Once in a Lifetime: Transit of Venus, Tuesday, June 5, 2012

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Image courtesy Space.com.
Read the full story here.

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Transit of Venus: This Tuesday (or 2117)

(May 31, 2012)  How far away is the sun? Over a period of several hundred years, the answer to this seemingly simple question was one of the Holy Grails of astronomy, and for good reason: The mean sun-Earth distance, known as the astronomical unit, or AU, is our fundamental datum for the size of the universe. It’s the first step on the “distance ladder,” which allows astronomers to determine how far stars and galaxies are away from us, essentially putting the cosmos into perspective.

After the publication in 1543 of Copernicus’ proof, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the Earth and other planets orbited the sun, nearly two centuries would pass before Johannes Kepler showed that the relative size of a planet’s orbit could be derived from the length of its period around the sun. (This is Kepler’s “third law of planetary motion.”) What was missing was the absolute scale, which comes down to finding the value of the AU, since everything depends on accurately measuring this one critical distance. The great British astronomer Edmund Halley, who lived from 1656 to 1742  — and who correctly predicted the return of his eponymous comet in 1759  — realized that a transit of Venus, when the planet can be seen crossing the sun’s disk, would provide a practical way of determining the AU. This is why next Tuesday’s event is so historically important.

Venus just after “second contact,” beginning its June 8, 2004 transit across the face of the sun.
JAN HEROLD, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Transits of Venus are rare. They come in a 243-year pattern, with pairs occurring eight years apart that are then separated by 121.5 and 105.5 years. The pattern derives from the resonance between Earth and Venus: 243 Earth orbits equal almost exactly — within 10 hours! — 395 Venus orbits. Following Halley’s insight, astronomers were anxious to take advantage of the 1761/1769 pair of transits to nail down the value of the AU. In particular, the 1769 transit was observed from all over, including Tahiti, Siberia, Calcutta and Cape Town. Averaging out the results established the AU to better than 10 percent of its true value.

Due to parallax, during a transit Venus appears to track along slightly different parallel paths across the face of the sun when observed from, say, Tokyo and Sydney. These paths are very close together  — too close to reliably measure how far apart they are. Halley’s trick was to measure the difference in transit time for each observer, from which the AU can be calculated (details at www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Svenus1.htm). For instance, during next week’s transit, an observer in Tokyo will see Venus take 6 hours 1 minute 33 seconds to cross the sun from “second contact” (moving inward, just inside sun’s disk) to “third contact” (moving outward, just inside). The equivalent period for an observer in Sydney, Australia, is 9 minutes 15 seconds less, and that’s the key to deriving the AU.

On Tuesday afternoon (June 5), it should be possible to see the disk of Venus, 1/32 of the sun’s diameter, without magnification (at least for youngsters, whose good eyes can resolve to the necessary one minute of arc). The same cautions apply as for the annular eclipse, or for any solar viewing: No naked eyes! No viewing through unfiltered binocs or telescopes! See the sidebar to the May 17 annular eclipse story for tips on safe viewing. “First contact” in Humboldt occurs at about 3:07 p.m. and Venus will still be transiting the sun at sunset. And good luck: If you miss this one, you won’t get another until 2117.

Barry Evans (barryevans9@yahoo.com) pessimistically assumes this may be his last transit of Venus.

News Source:  Northcoastjournal.com

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I have to agree with Mr. Evans assumption, for myself as well.  

Click image for larger view.
Image courtesy NASA and Canada.com

As for viewing the transit, please use caution and common sense!  Do not attempt to view the sun while looking through telescopes or binoculars, with the naked eye, or the naked eye alone!  Such methods would seriously damage your eyes and even cause permanent blindness.  

[Note: The sun can also damage the sensitive lens of a camera/video cam.]

For six safe ways to see the transit, please go here. 

http://www.transitofvenus.org/june2012/eye-safety/281-six-ways-to-see-the-transit-of-venus

Happy, safe viewing of a once-in-a-lifetime event! - Sunny

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Video: Red/orange Lights Over Hernando, MS - 5/26/2012

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                             Witness' videos
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I received an email last night, from a gentleman, who along with his wife and parents, saw strange red/orange lights in the sky in Hernando, Mississippi.

