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FabioClone
10-30-2003, 06:30 PM
Yep. At about 5:00 today I was sitting in the park, writing in my notebook, when I happened to glance up. At first I thought it was a plane. But it seemed much smaller and was flying pretty low.

And it was oval shaped. And it was glowing.

I have no idea what it was. It was moving pretty fast in a straight line. Eventually it disappeared behind the trees on the horizon.

I'm sure there's some prosaic explanation, but I am baffled. I don't usually see strange stuff like this. Does anyone have any idea what it could be?
Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor
10-30-2003, 06:48 PM
Where are you located?

City, suburban or rural?

Any nearby airports?

Any nearby universities?

Any other witnesses?

Was it daytime, night, twilight, dusk, dawn?
if6was9
10-30-2003, 06:57 PM
Any nearby military bases?
Doomtrain
10-30-2003, 07:24 PM
*puts on his sunglasses*

*Takes a silver thing out of his pocket*

*FLASH*

It was swamp gas reflecting off a weather balloon. Move along, nothing to see here....
Aankh
10-30-2003, 07:52 PM
[eerie Twilight Zone music]
They're going to come back get youuuuu....
[/eTZm]
FabioClone
10-30-2003, 07:53 PM
Originally posted by Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

Where are you located?

City, suburban or rural?

Any nearby airports?

Any nearby universities?

Any other witnesses?

Was it daytime, night, twilight, dusk, dawn?


Central NY

Suburban

One very small airport

One State University

Just me

Daytime. Sun goes down around 6:00. I didn't notice the position of the sun at the time. That could account for the glow.




No military bases... that I know of....
DreadCthulhu
10-30-2003, 07:53 PM
Damn it, I thought my Space Deep Ones had their cloaking device fixed. Stupid incompentant help . . .
Doomtrain
10-30-2003, 08:43 PM
They were just taking the alien life form known as "Kurt Warner" back to his homeworld, now that his mission has been completed.
beegirl13
10-30-2003, 09:42 PM
:eek: Central NY? I'm there too, though I wasn't looking outside at the time you describe. *Gets out tinfoil hat, just in case*
Zebra
10-30-2003, 11:15 PM
Sounds like an airplane to me.

Smaller because it was farther away than you thought.

All the other parts of your description sound rather airplane-ish.
FabioClone
10-31-2003, 12:24 AM
The reason I think it was not an airplane is that it was low enough that I could see detail on it. It was definately oval-shaped, no wings. There appeared to be another raised oval shape in the center of it.

The more I think about it, the more it seems like some sort of balloon. It's just that it was moving so fast and deliberately.

Maybe it really was swamp gas reflecting off a weather balloon.
umop ap!sdn
10-31-2003, 12:42 AM
Was there any wind that could explain the motion of a balloon?

If it was glowing, the balloon hypothesis is unlikely anyway, as balloons generally do not glow.
picunurse
10-31-2003, 01:00 AM
Could it have been an AWAX banking? You would be seeing it from the side in a bank, and the AWAX thingy is oval shaped...
That said, I saw one when I was 6. It was on my birthday, June 24. I was lying in the grass, just watching the trees and soforth. I so a flash, and noticed a bright silverish thing wayyy high (it seemed) it was like a plane without the wings. It had a contrail. I was 6 in 1952. Jets were very rare. Mylar wasn't invented.
Don't know what it could have been, but thank Og, they didn't kidnap me. :)
Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor
10-31-2003, 06:35 AM
Airports can and do release weather balloons. So do Universities.

I mistook a weather balloon for a UFO back in the 70's, & I was pretty skeptical, then. Even more so now.
Mudshark
10-31-2003, 06:47 AM
I saw an Unidentified Flying Object when I was younger. It was a white oval orb with green, blue, and red flashing lights on the edges of it.
Zebra
10-31-2003, 06:49 AM
Other than oval shape glowing what details were you seeing?


It can be very difficult to judge the speed of an airborne object. How fast would you say it was going?
Musicat
10-31-2003, 07:08 AM
Did it look like any of these? (http://www.doorbell.net/tlr/ufo.htm) Note one is an glowing, oval shape.
Shirley Ujest
10-31-2003, 07:09 AM
It's Greg Brady with a curtian, flute-thingie and a flashlight.
RedFury
10-31-2003, 08:57 AM
Just be thankful you weren't abducted. Or not.
Dinsdale
10-31-2003, 09:02 AM
Just read a relevant portion of Sagan's Demon-Haunted World last night.

Regarding high altitude balloons, he says the can seem saucer shaped when seen from the ground.
If you misestimate how far away they are, you can imagine that they are going absurdly fast.
Occasionally they abruptly change direction in response to gusts of wind, unlike aircraft.

Chapter 5, page 83.

Not saying this is THE answer, just a possibility.
Winston Smith
10-31-2003, 09:29 AM
It was a blimp. Or maybe a hallucination. Or a UFO.

What was the question?
FabioClone
10-31-2003, 11:35 AM
Originally posted by Zebra
Other than oval shape glowing what details were you seeing?


It can be very difficult to judge the speed of an airborne object. How fast would you say it was going?


Well, I mentioned the smaller oval shape either raised or indented on the side facing me. I've been thinking about whether this could be a wing. I dismissed the idea at the time, but I have to admit it's a possibility. It didn't look like a plane, or like anything I've ever seen in the sky. Who knows?

You're right, I'm finding it very hard to describe how fast it was moving. I wish I could go back in time and take exact notes.

I can say that when I first spotted it, it was above me (not directly, but close enough). It was moving steadily. Approximately two-three minutes later, it had disappeared behind the trees at the horizon.

There is almost always wind here. Again, I failed to note the direction at the time. I feel stupid now, as that might have provided an important clue.


Also, I've been thinking about the glow. It was definitely a white glow against the blue sky. The glow seemed constant from the time I spotted it to the time I lost sight of it. If the glow was the reflection of the sun, shouldn't it have varied depending on the angle?

Maybe not. I don't know much about such things.
FabioClone
10-31-2003, 11:38 AM
Originally posted by Musicat
Did it look like any of these? Note one is an glowing, oval shape


Actually, it does appear remarkably similar to the last one on that page. The shape is a little different, and my UFO seemed closer to me, but they are similar.
Zebra
10-31-2003, 12:05 PM
Originally posted by FabioClone
[
I can say that when I first spotted it, it was above me (not directly, but close enough). It was moving steadily. Approximately two-three minutes later, it had disappeared behind the trees at the horizon.

[/B]

Well that is helpful. It it was that shape it does sound like a blimp except for the speed. Since you don't know how high it was we really don't know how big it was.

Were there clouds? Was it above, below or the same height as the clouds?

You should also realize that light, reflected or otherwise will distort the apparent shape of a distant object.
FabioClone
10-31-2003, 12:28 PM
It seemed to me like it was below the clouds, but I can't recall a specific instance of it passing over or under a cloud so I can't be sure.

Sorry. That's not much help.
picunurse
10-31-2003, 05:08 PM
There is almost always wind here. Again, I failed to note the direction at the time. I feel stupid now, as that might have provided an important clue.
Wind can be blowing diferent directions at different altitudes, so don't feel stupid.
World Eater
10-31-2003, 05:25 PM
Do you have a mullet? If you do, that automatically discredits you. ;)