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