[Updated] UFO sighted over New York City

[Moonie2012]

Anyone who believes they where balloons is just plain dumb.

Sure thing, cool guy. Can I play too?

"Anyone who believes they aren't balloons is just plain dumb." Yay!

Edited October 15, 2010 by Moonie2012

[Space Commander Travis]

Anyone who believes they where balloons is just plain dumb.

Come on seriously compare these videos to the New York one, anyone with half a brain can see balloons don't sit still like that or move in sync etc, they are all over the place and ALWAYS moving that is science. Maybe she did let off balloons by mistake but I do not believe for a second those are her balloons. Maybe another sort of balloon or drone used by US military or somehting else etc but no way are they normal balloons.

Again, it seems to be Occam's Beard*; the prosaic explanation can't possibly be the correct one, it must be something more exciting. Even if it's not ET, hypothesise that old favourite, some Secret Military Experiment.

* the opposite of Occam's Razor

[Reelybored]

Anyone who believes they where balloons is just plain dumb.

Come on seriously compare these videos to the New York one, anyone with half a brain can see balloons don't sit still like that or move in sync etc, they are all over the place and ALWAYS moving that is science. Maybe she did let off balloons by mistake but I do not believe for a second those are her balloons. Maybe another sort of balloon or drone used by US military or somehting else etc but no way are they normal balloons.

Never said that I personally thought they were balloons. honestly dont know what they hell it is, just posting something I found regarding the NYC UFO story since this is what the thread is about, right? so am I dumb? i dont think so

[archernyc]

So who was it that said they couldn't possibly be balloons? Oops.

There are balloons floating around over Manhattan all the time. The thing I saw, which looked very similar to some of the videos I saw, did not behave like a balloon.

Helium balloons are constantly rising - the thing I saw was stationary for a few minutes before it started moving around erratically, then it moved in a straight line at the same elevation until I had to stop watching. This is not the way that a balloon behaves.

Sorry, people can make whatever claims they like (I've heard stores about schools in NYC, some special promotion in Times Sq., someplace in NJ, whatever), they were not balloons.

I'm not saying it was ET...for all I know, it's the Dept of Homeland Security testing some crazy device to protect NYC!

[Reelybored]

saw one vid on the news where there were about 3 or four these sparkling things in the sky. one appeared to be bigger than the others and they were perfectly aligned horizontally. I dont think they were balloons either, been scratching my head since i saw it but haven't lost any sleep over it. Like all other sightings and such, this will continue to be debatable. unless some ship or something comes down close enough to get detailed photos, no one will probably believe anything. but then again, im sure even if there was concrete evidence people will still question its validity.

[Moonie2012]

Helium balloons are constantly rising - the thing I saw was stationary for a few minutes before it started moving around erratically, then it moved in a straight line at the same elevation until I had to stop watching. This is not the way that a balloon behaves.

Depending on air currents and thermals and things of that nature (including your line of sight), a balloon most certainly could have done that (or appeared to).They don't just shoot straight up like a bullet.

Edited October 15, 2010 by Moonie2012

[Dancingtiger]

If someone was feeling adventurous they could find out where the school is located, then find out the wind directions for the evening and then see if the sighting and balloons could cross paths. It is not an exact science, but an interesting exercise possibly.

How long on average do they even last in the air before their own buoyancy is depleted? I wondered and then found this interesting paper My link A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF BALLOON RELEASES ON THE ENVIRONMENT

CONCLUSIONS

1. Calculations indicate that most helium filled latex rubber balloons that are released burst into tiny pieces about five miles above the ground.

2. The small percentage of balloons that do not rise high enough to burst come down at less than one balloon per fifteen square miles.

3. Field tests show that latex rubber balloons are very degradable on exposure in the environment under a broad range of exposure conditions including exposure to sunlight and weathering, exposure to water, and exposure to soil. The balloon samples show significant degradation after six weeks of exposure. The balloon samples appear to be degrading at about the same rate as oak tree leaves and about three times faster than small pieces of wood (oak and pine).

4. The rate of degradation observed for the natural latex balloons should prevent their accumulation in the environment to levels which could be harmful.

5. Based on the above results, it is recommended that balloons made from natural latex rubber be the standard for balloon releases. Balloons which are found to be less degradable than latex rubber should not be allowed.

