing there. I stopped the jeep to watch. The glow grew brighter and a long saucer shaped, orangish glowing object crested the mountain and slowly moved down the face of the mountain and stopped. As I watched, there were a series of three bright orange flashes on either side of the object, which I'd estimate at 500 feet wide and maybe 50 feet tall (a very rough estimation). Then the object started moving back up the mountain - it was no fire! I turned the jeep and drove fast back to our barracks to roust up another witness. By the time we got back to the rise in the road so we could see the area again, the object had gone back to the other side of the mountain and there was just the original glow, an arc shaped area of sky. This slowly faded. Neither I nor the witness could figure it out.

I called Clark AFB to ask if they had anything on their radar, they advised not. Though now, being a pilot and conversant with radar technology, there's no way it would have shown up, buried in the ground clutter, unless it took off flying at higher altitude.

I did not see the object flying fast. It moved slowly, though those flashes were bright and fast, round in shape. The next day, even with binoculars, there was no evidence that anything untoward had been there, no burned or darkened area, nothing but green forest. What I saw was no balloon, not swamp gas, not a fire. I have no explanation for it and have never heard of a similar sighting.

If it were an alien craft, I can see how it might have been attracted to us. We were transmitting high power, 10KW to 500KW on multiple transmitters. A lot of energy in the air, but the object was miles away, so not caused by us. Very strange.

 

[cqaigy2]

Thing about some observations is it can be very difficult to determine distance and size of object that can also lead to misleading assumptions of speed of the object, etc.

 

[bumperm]

Thing about some observations is it can be very difficult to determine distance and size of object that can also lead to misleading assumptions of speed of the object, etc.

That's exactly correct.

Difficult to impossible without some sort of ranging equipment or distinct background features at a known distance and when the object is between the observer and that known feature.

When I saw the object in my previous post, I assumed it to be a classic UFO sighting. Over the intervening years, I've come to question that. I'm 100% positive I saw what I described. I'm equally sure I have no clue what it was - only what it wasn't.

 

[turnkey4099]

Who or what is "Bffstx"? That's not even in Google search.

I'm not allowed to answer that!!

 

[turnkey4099]

Gotta admit it is hard to swallow. But if it is real, it would be world shaking news would't it?

And I am willing to wait until some believable evidence shows up. Meanwhile I won't hold my breath.

 

[tcreeley]

UFO's real, religion real....but 911 wasn't an inside job!:laughing:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I am sincerely asking this, not ragging on you. What about the appearance of the object you observed would have been inconsistent with it being a balloon?

Well, it's been nearly 40 years ago, but here's what I recall. Every weather balloon I have ever seen had telltale characteristics. One is and instrument package hanging below it, another is a very visible filler neck hang from the balloon, and lastly, while the shape approaches being round, they are usually not a perfectly round object. The object I observed was perfectly round and as I recall, a consistent color and texture throughout. It had nothing attached, projecting or protruding from it...and it remained perfectly still for several minutes while I observed it. I would expect a balloon to move with the wind, or upwards from the force of the Helium.

The one difficulty was perspective. Because of the perfectly round shape and consistent color throughout, it was difficult to judge the size, and therefore it's location. It appeared in the Eastern sky, perhaps a couple hundred feet in the air, above and beyond my neighbor's house. The second time I observed it, on my way to work, it appeared to have moved away, as it appeared smaller, but about the same height as before. In discussions later, I talked to a couple other people who saw the same phenomenon. In sum, I believe what I observed to be inconsistent with being a weather balloon, the much larger size, shape and lack of movement being the most convincing aspects.