Tag: Natural Phenomena

13-102-AN1 (Olney, IL)

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Date of Sighting: 05/28/2012

Time of Sighting: 2:00 a.m – 4:15 a.m

Location of UFO: Olney, IL, US

UFO Report: Went out in the middle of the country alone to star watch.  Was driving to get to a good spot to park, and then noticed an orange orb in my rear view mirror.  After making several turns it was still perfectly center in my rear view mirror but only as a small orange orb.  I then parked and sat on my trunk as this orb maintained its distance.  I continued to sit there and talk to it as if it was standing right next to me.  At about 4:15 a.m. the small orb grew into a big bright light for maybe 30-45 secs and then vanished.  It was starting to turn into daylight, but the sun was not over the horizon. You can tell in the picture that it is not the sun as it is in front of the tree line.  This is not my first u.f.o. experience as I have had multiple sightings of objects that I could not explain to myself flying in the sky, but this is the only photo I was able to take.  I just would really appreciate it if you could do some sort of review of the photo and give me a scientific explanation of this orb I witnessed.  I also have 3 different pictures of this object that I took back to back to back, all of them in various sizes,  but it will only allow me upload one.

Evidence Submitted: Photo

Initial Action: Case opened as an AN1.

Investigation and Findings:  Historical case only.

Object Details: Unresolved. Appears to be a lens flare. Witness did not want an investigation.

13-066-AN1 (Arizona City, AZ)

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Synopsis: On 10 Jan 13, at 0800, witness was driving near Arizona City, AZ when he noticed a strange object in the horizon. The witness then used a camera to take a photo of an object that appeared in the shape of a classic “flying saucer”.

Evidence Submitted: Photo

Initial Action: Case opened as an AN1.

Investigation and Findings:  Investigation complete. There was no indication on anything in this case but a perfect example of a lenticular cloud formation. There were no other objects or odd cloud sightings reported by UFO reporting databases from others in that area during that time frame. The “metallic” appearance mentioned by the WITNESS actually appears to just be the sun glinting off the cloud prominently. With no other evidence to the contrary, Investigator is confident closing this case as “Solved: Identified as classic lenticular cloud formation.”

Object Details: A lenticular cloud.

 

13-056-AN1 (Washington, DC)

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Synopsis: On 23 July 2103, a witness used a cellphone to take photos of a “strange object” hovering over Washington, DC.

Evidence Submitted: Photo

Initial Action: Case opened as an AN1.

Investigation and Findings: After a thorough investigation, the objects were identified as camera lens flares and reflections off windshield.

Object Details: Lens flare and reflection.

13-054-AN1 (Piqua, Ohio)

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Synopsis: On 23 May 2013, witness was in her car in front of a school during a rain shower. After the rain stopped, the witness started taking photos of the sky. Upon review of the photos, witness noticed a “strange object” in one of the photos.

Evidence Submitted: Original photo.

Initial Action: Case opened as an AN1.

Investigation and Findings:  Based on the information obtained,  two interviews with the witness,  and an examination of the submitted photographs (and a test photograph), this sighting is the result of precipitation on a dirty windshield.

Object Details: Natural Phenomena.

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13-026-FB1 (Portsmouth, Rhode Island)

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Synopsis: On 26 May 2013, at approximately 1540, the witness of this investigation took a photo of an unknown object while taking photography of a bird.

Evidence Submitted: Original photo.

Initial Action: Case opened as an FB1.

Investigation and Findings:  This investigation is still Closed.

Object Details: Photo analysis revealed a bird, out of focus, in flight.

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13-016-AN1 (Germantown MD)

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Synopsis: On 20 Jan 13, the witness of this investigation was driving and noticed a large object in the sky. The witness stopped the vehicle and took a photo of the object. On March 8th, while reviewing the photo, the witness noticed a “dark line” that seemed to rip through the sky. The witness thought it was something on the vehicle’s windshield – but upon further inspected noted it was not.

Evidence Submitted: Original photo.

Initial Action: Case opened as an AN1.

Investigation and Findings:  This investigation is closed.