I also found these characteristics: When filled with helium, a latex balloon will usually last twelve hours and then start to deflate. A microfoil balloon will usually last 4 to 5 days before it starts to deflate - very slowly.

I am curious how we could apply it to sighting(s) thought to be balloons. Any Ideas, or is it relevant do you think

Edited October 15, 2010 by Dancingtiger

[irish614]

I found it quite funny that Zero news organizations even mentioned this on the 13th and then all of a sudden the 14th they act as if they covered it fully. They were too busy covering the miner's rescue. El Mundo did have balloons for their festival in NYC but the majority of the interviews I have seen are pretty clear that the people knew what they saw weren't balloons.

[scar7]

UFO's: Hey whats that... I dont know, balloons maybe. Yeah maybe.

Out-of-this-world: Hey whats... OMG!!

[archernyc]

Depending on air currents and thermals and things of that nature (including your line of sight), a balloon most certainly could have done that (or appeared to).They don't just shoot straight up like a bullet.

That's true. I have watched many, many balloons over my life (I'll be 50 in a couple of months) and had I continued walking, I might agree with you. But I was standing still and watching it in front of me (at about 2:00 position) and then it moved directly over me and beyond me. I could tell from the position of the object relative to the position of the buildings by me how it was moving. I am very observant and I can tell you that it was not a balloon - though I did think it was at first, which is why I stopped to observe it.

btw, after this sighting, several people in my office brought their cameras to work (we're a design company so there are some serious cameras), so if this ever happens again, I will try to get stills or video.

Edited October 15, 2010 by archernyc

[JonathanVonErich]

Balloons...Hahaha....so funny.

*laughing like a madman*

[Automaton]

Soooo...... balloons is it? Which ones are balloons, the yellow ones or the white ones? The ones that remained motionless in the sky for hours or the ones that made erratic movements, in unison with others. Or the many clusters of them, in different locations at different times? Or the flashing colored lights at night, that were clearly NOT Jupiter? I'm kinda confused, so could someone tell me how all of these sightings were balloons? And was it balloons that made an entire village in China disappear?( Or whatever actually happened?) And did the balloons travel to Seattle, San Fransisco, Ontario, Malaysia, Russia, Texas, Ohio, Virginia and pretty much everywhere else? Pretty active balloons if you ask me.

Edited October 16, 2010 by Automaton

[booNyzarC]

Soooo...... balloons is it? Which ones are balloons, the yellow ones or the white ones? The ones that remained motionless in the sky for hours or the ones that made erratic movements, in unison with others. Or the many clusters of them, in different locations at different times? Or the flashing colored lights at night, that were clearly NOT Jupiter? I'm kinda confused, so could someone tell me how all of these sightings were balloons? And was it balloons that made an entire village in China disappear?( Or whatever actually happened?) And did the balloons travel to Seattle, San Fransisco, Ontario, Malaysia, Russia, Texas, Ohio, Virginia and pretty much everywhere else? Pretty active balloons if you ask me.

Yep, balloons. But hey, there is no reason to assume that they are terrestrial balloons... maybe they are from another planet or another dimension or something? You might be onto something here. Instead of ETH (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) we should be calling it ETBH (Extraterrestrial Balloon Hypothesis). Has a good ring to it.

[Automaton]

Yep, balloons. But hey, there is no reason to assume that they are terrestrial balloons... maybe they are from another planet or another dimension or something? You might be onto something here. Instead of ETH (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) we should be calling it ETBH (Extraterrestrial Balloon Hypothesis). Has a good ring to it.

BINGO!

Edited October 16, 2010 by Automaton

[AgentScully]

I'm leaning more towards the assumption that the lights captured by the college students are lighted kites of some kind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbF5VhSHk2M

[Space Commander Travis]

Yep, balloons. But hey, there is no reason to assume that they are terrestrial balloons... maybe they are from another planet or another dimension or something? You might be onto something here. Instead of ETH (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) we should be calling it ETBH (Extraterrestrial Balloon Hypothesis). Has a good ring to it.

