'UFO fleet' caught on camera off US coast

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

What gets me about this configuration of objects is, they flare up or brighten up and then go dimmer shortly afterwards. I doubt seriously that they are flares or Chinese lanterns. Plus the size would be larger than the Chinese lanterns. 

Also, the objects stay the same distance from each other throughout. There is no drifting apart.

Not sure what they are. Interesting. 

[stereologist]

This video is ridiculous. He says "in the middle of the ocean" yet says he is on a ferry. Simply ludicrous.

This is supposed to be Pimlico Sound. That would be Pamlico Sound if it was  in North Carolina. I'm guessing the author of the article  is as clueless as the video maker.

If we suppose this is Pamlico Soound, then the ferry is the Ocracoke ferry. I've been on other ferries when the main bridge to the mainland was out. Is this sunset or sunrise?

The video maker claims he is in the middle of the ocean. If this is the Ocracoke ferry, which I have been on many times, it tells us this person has no clue as to where they are or what is ocean. For most us that should not be a surprise.

The camera pans 180  degrees and land is not visible. No surprise since the ferry runs more than 10 miles from land looking west. If this is sunset and not sunrise then the view from the ferry is towards the Pamlico river.

You'd think that people in that direction would get a better view but they are smarter and don't report lanterns as UFOs.

[stereologist]

Here is 30 seconds of video showing virtually nothing of interest.

About all it shows is that the video maker is clueless about where they are - the ocean ocean - no land.

The objects' brightness is no clue. I commonly take photos in near darkness and see what I would not expect to see in the  images.

Are these too bright to be lanterns? No.

Should these objects move relative to each other? Are you kidding? These objects are likely to be 20 miles away. That' how far land is to the west of the ferry.

Do the objects change brightness? Not at all. Does the motion of the camera cause smearing and other artifacts? You bet.

How big are the objects? A pixel. Actually the complete lack of focus makes the video useless. That means size cannot be determined.

 

Can videos be any more worthless? They almost always are.

[Gwynbleidd]

1 hour ago, Earl.Of.Trumps said:

What gets me about this configuration of objects is, they flare up or brighten up and then go dimmer shortly afterwards. I doubt seriously that they are flares or Chinese lanterns. Plus the size would be larger than the Chinese lanterns. 

Also, the objects stay the same distance from each other throughout. There is no drifting apart.

Not sure what they are. Interesting. 

I agree EoT - I think they looked rather pretty. 

I'm not sure I think they're extraterrestrial in nature.  I thought they looked like a bunch of lanterns of some type which were all launched off a boat out there somewhere.  The boat then cruised off to get a better view from afar (therefore wasn't in the video) as they just float up and glow brighter than each other at sunset by the looks. 

The lighting could affect it perhaps, as to me it was as if the sunlight was penetrating through the lights themselves. But it was probably the video itself.   I figured they were lanterns of some type with candles or whatever they use inside them and I thought they could've been launched in memory of, or even a small celebration of something. 

Just my imagination.    

Edited October 5, 2019 by Gwynbleidd

[Chewie1990]

Well @stereologist just saved me a lot of typing with those posts, I think you pretty much covered all the bases there..

As a more general observation it amazes me how often UFO videos are like this - a small percentage of the video focused on the object, no attempt to zoom or focus and turn the camera off after just a few seconds - and then expect to be taken seriously

Makes it hard to look past the probability that the guy filming knows that what he's looking at is nothing special to start with

It's also funny how nobody else from the ferry or mainland is posting their footage of the same lights - usually suggesting either nothing is happening at all or noone else thinks it's anything out of the ordinary

Or the MIB got to them first..

[Hazzard]

41 minutes ago, Chewie1990 said:

It's also funny how nobody else from the ferry or mainland is posting their footage of the same lights - usually suggesting either nothing is happening at all or noone else thinks it's anything out of the ordinary

Or the MIB got to them first..

 

[Stiff]

2 hours ago, Hazzard said:

 

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

9 hours ago, Gwynbleidd said:

I agree EoT - I think they looked rather pretty. 

I'm not sure I think they're extraterrestrial in nature. 

Neither do I but I have seen a prolific and popular case of UFOs (4), that look strikingly similar. (google 1952 UFOs over Salem Coast Guard Station for photo). They are similar in appearance, and they get dim, then bright, according to the photographer. Can't ever insist they or any are ET but who knows?!

Quote

I thought they looked like a bunch of lanterns of some type which were all launched off a boat out there somewhere.  The boat then cruised off to get a better view from afar (therefore wasn't in the video) as they just float up and glow brighter than each other at sunset by the looks. 

Wouldn't lanterns exhibit some sway and drift apart from one another? Plus the size of the objects here I would think is quite big due to perceived distance of objects,  and the whole object is lit. I can't really connect with lanterns or flares.

Quote

The lighting could affect it perhaps, as to me it was as if the sunlight was penetrating through the lights themselves. But it was probably the video itself.   I figured they were lanterns of some type with candles or whatever they use inside them and I thought they could've been launched in memory of, or even a small celebration of something. 

Remember, this is when the sun is out so at that distance, it would take a lot more light than candles (lanterns) to be that bright.

