Orange UFO's

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by kriya

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piUSg...eature=related

This is similar to what I saw on Christmas Day. Filmed on Boxing Day in the rain not far from me.

Dunno about this chinese lantern theory?

Love,

Kriya

Yep, it's a chinese lantern.

If people want to believe that it is something else then more fool them, and more laughs for the people that set these things off.

[john-d]

Update :

Me and my partner seen another 2 in sheffield on the 27th dec while driving . It was about 10.30pm , we could see one aprox 1 mile ahead of us traveling at a right angle to us ( it seemed to be dropping smaller orange things). I got my partner to put her foot down to try and intercept it but it faded into the clouds . We pulled into a pub car park to turn around (slightly disapointed) and straight away there was another one , much closer and faster , going in the same direction that we had been travelling . We both got out of the car and started asking it to 'come here and dont go ' ( looking like loonies ) and it did seem to slow down but then carried on and faded into the clouds too .
Ive been waiting 38 years to see a ufo and now ive seen 3 in 2 months!
Sheffield does seem to be a hot spot for some reason , we have been looking on the sheffield forum and there have been hundreds of sightings over the last few months .
Exciting times me thinks . Would love to know more about them .

John

[john-d]

Originally Posted by Average Joe

Yep, it's a chinese lantern.

If people want to believe that it is something else then more fool them, and more laughs for the people that set these things off.

No no no , i have seen chinese lanterns , they just get carried by the wind . These are vehicles moving by their own steam . I can understand why you would say that they are lanterns , the colour is very similar . If you watched one go straight over you , then you would realise that it is something completely different . besides , the last two that we saw were moving at right angles to each other . and the first one had a light moving side to side (only noticable when directly overhead).
Sorry to pop your comfort bubble but most of these people seeing these things know the difference between a lantern and a craft .
John

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by john-d

No no no , i have seen chinese lanterns , they just get carried by the wind . These are vehicles moving by their own steam . I can understand why you would say that they are lanterns , the colour is very similar . If you watched one go straight over you , then you would realise that it is something completely different . besides , the last two that we saw were moving at right angles to each other . and the first one had a light moving side to side (only noticable when directly overhead).
Sorry to pop your comfort bubble but most of these people seeing these things know the difference between a lantern and a craft .
John

Whatever John. If you want to believe they are not lanterns then fine. You just described classic lanterns until you added in later "they moved at right angles to one another". Why not mention that it the first place? Why only add it as a rebuke to my statement?

Everybody is letting these things off it is a great fad.

This whole chinese lantern thing is obfuscating real UFO sightings for me.

[Gingernutmonkey]

Eyup all you fellow Northerners.. Very interested to read these posts, I live in Doncaster close to Barnsley and Sheffield. I had the orange light fly past the house on the 24th and the 26th about 9pm on the 24th and about 9.30 on the 26th. Of course living in Doncaster the first thing you think of is the police heli out and about but when you don't hear a sound and the thing moves that fast you soon realise it's not. The light was flying at around 2000 feet in a North Easterly direction.. slight pulsation but no sound, from the distance covered in the time it was in my sight I would have to say it was flying around 200 kts. It seems we have a bit of a hot spot on our hands... eyes to the skies guy's.

[Average Joe]

Oh God I give up.

I saw them too on the 24th and 25th, but I knew what they were.

These things are set of at celebrations, funny then that there'd be plenty about during the Christmas hols!

[Gingernutmonkey]

Hey Average I'm sure that what you saw were lanterns and that you are quite happy in the knowledge that someone somewhere was having a great Christmas lighting these things and sending them on there merry way.... I'm also sure that what I saw was not a lantern and was not let loose by some happy clapper on a Christmas high... I'm glad we have a space where all our views can be shared and people of like mind can meet and discuss, not sure that the suppression of ideas and thoughts is appropriate or indeed welcome.

[Average Joe]

On the day in question, your area was under a westerly, south westerly wind. Your object was travelling north east. As a balloon would do under a westerly, south westerly wind.

Your object "pulsated". Lanterns "flicker".

It was Christmas, a time of celebration.

I saw lanterns myself, as did many others in many other parts of the country.

See where I'm coming from? A lot of evidence points to lanterns. No evidence whatsoever points to it not being lanterns other than your estimate of speed really.

