Plague Of The Chinese Lanterns
James Neff
Sightings.com
6.8.10


Update: The Plague Continues...

Even eyes familiar with common aerial craft are being mesmerized and perplexed by the Chinese Lanterns, as this recent report reveals:

Lights Spark More UFO Claims
4:55pm Wednesday 16th June 2010

The Gazette reported last week how UFO-sceptic John Tarrier saw unidentified flying objects over Jaywick. Three days later, Sue Alderton also had a close encounter.

She went into the garden of her house in Havering Close, Clacton, at 10pm.
“I noticed three bright orange, glowing, lights to the west – quite big in size," she said.
“They just appeared and were travelling from east to west. They were quite high up and seemed to be travelling fairly fast.
“My husband also witnessed this."

Chinese lanterns are often mistaken for UFOs as they float into the sky. But Sue insisted: “There is no way these were Chinese lanterns.” Brenda Scragg has also seen strange lights over her Clacton home more than once.

“There were three lights like a helicopter’s flying in formation.
“I’m not a UFO-type of person and I used to be in the RAF, so I know it wasn’t a helicopter. I thought it was really strange because there was no noise.”

There were more reports on Saturday night, but Tracey White, of Purley Way, said she has the explanation.

“My 16-year-old daughter, Natasha, was at a party down by the airfield and they were letting off Chinese lanterns.”

www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk

Original Article:

It seems the UK is undergoing the most phenomenal UFO flap of all time, with one particular species of ET traveling in bright orange, fiery, glowing globes. Invasion? Not quite. Unless you consider an invasion of Chinese Lanterns the "...vanguard of an invading army from the planet Mars..." to quote H.G. Welles' War of the Worlds.

Report after report comes in, to UFO reporting stations (including here at Sightings.com as you have seen) and police houses and news rooms, people are seeing strange orange orbs in the sky, usually at night, some performing what they believe to be impossible aerial acrobatics. One witness noted that he knew what he saw was not a Chinese Lantern because it moved opposite of the wind direction, apparently completely unaware of the fact that air currents can and do run in absolutely opposing directions at various heights. Just because the wind is blowing SE where one is on the ground, doesn't mean a thing 4000 feet up. It could be churning in the opposite direction entirely. It is one of the grand elements involved in inclement weather conditions and the reason why small aircraft have to be keenly aware of changing air conditions.

Lanterns caught in small vortexes appear to spin wildly, and encountering wind sheer they can appear to plummet at incredible speeds seemingly "not of this world" or "any known aircraft." Add to that the illusion of distance and height, and judging that distance/height, as well as the size of the brightly illuminated decorative gone-awry, can be extremely tricky and provide for some horrendously distorted reports. Some have come in with people believing they are seeing something several hundred feet wide and five miles away, when it's really only a few feet in diameter and relatively close by. When strung together they can quite often appear to be the multiple lights of one single, enormous craft.

So, the plague of the Chinese Lanterns, apparently extremely popular in the British isles, either for legitimate parties or sent aloft by giggling teens having a good larf on all the "UFO nuts," continues on. It's doubtful the supply of these paper and hot-air propelled sky-torches will run out any time soon.

Until then, the report headline of "Bright orange light..." will stack up like pancakes. And no doubt interspersed among them will be the occasional other-worldly craft which just happens to be orange and just happens to flicker or pulse with light. Good luck discerning between them!

Additional Material: Chinese Lanterns Or UFO Invasion? - Data File