Hernando, MS is located south of Memphis, Tennessee (I-55).

I corresponded with him and he sent in videos of that event.  Presented here, are those videos and the witness' report.

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Location: Hernando, MS
Date: 05/26/2012
Time: 21:00
Shape: Orb/Sphere/Lights
Distance: 1 mile

"My wife, my two parents and I saw something identical to this tonight in Hernando, MS. I also have video of it that I will send you if you'd like to see it."

After I emailed him back and told him I would like to see the video and read his report, he wrote:

"What we saw were several redish, glowing lights in the sky moving very slowly towards the northwest. We live close to Memphis, TN, so I see many planes day and night, and this was certainly not that. They flickered, move very slowly, and faded away slowly over about a 5 to 10 minute time frame. After seeing them, I googled "lights in the sky", and came across a video on your website that showed something very similar to what we saw. The video on your site was from Texas.  I will send the video of what we saw in a separate email.

Here is the video of what we saw tonight. It was around 9pm central time."

See Video above.

When I asked him about distance, size of the objects and if they could have been known objects such as 'Chinese lanterns', he replied:

"It's hard for me to estimate, but I'd guess they were about a mile away, probably 1500 ft high and the size would be smaller than a pea at arms length.

I would say that they did look like Chinese lanterns, although I've never seen them in this area, and they were moving against the wind. The wind was moving south/southeast, and they were moving northwest. They were what I'd guess Chinese lanterns look like though."

Conclusion:  Could these lights have been Chinese lanterns?  I don't know of any paper lanterns that can float against the wind.  The witness states that the wind was blowing in a direction opposite to the objects travel. 
There is yet to be a definitive answer, as to what these lights were.

If you saw these lights in Hernando, Mississippi, or elsewhere, please report your sighting.


Related posts:
Fiery Red/orange Orbs Over San Marcos, TX - 05/11/2012

League City, Texas: Red/orange objects flying slow and in formation

Update: League City, Texas Lights, also seen in Missouri and Pennsylvania

Additional Reports of Lights Over League City


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Additional Reports of Lights Over League City

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Video link


A witness saw the red/orange lights over League City, Texas, on May 18, 2012. He managed to capture a minute of video on his phone.

Another witness wrote in to say:

Hey waited a couple days to see how many posts were made up at 9pm in Katy tx just south of I10 my mother in law took her dog out to the back and she looked up and saw a set of 3 lights going across the sky. They moved slow, no noise, reddish flicker, they moved east to west north west. She called me over and over again to come upside and finally I answered, went outside and saw them too. Here's the difference. As three crossed the sky, three more would appear, always from the same origination point.

As they crossed the sky they went out. This continued and my mother in law counted 41 total objects going across the sky. They all appeared in the same area and all went out in the same area on the other side. I only saw the last 12 or so but I saw how they moved and appeared/dissapepeared. I did not have time to get a camera but I got one and we both drive out in the direction to see if it would happen again. It didn't.

41 in total! And that's only what she saw.

Another witness sent in a report:

FRIDAY MAY 18, 2012
BETWEEN 8:30-9PM

How many witnesses;
TWO

Note how long the sighting lasted;
APPROX. 5 MINUTES

Note where the sighting occurred;
LEAGUE CITY, TX

Note how far the object was from you;
APPROX. 400 YARDS

Note how high off the ground the object(s) appeared to be;
LESS THAN 1,000 FT
LOW ENOUGH TO BE BLOCKED BY HOUSING/TREES

Note size, color and shape of object(s);
SIZE OF A PENCIL ERASER HELD AT ARMS LENGTH, 6-8 LIGHT RED OVAL-SHAPED ORBS

If any lights, note color, shape, intensity, how many;
6-8 BRIGHT LIGHT RED GLOWING LIGHTS, NO FLASHING OR CHANGE OF COLOR, SLOW MOVING, NO DISTINCT FORMATION, CLOSE ENOUGH TO HEAR NOISE IF NOISE HAD BEEN PRESENT, SIZE OF PENCIL ERASER HELD AT ARMS LENGTH, SLOWLY MOVED FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTH, NO ERRATIC MOVEMENTS, VERY STEADY, OBVIOUSLY NOT AIRPLANES OR HELICOPTERS.