That's the kind of thing we've done on Venus and Jupiter and suchlike, isn't it. Deploy baloons with sensors and recconnaisance devices and what have you. Quiet, and fairly inconspicuous, if a bit slow and dependent on the wind. It would require minimal expenditure of energy, after all, assuming that you get here in some other vehicle and launch them from that, once it's entered the atmosphere, since unless it's constructed from some super alien material, a balloon probably wouldn't withstand re-entry very well. Or would it? if they descend slowly, perhaps atmospheric friction wouldn't be much of a problem.

(is it re-entry if this is the first time you've entered the atmosphere of that particular planet? Anyway.)

It's an idea worth dwelling on, perhaps.

[Reverend Clog]

saw one vid on the news where there were about 3 or four these sparkling things in the sky. one appeared to be bigger than the others and they were perfectly aligned horizontally. I dont think they were balloons either, been scratching my head since i saw it but haven't lost any sleep over it. Like all other sightings and such, this will continue to be debatable. unless some ship or something comes down close enough to get detailed photos, no one will probably believe anything. but then again, im sure even if there was concrete evidence people will still question its validity.

The image that you saw was from this news report if I guess correctly? My link .

And if you will contrast those lights with this image of jupiter and its moons.

My link.

Seems fairly close.

[Coffey]

Again, it seems to be Occam's Beard*; the prosaic explanation can't possibly be the correct one, it must be something more exciting. Even if it's not ET, hypothesise that old favourite, some Secret Military Experiment.

* the opposite of Occam's Razor

I said that is more likely than balloons not that is what it is.

There could easily be a simple explanation but balloons is not the explanation. And becuase they have said this now it makes me think it's strange.

Never said that I personally they were balloons. honestly dont know what they hell it is, just posting something I found regarding the NYC UFO story since this is what the thread is about, right? so am I dumb? i dont think so

It wasn't aimed at you, more the gullible people who will now just dismiss this as balloons.

[earlizd1]

The image that you saw was from this news report if I guess correctly? My link .

And if you will contrast those lights with this image of jupiter and its moons.

My link.

Seems fairly close.

you cannot see Jupiter's moons with your naked eyes

[Coffey]

Also wasn't there a close up of one of these things in one of the reports that was posted. It did not look like a balloon lol, it wasn't even round, it was like a square shape with 2 attacked cylinders or something. Or has this close up picture now dissapeared?!

[Coffey]

The image that you saw was from this news report if I guess correctly? My link .

And if you will contrast those lights with this image of jupiter and its moons.

My link.

Seems fairly close.

Look how small the moons are in the pic where you see Jupiter, now think about how much further away Jupiter is... you cannot see the moons without a telescope. People seen these things with the naked eye. Also the lights moved in weird directions and at some points one light was at the other side of the sky from the others.... Also this was over a timescale of about half an hour Jupiter takes hours to cross the sky not minutes. (or seconds as they appeared to do)

[Reelybored]

The image that you saw was from this news report if I guess correctly? My link .

And if you will contrast those lights with this image of jupiter and its moons.

My link.

Seems fairly close.

Looked at this way, yes I can see how the deduction can be made, but then someone pointed out that Jupiter's moons cannot be seen with naked eye. I know we're seeing it through the "eyes" of a camera lens but still. Again, I have no idea what it is but all the theories, hypothesis, guesses, etc on this thread are interesting. By the sounds of things, the possibilities could be endless

[DarkSide]

Stunning new development! UFO's spotted over El Paso.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEtTl9cGrJc

Creepily, they align in a pattern mirrored, but exactly the same as the "ballons" over Manhattan.

[Coffey]

I like the way the guy goes "mmm" when he said the spokeperson couldn't name the air crews or whatever it was. He obviously knows that was weird.

[AgentScully]

The image that you saw was from this news report if I guess correctly? My link .

And if you will contrast those lights with this image of jupiter and its moons.

My link.

Seems fairly close.

I'm sorry, but there is no way those objects were astronomical. I agree that they perhaps look like them to some degree physically, but the nature and movement of the objects captured share no characteristics with a stationary planet/moon in the sky. I don't believe you can even see Jupiter's moons with the naked eye and I don't believe they'd be that stunningly bright even if you could. I'm not at all jumping off the bridge of common sense and splashing into a pool of alien conspiracy, but I'm instead just calling it how I see it. I think the kites/RC plane theory is more probable for the college kids' video. I'm not sure what was captured in the New York/Manhattan videos, but those were not astronomical either.

Edited October 16, 2010 by AgentScully