tell me about ufo sightings

[dweezil]

i don't know if i believe in aliens and all that stuff, actually until 4 days ago i didn't. then the other night over the forest in front of my house i saw a ufo! i went out for a smoke, and there it was. then last night i saw it again over a neighbours house, about half a mile down the road from where i live. i live out in the countryside, there's little light pollution and this was a very bright light which moved from side to side, seemed to fade and then grew brighter, and it seemed to be flashing green light over the landscape. i know it sounds mad! anyone else ever seen this shit? i think maybe governments of countries have weird air craft to monitor certain areas?? oh and i live really close to a lay line that apparently runs from egypt (pyramids), through europe (places like carnac in france and stonehenge in england) and into north western ireland (to the megalithic sacred sites of carrowkeel and knocknarae), for any geomancers out there..

[Croneus]

Sounds like a helicopter.

[dweezil]

no noise at all. helicopters are loud. it was most definitely not a helicopter.

[apachama]

UFO is a modern word for something there has always been eplanations for, some mystical, others not.

[dweezil]

anybody??? sightings? no need to try explain what i saw...anyone else ever seen anything unusual? where, when and at what time?

[panta-rei]

I really haven't, but I know a few people that think they did. I don't believe them. If it happened twice, it might happen again, may I suggest that you take a camera outside with you every time you go out for a smoke?

[moiguerrero]

I know this is a year late, but a great book to read on the subject is Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: A Reporter's Notebook on Alien Abduction, UFOs, and the Conference at M.I.T. I'd never found a book about UFOs that didn't seem like horseshit, until this one. The author (a "non-believer", though by the end not so much) is honest and objective, talks to tons of people that had experiences (from a wide variety of backgrounds), etc. Anyway, if you're still interested...after all this time. I'm pretty much a "believer" now after reading this, and I'm always excited when I find people interested. Thus, the message.

[Man of Shred]

Glad i'm not the only who's seen a UFO here. Don't listen to the RETARDS who say all UFO's are explained. if you look at official science based UFO sightings. there IS A PERCENTAGE that can't be explained.

[guitarboy]

There's been quite some activity lately on ATS about "identifiable bright lights" in the sky, so hopefully with some information on how to identify objects, they can be put to rest. Also, staring at a bright star as the sky is darkening and dimmer stars are coming into view give the impression that the object is moving rapidly! It's just an optical illusion, so try not to just blindly stare at whatever it is. When you go out and see a bright light, here's some info that you can take down to help identify it. Date Time (within a half hour) Location (approximately and including elevation if possible) Altitude of object Azimuth of object As detailed of description as possible. Things to include how long you watched it, what color it was, what constellation it was in, and anything else you may think to be important. So an observation would look something like this... Apr. 21, 2005 8:40 AM Ypsilanti MI, 715 ft above sea level Alt: 25 degrees Azi: 100 degrees It was bright and yellow and warm... It hurt my eyes to look at and now I'm seeing spots everywhere. Don't understand Altitude/Azimuth? Altitude is the height of the object above the horizon in degrees. An easy way to approximate this is to use your outstretched at arm's length as about 10 degrees in the sky. You need your fngers to be parallel to the horizon for this. Measure the amount of fist heights above the horizon is, and you'll get what it's altitude is about. Azimuth is the direction of the object from the north point. It works just like a compass. North = 0 degrees East = 90 degrees South = 180 degrees West = 270 degrees Try and measure it from one of those key points, again using your fists. This time though your fingers need to be perpendicular to the horizon. So if you know the object is in the SSE, for example, you could start at the east point of 90 and measure over from there. Other Resources Some other things you can do to identify an object would be to purchase some computer software, some star charts, or some books. Here are some suggestions. Starry Night - Computer software. Just about the best on the market, and what I use to post astronomy images here on ATS. Your Sky - Online star charts, set for your location My Stars Live - Another Online star chart program. Stars and Planets - A really good beginners field guide. Sorry Shred, I'm just a troll.

[Invader]

I've chanced upon three sightings, so far. The most convincing (and still puzzling) for me occurred at one o'clock in the morning while I was at the local park, laying on my back with my eyes directed skyward. The craft in question was long and narrow, had a row of lights along its bottom, and appeared as if it were made of some translucent material (it looked like the popular "cloaking distortion" effect out of a video game). What really struck me about the thing I was observing was that it began to bend itself. It curved into a C shape, and then into and S shape, and straightened again. The row of lights faded very slowly on and off. The lights were white. It continued its bending motions in no particular order, and continued at a snails pace across the sky, and against the wind (for it was a windy night). The craft maintained a low altitude, perhaps between 1.5-2k feet. Any higher than that and it would mean that it's visual size to me would imply that the actual size of the craft was more than two times the length of a Boeing passenger jet (747), at least. The fly-over lasted around five minutes. By time it was gone I got home as quickly as I could manage, out of excitement to share the story. A very neat experience, if I do say so myself.

[guitarboy]

It may have been a floater. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater

[Invader]

There are a few characteristics about floaters that make the phenomenon an unlikely candidate. they generally follow the rapid motions of the eye, while drifting slowly within the fluid. The craft observed on that night held a steady course across the sky, and did not react at all to my shift of focus as I looked briefly at passerby's during the event. attempting to shift one's gaze toward them can be difficult since floaters follow the motion of the eye, remaining to the side of the direction of gaze. I was able to look at the craft directly (and look away from it) without experiencing this particular effect. Please keep in mind that this craft did display a long row of distinct and separate lights along its underside that faded in and out of view. I have also never experienced floaters myself, and it appears to be a condition that one keeps with them all life long.

[Adam]

Last month in Beijing me and my girfriend we walking back from the super market and we say this bright trail of white lights which changed colour and just seemed to hover in the distance. We'd seen nothing like this at all! I ran in to get my camera but it had dissapeared by time I got back to take a picture. Then the next night at the same time we saw exactly the same thing, it was a bright row of lights moving in the sky changing colours... The we saw a few more, and then there were like 12 'UFO' sightings - turns out it was... Spoiler for open if you want to know...: just kites...

[moiguerrero]

Just read the book. It's very convincing. Even for someone who, like I said, didn't give much credence to any of it before.