UFO lights were seen from my backyard in League City, TX near Austin St. and 518 at about 8:30 or 9:00 PM on May 18, 2012. The oval-shaped lights were very pronounced and almost reddish in color. There were about 6-8 of them in a very odd pattern; none of them were at the same altitude or in a distinct formation. These objects were definitely close enough for us to hear noise if there had been any noise present (which there wasn't). They were about the same height as our neighborhood trees. When spotted, they were heading from the Southwest and moving North at a very slow, steady pace. None of the lights faded, flickered or changed color during this episode. Disappeared from our backyard view at approximately 9-9:05PM. Hope to find out what they are!!

And yet another saw the objects on both the 18th and 18th of May, 2012:

I live in League City near Meadow Bend I also saw them on 5/18/12 and 5/19/12 both around 9pm and got them both on video both times and really would like to know what it was.

Original Posts:

League City, Texas: Red/orange objects flying slow and in formation

Update: League City, Texas Lights, also seen in Missouri and Pennsylvania

What are the lights that witnesses in League City, other parts of the U.S. and even the world, are seeing?   Are they balloons?   Are they Chinese lanterns, released in celebration of a birthday, a wedding, or some other occasion?  Or are they something 'other worldly'?

If anyone knows for certain, or has an idea as to what these lights are, please contact me.  Let's solve this case, just as other witnesses helped solve the case of the Blue Lights Over Lubbock. -Sunny

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MIBs Inspire Movie of the Same Name

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'Men In Black' Inspired By Scary Stories Of People Who've Seen UFOs

Huffington Post- When "Men in Black 3" opens everywhere over Memorial Day weekend, most moviegoers will just be hoping this sequel matches the original for popcorn-munching fun.

But there are many people who say they've been victimized by and live in fear of real MIBs. And those stories, told for decades, are just as terrifying as they are detailed.

Ever since the early 1950s, long before the first "Men in Black" movie hit the silver screen in 1997, men dressed in identical black suits, hats and sunglasses, claiming to be government agents, have reportedly shown up in black cars at the homes or offices of people who reported UFO sightings.

According to those who were paid these unwelcome visits, the MIBs threatened or harassed the eyewitnesses into staying quiet about their UFO encounters.

Watch some reported Men in Black encounters:

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Video link

1947: Harold Dahl reported seeing a group of UFOs while he was on a boat in Washington's Puget Sound. Soon after, he said, he was approached by a black-suited individual who threatened him and his family if he ever talked again about the UFO sighting.

1967: Robert Richardson was driving his car at night in Toledo, Ohio, when he hit something, which, he claimed, then vanished. He found a piece of metal that he believed originated from the mysterious thing he hit. A few days later, two men, wearing black hats and sunglasses and driving a black 1953 Cadillac, visited Richardson at his home at 11 p.m. to ask questions. A week later, two other men arrived, dressed in black suits, and asked Richardson to turn over the metal to them. When he informed them he had sent it for analysis, he said, they threatened to harm his wife if he didn't get it back. He never heard from them again.

But why? Who were -- and, in some cases, still are -- these strange individuals who give out seemingly meaningless warnings about UFO sightings and try to intimidate people?

"They are the archetypal sinister person who turns up on the doorstep specifically in relation to a UFO encounter," said Nick Redfern, author of "The Real Men in Black" (New Page Books, 2011).

"People who have been visited by MIB tend to fall into two categories: One is the UFO witnesses. The other category is researchers who've been visited," Redfern told The Huffington Post.

After digging closely into the history of many reported MIB encounters, Redfern (pictured below) thinks he has a good handle on what may be going on.