Not trying to pick on you here, but everybody thinks they are the one that has seen something which wasn't a lantern during a rash of lantern flights.

But yeah, maybe I'm wrong and yours wasn't one of the lanterns.

[john-d]

Originally Posted by Average Joe

Whatever John. If you want to believe they are not lanterns then fine. You just described classic lanterns until you added in later "they moved at right angles to one another". Why not mention that it the first place? Why only add it as a rebuke to my statement?

Everybody is letting these things off it is a great fad.

This whole chinese lantern thing is obfuscating real UFO sightings for me.

Your mistaken , read the first post again .

John

[Gingernutmonkey]

You see how easy was that... Room for all... I do admire the amount of background work you put in, well done for that. I am interested where you got your wind at 2k from.. At work on the 26th my wind correction for the met forecast was way off?

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by Gingernutmonkey

You see how easy was that... Room for all... I do admire the amount of background work you put in, well done for that. I am interested where you got your wind at 2k from.. At work on the 26th my wind correction for the met forecast was way off?

The wind at 2k is irrelevant as you said the object was at 2,000ft. Not 2,000m.

2,000 metres or feet, how do you know?

The wind was from a westerly direction on both the 24th and 26th.

I'll let you into a little secret, first time I saw a lantern i had a similar conversation to the one we are having now with somebody else, except I was you. Bottom line is I wanted to believe my orange orb was different and I just would not be told otherwise.

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by john-d

Your mistaken , read the first post again .

John

I read the first post again and nowhere did you mention 2 orbs travelling at right angles to each other, just an orb floating through the sky projecting a beam.

[Gingernutmonkey]

More info is required SOS pilot short hand... 2k would be 2000ft.. and the hight is important becase the wind at different hights can be moving in very different directions... Hanse the comment about actual being way off the forecast.. But hey ho what do I know.. Lantern or not it gave us a chance to chat...

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by john-d

Your mistaken , read the first post again .

John

Originally Posted by Gingernutmonkey

More info is required SOS pilot short hand... 2k would be 2000ft.. and the hight is important becase the wind at different hights can be moving in very different directions... Hanse the comment about actual being way off the forecast.. But hey ho what do I know.. Lantern or not it gave us a chance to chat...

Yes I am well aware of the different wind speeds and directions at various levels, I'll say that meteorology is one of my big areas of interest. I did not know that 2k = 2,000ft in pilot speak, thanks for that. And yes, I know what the wind directions were on the dates in question, both the forecast and actualities.

Like I said on an earlier post, perhaps I'm wrong and it wasn't a lantern you saw, but at the moment there is a lot more evidence for than against.

Also, ask yourself why these objects are mostly spotted on weekends or holidays, after dark but usually before midnight?

[Gingernutmonkey]

As I said I'm interested where your getting your wind speeds from... Small point but I'm interested so please indulge me? I think we are going to have to agree to disagree interms of the lantern issue, as interesting as this conversation has been.. I hope to chat again..

[Average Joe]

I never mentioned windspeed, only direction. The direction matches the direction your orb travelled. I am only using facts.

[Gingernutmonkey]

Ok so where are you getting your info from?

[Average Joe]

Try Wetterzentrale mate, there are millions of sources of current and historical data. It's not hard.

On top of that, with the recent abundant snowfalls attacking different parts of the country from different angles, I've been keeping a very close eye on developing situations, needless to say I know which way the wind was blowing over northern England, and its still fresh in the memory!

[Gingernutmonkey]

Don't get me wrong there isn't a doubt in my mind that you spend a load of time looking at wind direction, maybe you do it for a living... Tell me in your estimation what the wind speed would need to be to get one of these lanterns moving at 180kt to 200kt... Giz a shout if ya need any help workin it out I'm sure all the info will be on ya web site .. Things to consider object is made of paper and is unpowered apart from the flicker of course... I guess while ya lookin maybe ya could check the web site to find out when we last had winds of the speed reqired to achieve that speed outside the jet stream? As I said if ya need a hand give me a shout!

[Average Joe]

The one thing that you are missing is that your estimation of the object's speed, is just that, an estimation.

I'd assume a paper lantern would travel at the speed of the wind, and the direction of the wind, at the altitude it is at.

