Strange lights in Harrisburg

[Kittamaru]

http://www.abc27.com/story/26376997...oman-and-neighbors-see-ufo#.U_0RpmaLJ3c.gmail

Stephanie Wilkerson was enjoying a glass of wine on her porch Monday night when she looked up in the sky and saw something that caught her attention.
At first, Wilkerson says she thought it was an airplane, until she it started changing colors and moving.
She then called her husband outside and a few minutes later she asked her neighbor to stop by. She said her neighbor was, "amazed and he went and got his binoculars," said Wilkerson, "he thought it was a planet, until it turned yellow right before our eyes."
Then Stephanie called Lower Paxton Township Police.
An officer stopped by and saw the object so he called his superiors, who also stopped by and could not believe what they were seeing.
One officer called Fort Indiantown Gap and Harrisburg International Airport to find out if they had aircraft activity in the area and both reported no flight activity at that time.
Stephanie says she was not a believer in UFO sightings until Monday night.

I am... not sure what to think of this. We have several credible eye witnesses, including Police Officers... including the LP Corporal...

Definitely a UFO as it is unidentified... but the question then is... what in the hells is it?

EDIT - worth noting - it looks like this was filmed, literally, a five minute drive from where I live...

 

[Russ_Watters]

I am... not sure what to think of this. We have several credible eye witnesses, including Police Officers... including the LP Corporal...

There isn't enough information provided to tell anything. But sure -- they did see something. This is funny though (and yes, it is funny no one thought to take a picture):

"Stephanie says she was not a believer in UFO sightings until Monday night."

Sounds like she doesn't know what "UFO" means since "UFO" isn't something to be a "believer in".

 

[Stryder]

I'd question "Hot Air Ballooning" since they don't have to speak to Air Traffic control if they aren't in any flight paths or airport controlled areas.

It's been getting more popular in recent years and if there is only one light in the sky (from the balloon being heated) then it's likely a private charter. (In cases where there is large numbers of lights in the sky it can be down to an actual ballooning event) From what was suggested Balloons tend to take off at Dawn and Dusk, so it could of easily been a night flight.

 

[Arne Saknussemm]

This is exactly why people shouldn't be drinking wine on their porches! :grumble:

 

[Stryder]

This is exactly why people shouldn't be drinking wine on their porches! :grumble:

You think they should be spitting chewing tobacco instead?

 

[Russ_Watters]

Sorry, misread/misheard -- she did shoot a cell phone video. Yellow-orange dot: looks like a fire balloon to me. They said another neighbor saw it and said he thought it was a helicopter.

 

[Russ_Watters]

From what was suggested Balloons tend to take off at Dawn and Dusk, so it could of easily been a night flight.

Hot air balloons land at dusk. It would be incredibly stupid to take off at dusk because you can't see where you are going. So it was almost certainly not a hot air balloon (passenger size anyway).

They tend to fly in the morning or just before sunset because that's when the wind is lightest.

 

[dumbest man on earth]

Evening star?
Mercury?

 

[Enmos]

There's nothing to say, because theres nothing to see... :shrug:

 

[Stryder]

Hot air balloons land at dusk. It would be incredibly stupid to take off at dusk because you can't see where you are going. So it was almost certainly not a hot air balloon (passenger size anyway).

They tend to fly in the morning or just before sunset because that's when the wind is lightest.

Indeed, however people still do it. Incidentally from the wikipedia (wikipedia)

Hot air balloons at night
In the United States, the FAA requires balloons to fly under visual flight rules. If equipped with lights that make it visible to other aircraft, balloons can fly in the dark. However, such flights are usually limited to either "dawn patrol" flights that begin before sunrise with landings made after there is sufficient light to see any obstacles or to race/record flights that typically go throughout the night and the landing again made during daylight hours.

In other words it's got to glow in the dark if they are doing a night flight.

 

[Kittamaru]

There isn't enough information provided to tell anything. But sure -- they did see something. This is funny though (and yes, it is funny no one thought to take a picture):

Sounds like she doesn't know what "UFO" means since "UFO" isn't something to be a "believer in".

They had a video of it Russ - thing is, it was from a cell phone XD So horribly blurred.

I'd question "Hot Air Ballooning" since they don't have to speak to Air Traffic control if they aren't in any flight paths or airport controlled areas.

It's been getting more popular in recent years and if there is only one light in the sky (from the balloon being heated) then it's likely a private charter. (In cases where there is large numbers of lights in the sky it can be down to an actual ballooning event) From what was suggested Balloons tend to take off at Dawn and Dusk, so it could of easily been a night flight.

Ah, now there's one I didn't think of! And it would explain the color changes as well - it'd get more yellow/orange as the burner is used!

Hot air balloons land at dusk. It would be incredibly stupid to take off at dusk because you can't see where you are going. So it was almost certainly not a hot air balloon (passenger size anyway).

They tend to fly in the morning or just before sunset because that's when the wind is lightest.

Oh? I guess that makes sense, actually... I've never gone ballooning, I've no idea when they generally fly

Indeed, however people still do it. Incidentally from the wikipedia (wikipedia)


In other words it's got to glow in the dark if they are doing a night flight.

That's interesting - a glow in the dark balloon would be awesome!

 

[Arne Saknussemm]

Even more awesome is when you tie a small rock to a plastic bag and throw it up in the air as high as you can, and it looks like a little paratrooper coming down.

... then again, maybe a glow in the dark balloon flying at night would be more awesome.


...difficult to say, really...