"What we have, I'm pretty sure, is a sort of covert department or office or personnel within the official infrastructure. There are people who dress in black deliberately and go around and threaten people in certain circumstances relative to UFOs," he suggested.

"And they look like what you see in the 'Men in Black' movies. They look like agents of the government, like [actors] Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. And they issue veiled warnings not to talk about their UFO encounter."

But then there are the creepier MIB stories that emerge.

Like the one told by Dr. Herbert Hopkins. The respected family physician from Old Orchard Beach, Maine, was home alone on the night of Sept. 11, 1976. At the time, Hopkins was studying a UFO incident.

The phone rang, and a man's voice identified himself as a representative of a New Jersey UFO organization (which turned out to be phony).

"He wanted to know if he could come here and talk to me about the UFO case. He also asked if I was alone, and I said yes," Hopkins told this reporter in 1978 for a story broadcast on NBC Radio.

When Hopkins walked from the phone to the door and turned on the light, the man was already coming up the steps.

"If he was even as close as across the street or next door telephoning, he could not possibly have gotten here as soon as I did to turn on the light for him," recalled Hopkins.

When the stranger came in, Hopkins was struck by his appearance.

"He wore a neatly tailored black suit, black shoes, black socks, a white shirt with black tie, and he wore a black derby. You don't see derbies very often, and I thought to myself, 'This guy looks just like an undertaker.' When he sat down, he removed his derby.

"This character was as bald as an egg. He didn't even have eyebrows or eyelashes. It looked like he had smooth, plastic skin -- like a doll except that it was a dead-white color," Hopkins said.

"His lips were a brilliant ruby red, and he spoke in an expressionless, monotone, scanning speech. He constructed no phrases and sentences -- just a sequence of words evenly spaced. His voice was completely passive with no inflection or intonation, as if you were hearing it from a machine that could talk."

During the short time they were together, Hopkins and the strange man talked about the UFO case that the doctor had been investigating. Hopkins also noticed other very odd things about this Man in Black.

"He sat perfectly motionless and wore grey suede gloves. He idly brushed his lips with the back of a glove, and when he put his hand down, the back of his glove was bright red and the red on his mouth was smeared, so I knew he was wearing lipstick.

"Then I could see that his mouth was a perfectly straight slit. Apparently, he did not have what we call lips, so the lipstick was put on as a decoy -- his mouth was more like a ventriloquist's dummy."

This classic MIB story gets even stranger.

The odd visitor told Hopkins to take a coin out of his pocket and hold it in the palm of his hand.

"He said, 'Watch the coin,' and it started to develop a silver color instead of copper, and then the silver became bluish and the penny was getting quite fuzzy, out of focus, blurred, and then it simply was gone -- it slowly dematerialized."

Following the coin magic, the stranger ordered the doctor to destroy all information he had gathered about the UFO case.

"As he spoke his last words, I noticed his speech was slowing down. His words became slower and farther spaced. He slowly got to his feet, unsteadily, and he said very slowly, 'My -- energy -- is -- running -- low -- must -- go -- now -- goodbye.' Just like that."

Hopkins said that the MIB -- whoever or whatever he was -- clung tightly to the railing as he went down the steps outside, placing both feet on each step, and then disappeared around the corner into a bright light.

When the chilling encounter was over, a terrified, intimidated Hopkins destroyed all traces of any UFO materials he had.

Dan Aykroyd's personal account of a possible MIB encounter:

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Video link

So who are the real Men in Black who have scared people for decades? Are they government agents trying to spread disinformation about UFOs? But for what purpose?

"The MIB movies are very entertaining, but they portray one angle of a mystery that is actually two-pronged," said Redfern.

"You've got this government conspiracy angle, but you've also got this Gothic archaic mystery that ties in as much with the occult and paranormal as it does with flying saucers."

Source: Huffingtonpost.com

Editor's Note: Some folks seem to be upset by the "Men In Black" movies.  I for one, find them very entertaining.  Sometimes it's a relief to joke about a serious subject. 