I'd assume that your estimation of height, and therefore speed, could be accurate, or it could be miles out.

[Gingernutmonkey]

More info required.... I have to admit and I should have mentioned this earlier I instruct heli and fixed wing and have done for the last 10yrs.. I'm use to as you put it estimating speed, hight and erm distance. In my first post I did mention the speed and hight and the ground covered in the time I had it in my sight.. If you combine all these elements you can make pretty good estimates. I do admit I didn't mention this was a half mile away... I would say that even an amature would be able to tell the difference between 20kt and 200kt at that distance. If I remember we were working with 15kt winds in the morning of the 26th with no sig change expected! So the puzzling thing is how did that tea light powered paper lantern get up to such speeds. Interesting I'm sure you'll agree! But I do agree with you on the wind direction I just checked my flight log NNE@15kt...

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by Gingernutmonkey

More info required.... I have to admit and I should have mentioned this earlier I instruct heli and fixed wing and have done for the last 10yrs.. I'm use to as you put it estimating speed, hight and erm distance. In my first post I did mention the speed and hight and the ground covered in the time I had it in my sight.. If you combine all these elements you can make pretty good estimates. I do admit I didn't mention this was a half mile away... I would say that even an amature would be able to tell the difference between 20kt and 200kt at that distance. If I remember we were working with 15kt winds in the morning of the 26th with no sig change expected! So the puzzling thing is how did that tea light powered paper lantern get up to such speeds. Interesting I'm sure you'll agree! But I do agree with you on the wind direction I just checked my flight log NNE@15kt...

Are you saying you saw this object when you were flying? As you mention your flight log. Or were you observing from the ground. I suppose it is pretty irrelevant anyway.

If you don't know what you are looking at, which you have said you don't, then you cannot know its SIZE.

If you don't know its size then you do not have a point of reference to tell its height or speed from.

Maybe you were looking at a 50ft orange orb at 2,000ft and travelling at 200kts, or maybe you were looking at a 5ft orb at 200ft and 20kts.

If you were looking at say, a plane, then it'd be much easier to establish speed and height - would you agree with that?

[Gingernutmonkey]

Morning Average.. how rude of me I fell asleep but hey every day is a new day.... So many questions you have and forgive me for saying so, very few answers. But if you need more info I'm happy to oblige, as always.
The flying point you mention is not irrelevant, if I'd been minded to I could have tried to keep up with the object but as the top speed in the R44 is 110k I would have been left standing but alas I was stood on the deck in the back garden.
In my first post I mentioned I thought at first it was the police heli but as there was no noise it could not have been. Heli's mainly operate between 1k and 2k (feet). I would think the width of the beam of light from the police heli is around 5 to 10 feet dependant on distance and the angle you view it from. In my humble estimation I was looking at a glowing orb of around 10 to 15 feet, the perspective was gained by the poplar trees we have in the distance over the back garden and the scattered cloud at 4k.
As I mentioned in previous posts when you fly almost every day and deal with weather, cloud base, wind speed, air speed and ground speed you build up a knack for having a pretty good guess. I think I have provided all the information you'd need to start answering the wind speed question and how this relatively small object (Lantern) could manage the speed it was travelling.
If you have further questions then please let me know, happy to oblige as always. As an aside if I or you could not tell the difference between 200ft and 2k ft or the speed to 20kts and 200kts of an object 1/2 a mile away we would be in serious need of an eye exam or under the influence, maybe that was it after all these things do go hand in hand with the time of year and what is more likely that someone would be sober surely not.

[Average Joe]

The problem is, you do not know it was half a mile away do you? You may be good at estimating distances and speeds with helicopters, planes etc, but if this was a lantern it was 1/10th the size of a helicopter, and would be noiseless even if it was sat on your nose end.

I put to it you that it was 200ft up and doing 20kts.

Shame you didn't get a video or anything really.

[Gingernutmonkey]

Hi Average, we have reached an impasse it seems and I have to say I type this last little gem with a tinge of boredom. Stimulating debate around this topic is rare and indeed as I read through our exchanges one becomes all too aware of that fact. I have to say that the next time a see a silent orange orb, flickering across the sky I'll think of you. Then after I stop myself laughing I'll move on with my life safe in the knowledge that "I Know What I Saw". It just remains for me to wish you all the best for the new year. TTFN.