Quote

Just my imagination.    

And what a wonderful one, too 

Edited October 5, 2019 by Earl.Of.Trumps

[mdbuilder]

A flotilla of harmless, randomly launched, brightly lit weather balloons...

[stereologist]

These are lanterns. It is sunset and the lanterns are lit up by the sun since they are high enough. We also can't trust a simple phone on video to give us any sense of brightness or size.

These objects are the size of a pixel. We can't tell anything about their size or the distance to the objects. We can't even tell if they are close to each other.

These are all basic issues in stereometry and stereology. These sciences prove that such issues as size, brightness, proximity are not knowable from single images.

In addition being single pixels means we cannot know anything about the size, shape, or actions of the objects in the video.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

1 hour ago, mdbuilder said:

A flotilla of harmless, randomly launched, brightly lit weather balloons...

LOL  the weather bureau in North Carolina was very busy, that is for sure.

[RAyMO]

On 10/4/2019 at 12:19 PM, esoteric_toad said:

Sort of like bigfoot prints, if you find them you NEVER actually try and follow them.

well personally yip - I wouldn't.

[Trelane]

Definitely not a plesiosaur.

[Golden Duck]

Why would people release Chinese Lanterns at sunset?

The brightness looks as though it obfuscates the directional lights for line of sight flying.

I guess balloons.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

3 hours ago, Trelane said:

Definitely not a plesiosaur.

We need DNA before you can assert that  

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

3 hours ago, seanjo said:

There are numerous military bases in North Carolina, these could be flares.

"There are numerous Intelligent civilizations in the MW galaxy. These could be Aliens" 

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

2 hours ago, Golden Duck said:

Why would people release Chinese Lanterns at sunset?

The brightness looks as though it obfuscates the directional lights for line of sight flying.

I guess balloons.

I went back and looked closely at the still pic, that is the best enlargement we have in the article.

I would guess the distance to these objects is about 2-3 miles. With that said, it makes the objects to be about the size of a hot air balloon or less. But I see no appendage hanging off of the "balloons" so, no, not hot air/helium balloons. 

Next, these objects are not round as you would expect. Their shape is non descript and it seems, and shape and size, variable.

Then we see that there is no shading on any side of any balloon that one would expect if the sun was responsible for lighting them and we don't see that. I am pretty sure these objects are self illuminated.

And the objects never drift out of position. It is as if they were fixed to each other some how and their relative distance to each other just does not change.

My judgement says, not balloons.

The objects are too big to be flares and also no parachute device to hold said flare air born is visible. Plus the distance between them being fixed, never any sway suggests the same thing, not flares.

No idea what they are. 

[Golden Duck]

1 hour ago, Earl.Of.Trumps said:

I went back and looked closely at the still pic, that is the best enlargement we have in the article.

I would guess the distance to these objects is about 2-3 miles. With that said, it makes the objects to be about the size of a hot air balloon or less. But I see no appendage hanging off of the "balloons" so, no, not hot air/helium balloons. 

Next, these objects are not round as you would expect. Their shape is non descript and it seems, and shape and size, variable.

Then we see that there is no shading on any side of any balloon that one would expect if the sun was responsible for lighting them and we don't see that. I am pretty sure these objects are self illuminated.

And the objects never drift out of position. It is as if they were fixed to each other some how and their relative distance to each other just does not change.

My judgement says, not balloons.

The objects are too big to be flares and also no parachute device to hold said flare air born is visible. Plus the distance between them being fixed, never any sway suggests the same thing, not flares.

No idea what they are. 

I had a quick look for any organised events around Pimlico but I couldn't find anything.

I guess it's reflected sunlight because you don't get a sense of the size of the reflector (mirror) when the light hits you. And, the boat might be in the ideal spot to see reflected light.

Does the USA have rules on launching Chinese Lanterns?

[Chewie1990]

29 minutes ago, Earl.Of.Trumps said:

I went back and looked closely at the still pic, that is the best enlargement we have in the article.

True - still a terrible quality image though that gives away literally nothing about the shape, size or distance of the objects. They could be orbs of light, or objects at a distance emitting a bright light that makes the rest of the object hard to see - for example planes on approach to an airport look pretty similar to that until they get close enough where details like the wings become apparent

I would guess the distance to these objects is about 2-3 miles.

Based on what out of interest? There are no landmarks or points of reference - these could be tiny objects close to the lens or huge objects a long way away. Lack of relative movement suggests the distance is greater rather than shorter but anything is possible based on the image alone

With that said, it makes the objects to be about the size of a hot air balloon or less. But I see no appendage hanging off of the "balloons" so, no, not hot air/helium balloons. 

Again, how can you judge scale without reference? Much like the plane example above I very much doubt you could make out the basket at a distance if the light is that bright.

Then again, why would an air balloon glow like that?

Next, these objects are not round as you would expect. Their shape is non descript and it seems, and shape and size, variable.