Before I became a UFO Researcher/Investigator, I had been witness to several UFO sightings.  One was an object being chased by a jet.  Several days later I was paid a visit.  Not by men dressed in black suits but a "black" helicopter, which hovered just a couple of feet off the ground, about 30 feet from my house.

I stared at the blackened windshield, knowing full well that they could see me, though I could not see them.  That was a form of intimidation but as you can clearly see, it didn't work.  I'll keep on seeking the truth and reporting sightings.

Oh, I do plan to see MIB3, this weekend.  I need a good laugh. 

-Sunny Williams

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UFO Seen Entering Atmosphere Over Poteet, TX- 5/19/2012

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According to a witness in Poteet, Texas, they observed what might have been a wormhole, with a craft emerging.

This  MUFON report, is unedited.


MUFON Case #38265
Location: Poteet, Texas
Date of Sighting: 05/19/2012
Distance: Over One Mile
Flight Path: Straight-line path
Shape:     Sphere    
Summary: Spectacular Upper Earth Atmosphere Entry

Report:
May 19, 2012 – 9:47 PM Observation location is in Atascosa County, on the corner of FM 2504 and Garden Drive. This location is between the township of Rossville, Texas (2.75 miles to the East) and the city of Devine, Texas (7.3 miles to the North East).

I was in my truck facing south on Garden Drive about to make a right turn onto FM 2504 when I looked straight up into the night sky and noticed a ball of white light about four times the size of Venus as we see it now. The light was coming down from the stars and emitted, exploded or pushed the outer atmosphere into a huge and very bright ring of light the size of my fist at arm’s length. It looked like the same kind of entry as filmed over Xiao Shan Airport in Hangzhou, China on July 7, 2010.

The bright ring lasted a few seconds but the white light that came into the atmosphere continued on a southward flight path. Below and maybe, five to six miles behind the white light came the nightly 9:45PMish passenger jet airliner at around 15,000 to 18,000 feet AGL.

The pilots of the jet liner had to have seen the bright white light for it would have been at their 11:30 and only a few miles in front of them.

The white light dimed as it continued its flight south and the passenger plane veered off more to their right. I could not tell if the passenger plane’s right course correction was due to the white light or just a normal course correction to Laredo direction.

Possible passenger airliner is a Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Laredo (LRD) American Airlines 3363 operated by /AMERICAN EAGLE, Embraer RJ145, which Depart at 8:55pm to Arrive 10:15pm.

Need to research and find all the flights that fly over nightly south bound though the Atascosa County airspace at 9:45 PM.

Video clip of UFO over Xiao Shan Airport, Hangzhou, China, July 7, 2010.


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Update: League City, Texas Lights, also seen in Missouri and Pennsylvania

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Photo by Mesquite, Texas witness, 5/19/2012
Click on image for larger view.

Photo by Mesquite, Texas witness, 5/19/2012
Click on image for larger view.

Photo by Mesquite, Texas witness, 5/19/2012
Click on images for larger view.

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On May 19, 2012, witnesses in Texas, Missouri and Pennsylvania observe red/orange lights in the sky.

These reports were received as either comments to the original post, or emailed directly to me.  Please note that these reports are posted here "as is", with no editing.  However, names have been removed. -SW

Mesquite, TX
We saw this in mesquite texas tonight may 19, 2012. They were just reddish lights hovering in the sky. There were I believe 6. They were slow moving and we watched them about a couple minutes before they disappeared.
It was just about right at 10pm, and I do believe that they were headed north.


Levittown, PA
Me and my girlfriend where standing out back of our home in levittown PA.  we both spotted an unusual object flying over my back yard.  it apperd to be red and orange flickering almost like a camp fire.  it was moving slow at about the height you would expect to see a news helicopter.  there was no noise.  i took out my iPhone and recorded a video of it.  It looks very similar to the picture you have from may 18th over Texas, but there was only one.  i took a look at my compass and it was moving from east to west.  i went straight to my computer to find answers that is how i found this site.  if you have any answers for me please let me know.  if you would like the video im sure i can send it to you, but it is not the best quality.