Object Details: All indication point to the WITNESS having observed and photographed an upper atmospheric disturbance known as “shear instability” in the midst of forming.  Researcher contacted a local expert and educator, Dr. James Carton, Chair of the Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies at the University of MD who said in his e-mail reply of March 22, 2013: “Looks a bit like Shear Instability.”  Further internet research showed instances of similar looking upper air disturbances.  Although it cannot be stated with 100% certainty, all indications point to shear instability as the cause for the observed aerial phenomenon.

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13-001-AN1 (Santiago, Dominican Republic)

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Synopsis: On 02 Jan 2013, at 1438 hours, the witness of this investigation was taking photos of the sky with a Samsung Galaxy SIII cell phone. Upon reviewing the photos, the witness claims to have taken a photo of a UFO.

Evidence Submitted: Original photo.

Initial Action: Case opened as an AN1.

Investigation and Findings:  Forensic analysis of the photo indicated the object is a lens flare.

Object Details: Identified as a lens flare.

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12-100-AN1 (Queensbury, NY)

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Synopsis: On 03 Jan 99, at 1900 hours, the witness of this investigation saw a UFO hovering over the mountains near his home. According to the witness, the UFO was a “saucer that evaporated”.

Evidence Submitted: Video

Initial Action: Case opened as an AN1.

Investigation and Findings:  During the interview, the witness claimed to have seen the UFO hovering just above Lockhart Mountain. A fusion of weather, terrain, and astronomical data, to include witness interview, highly suggest the object observed by the witness was the planet Venus. The camcorder used by the witness would have likely forced the camera’s optics to focus in and out – giving it the illusion that the object was glowing and morphing. Additionally, the shifting of colors is likely due to atmospheric scintillation.

Object Details: Venus

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12-089-AN1 (Baltimore, MD)

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Synopsis: According to the witness, at 1845 hours on of 21 Nov 12, he was outside his home and saw an object in the sky that made him curious. The witness used his camcorder to zoom in on the object and, according to him, captured a “plasma UFO” on camera.

Evidence Submitted: Original video.

Initial Action: This UFO case was opened as a AN1, an anomaly that left no lasting physical effects, such as lights in the sky and similar phenomena.

Investigation and Findings:  The investigator interviewed the witness of this investigation (three times) and was deemed sincere and credible. An analysis of the celestial map the witness observed on 21 Nov 12; and an analysis of the witness’s video indicated a celestial object in/out of focus. On 24 Nov 12, at 1845 hours, API conducted an on-site investigation and observed the celestial object the witness reported. Investigators used a Canon 60D DSLR with a 70-300 mm telephoto lens and recorded several stars, including the star Menkalinan. When the camera’s optics attempted to focus on the Menkalinan, the star came in/out of focus giving them the appearance that it was a glowing orb; the red, blue, and purple colors, which the witness believed was plasma, is a natural phenomena called atmospheric scintillation. On 01 Dec 12, the investigator met with the witness and agreed the object was the star Menkalinan.

Object Details: The star Menkalinan in/out of focus combined with atmospheric scintillation. Menkalinan is a class A star with a temperature of 9200 K, not very different from Vega or Sirius. From its distance of 82 light years, we calculate a luminosity of 95 times the Sun’s, somewhat brighter than a normal class A main sequence star should be.

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12-075-AN1 (Morley, West Yorkshire)

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Synopsis: On 29 Sep 12, at midnight, the witness of this investigation was sitting on a porch and saw a very bright light in the sky. The light appeared to get brighter and then slowly faded away. The bright light lasted about 10 seconds.

Evidence Submitted: A Sketch of the UFO

Initial Action: This UFO investigation was opened as an AN1 – an anomaly that left no lasting physical effects, such as lights in the sky and similar phenomena.

Investigation and Findings: The investigators interviewed the witness of this investigation on two separate occasions. According to the witness, the bright object appeared 45°above the horizon and slowly fell until it dimmed away. After the interview, the investigators conducted research regarding any known meteor activity in the West Yorkshire area. According to several credible websites that track meteor reports, several witnesses reported a large meteor on the same date and time the witness of this investigation saw the UFO. The description of the object provided by the witness and the meteor activity in the same area concluded the object was a meteor.

Object Details: Meteor