Many variables could affect this, many involving the camera itself and the video quality. It doesn't help that the photographer doesn't really point directly at the objects and whips from side to side and it appears the camera struggles to actually focus on the lights a couple of times. All of this can skew the shapes we perceive. Especially when taking a still image from a video like that. I'd wager if you isolated other frames from the video the shapes would look different again

Then we see that there is no shading on any side of any balloon that one would expect if the sun was responsible for lighting them and we don't see that. I am pretty sure these objects are self illuminated.

You'd expect to be able to see that from that kind of distance? (Whatever distance that is..)

Personally I'm not convinced. Though in fairness if I had to guess I'd agree the objects are self-illuminated.  Not enough to rule out a reflection, but that's my gut feeling

And the objects never drift out of position. It is as if they were fixed to each other some how and their relative distance to each other just does not change.

Or they're a long way away and relative movement of tens or even hundreds of feet is barely perceptible as you would expect? If the video went on for another 5 minutes or so with no change I might agree with you. Then again, short of forensically deconstructing the clip frame by frame I can't even say for sure there is no relative movement, the jerky camera work puts paid to that..

Then again

My judgement says, not balloons.

I'd tend to agree

The objects are too big to be flares and also no parachute device to hold said flare air born is visible. Plus the distance between them being fixed, never any sway suggests the same thing, not flares.

..but here's where I disagree. We can't judge the scale to rule out flares. The parachutes probably wouldn't be visible due to the distance and overwhelming brightness of the flares. The lack of relative movement seems to line up with flares in relatively still air. Winds can move them around but if you get a still night they could hang there like that for a while

No idea what they are.

Me neither for sure, but gun to my head I'm saying flares makes the most sense

 

The idea of 14 UFO's converging in the middle of the Sound, all brightly lit and maintaining perfect formation for.. some reason, isn't compelling enough to make it a viable option for me I'm afraid.

Is it possible? Sure, I guess

Is it more likely than flares? (Or even Chinese lanterns?) No way

 

[the13bats]

Basically everything has been covered and I'm convinced for now these are boring prosaic sky lanterns.

When we were hitting the beach almost daily metal detecting we dont like sun or crowds and went late in the day and stayed late night using head lights.

we saw more sky lanturn than we can count up, they do behave and some look odd, at first one could think "UFO"

they do get fairly bright and we know that a cell phone can play games with how bright something looks, sun does hit them odd at times and they do come in various shapes, these "look" just like them, and in the few seconds we see them flares could fit too.

It's of zero scientific value to try to take a series of unknowns and to come up with the size or distance of an object in the sky with nothing to reference it, to make claims otherwise isnt of any Merritt, just guessing.

The biggest nail in the coffin on this one for me is the very dramatic yet horrible cameraman, he pushes that nothing's in the sky they walla he has a fleet of UFOs does he get serious and try to hold the camera on them? no, he cheeses out panning the sky that no one cares to see, we see the sky lanturns a few seconds,  he knew they were there and what they were.

do I 100% know these are sky lanturns, flares etc? no, but as a whole im sure not using this as evidence of anything other than a few unknown ( likely sky lanturns ) in the sky.

[Grim Reaper 6]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:46 PM, UM-Bot said:

William Guy had been traveling on a ferry off North Carolina when he spotted a cluster of strange lights.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/331007/ufo-fleet-caught-on-camera-off-us-coast

I don't claim to know what the lights were but, it is an interesting video. It also doesn't appear the person with the camera was involved in trying to fake anything. But I don't think it is UFOs, there has to be a rational explanation for what we are seeing in the video.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Manwon Lender

[the13bats]

5 minutes ago, Manwon Lender said:

t also doesn't appear the person with the camera was involved in trying to fake anything

i think he knew what the objects were...

[Grim Reaper 6]

33 minutes ago, the13bats said:

i think he knew what the objects were...

You could be right, it sure seems that's what everyone else thinks too.

Take Care

[stereologist]

Although some people might try to guess a distance form a still  image it is not possible to do that.

Are the objects 1 mile or 2 miles or 10 miles or 20, 30, 40, miles away?

It is impossible to assess that from a single image.

On the other hand there are those that like to pretend they can do that. It's just a failure to understand the basic concepts of distance detection. An example of the proper method of distance detection was performed by Bruce Maccabee with event #2 of the Phoenix Lights. He showed that Lynne Kitei was completely and utterly wrong about the lights being close to her house.

These lights too are single pixel objects. The fact that nothing can be seen other than a single pixel tells us that other matters such as scaling cannot be used to determine distance.

Such crappy videos of lights in the sky simply are worthless when it comes to understanding what was seen.

[Skulduggery]

13 hours ago, stereologist said:

These are lanterns. It is sunset and the lanterns are lit up by the sun since they are high enough. We also can't trust a simple phone on video to give us any sense of brightness or size.

These objects are the size of a pixel. We can't tell anything about their size or the distance to the objects. We can't even tell if they are close to each other.

These are all basic issues in stereometry and stereology. These sciences prove that such issues as size, brightness, proximity are not knowable from single images.

In addition being single pixels means we cannot know anything about the size, shape, or actions of the objects in the video.

While I agree with you, I would refrain from saying something like “these are _____” as if it is conclusive. I’d say likely. These probably are lanterns. But without 100% proper ID, I would only hazard an educated guess rather than making a declaration of absolute.