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The UFO Phenomenon

UFOs spotted hovering over a smoking ship

By T.K. Randall
October 13, 2013 · Comment icon 39 comments

An analyst has downplayed the possibility that the lights were flares. Image Credit: YouTube / looknowtv
A video has appeared online showing unusual lights in the sky above a boat off the California coast.
Little is known about the origins of the video save for some brief details claiming that the footage was filmed in September. The cameraman appears to be located on a beach looking across the ocean at a ship that seems to have run in to some trouble with smoke billowing from the hull.

"You can see a few UFOs flying over or behind this ship which appears to have a large amount of smoke coming from it," the video caption states. "Whether or not this UFO sighting is captured during a fire on the ship is unclear."
The most obvious explanation is that the strange lights are actually flares, a scenario that would seem to make sense given the circumstances. The uploader however has specifically downplayed this possibility by stating "when we first viewed this tape, we thought that the UFOs might be military flares released from a plane at sea, but military flares do not fly up, they float straight down."

FX Models owner and Huffington Post UFO analyst Marc Dantonio also seems to agree with this assessment. "Although the initial video event shows something that looks like flares, the subsequent behavior does not match the expected behavior," he said. "Parachute flares would not appear to hang in the sky like this unless they were quite far away, perhaps 30-plus miles away when seen."



Source: Huffington Post | Comments (39)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #30 Posted by Amerix 11 years ago
What came to mind was that they were emergency flares, thanks to the deion. But the lights didnt have the conventional gravity drag that flares are subject to. It would depend on what type of flare was used. Naval ships will often use para-flair type flares that will hover longer for other ships/aircraft to spot. That one that looks like it's taking off looks exactly like one of those types of flares that get caught in a gust of wind. And the fact that it went out during that gust only further draws me to the conclusion that these were in fact, just flares.
Comment icon #31 Posted by HDesiato 11 years ago
In the Huffpo source article, they mention: "F35 afterburners". F35 trials were completed relatively recent to the video release. I've been looking for decent footage for examples of their color, intensity and duration. It seems like a potential match, but I hope to gather better info soon to back up the idea.
Comment icon #32 Posted by freetoroam 11 years ago
I haven't seen anything about any merchant ship in distress anywhere off California recently, there's nothing on Go Ogle of anything of the sort apart from this video. The location and the date are as usual irritatingly vague, It is also very possible the flares have nothing at all to do with that ship, as pointed out, it is difficult to tell how far away the flares are from the ship, it could well be many miles and could well be a little boat filled with some unlucky people who have got themselves stranded. Would not be unusual for 2 completely unrelated stories forming one st ory when taken ... [More]
Comment icon #33 Posted by Finity 11 years ago
Still could be flares. The heat from the fire might be able to keep them floating for a while. They don't weigh very much.
Comment icon #34 Posted by sinewave 11 years ago
To my eye here is not enough there to draw meaningful conclusions. It is certainly possible it is faked or altered. It is another grainy long distance video that could be real or could be fake. The lights don't appear to be flares. If the ship is really in trouble, perhaps they are Coast Guard or news helicopters surveying the scene?
Comment icon #35 Posted by wdsta1 11 years ago
the lights look way farther thn the ship,no debate just personal opinion..hahaa
Comment icon #36 Posted by sinewave 11 years ago
the lights look way farther thn the ship,no debate just personal opinion..hahaa Yes, that occurred to me too. The depth of field is not very clear so you could be right. The airspace behind the ship could have been an airport approach path. Maybe planes in a holding pattern.
Comment icon #37 Posted by spacelizard667 11 years ago
I would like to inquire as to what had caused that ship's distress; the ufo video looked like the real thing to me.
Comment icon #38 Posted by alfonso 11 years ago
Chinese lanterns ? probably what started the fire in the first place
Comment icon #39 Posted by Vigilanis 11 years ago
Video definitely looks real and un-doctored....I can't help but feel that they are flares of some sort. Be they personal flares, or ones deployed by aircraft etc I don't know. I follow the opinion that they are not seen to be as mobile as one would expect because they are perhaps several miles away and probably deployed from lifeboats....it is only an opinion from the usual grainy video though, so who knows?


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