League City, TX
On May 19th, 2012 around 9:15 pm we also observed these six red lights moving in the sky from our backyard (facing Louisiana Street), going north. After the initial six lights there was one additional light following from a distance. They just faded out after several minutes. (Had enough time to notice them, go inside and get a camera and they were still there).


League City, TX
My son and I saw the lights over League City too...It was amazing, we thought that maybe they were lanterns but they kept formation too well to be...thanks for sharing the pics!


League City, TX
My son and I saw the same thing in League City, Texas about 9:00pm. We were on St. Christopher in the parking lot of Huntcliff Apartments. Then another young lady pulled in and stopped and witnessed it along with us. My son did tell me that him and 2 friends saw the same thing a few weeks ago as they were driving down 270. I kept my eye on the last one as the lights disappear, I could still see some kind of object flying. I never believed in UFO's until last night.


Springfield, MO
We saw orange/red balls in the sky last night while eating dinner outside over Springfield, Mo. They were slow and moving across he sky. No plane we know that. It was so weird to see. May 19th, 2012 we saw 7 of them. It freaked us all out. No flashing, no jet stream sounds, no helicopter sounds. Just big orange balls moving around. This was around 10pm or so.

I know others have to had seen this......


Ozark, MO
My mom and I with other friends in ozark missouri saw the 6 orange balls in the sky while we were grilling. They came from the southwest and were low and bright. This around 10pm to 1030 pm. No sounds whatsoever. None of us could figure this out.


Katy, TX
I found your sight when I googled “strange lights in sky 5-19-12.”  I was directed to a report from League City which is about 30 minutes from where I live in Katy.  I saw the almost the same exact thing as the witnesses in League City except it was Saturday night, 5-19-12 at 9:15 PM. 

I had just returned from the grocery store when I noticed very bright lights travelling from the Southeast and heading West.  The lights were

Orange to red in color.  There were two groups of three lights and they were in roughly the same orientation as the photograph from League City.  They made no sound.  There were no red strobes or green lights like on aircraft.  They moved slowly across the sky.  I was able to follow the first light all the way across the sky until I lost it in Venus (or whatever planet is in the western sky shortly after sunset).  The other lights turned white and then disappeared one by one. 

Unfortunately, I did not have my phone with me; something I really regret now.

It was probably five to six minutes from the time I first saw them to when the last one disappeared.  I wouldn't have any idea how to estimate their altitude.  I think it is their brightness that makes me cautious of their height.  They were so bright in the sky that one part of my mind says they were flying low; less than 5000 feet.  But the first one especially, the one that went all the way across the sky, seemed higher than that.  If i had to guess though, i would say the 5000 feet range.  Lastly, they never moved in relation to one another.  They seemed to stay in a singular formation.  I don't remember seeing stars pass behind them.  But my gut feeling says they were separate objects.  That may come from their lights disappearing at different times. 

See Original Post: League City, Texas: Red/orange objects flying slow and in formation


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League City, Texas: Red/orange objects flying slow and in formation

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I received this report from a witness, who along with his wife observed lights over League City, Texas, on May 18, 2012. 

Location: League City, TX
Date of Sighting: 05/18/2012
Time: approx. 21:00 (9:00 p.m.)
Duration: about 1 minute
Shape: Sphere/Oval/Orbs/Disc
Characteristics: Red/orange Lights

1st email:
"Saw this an hour ago over league city. See attached picture."

After I asked how long the objects were observed and in what direction they were traveling, the witness replied:

"Only for about a minute as we were driving home.  They were traveling along Louisiana Ave north towards 518.  Figured it was either some event for Kemah or something heading back to Ellington Field.  I thought it might have been fire from a hot air balloon but could not see the outline of either a balloon or basket.  It looked too low and flying too slow to be a conventional aircraft and the light was solid and bright and not blinking.  Either way it was weird."

The witness also stated that the objects were flying too low and slow to be conventional aircraft and the lights were not characteristic of planes, or helicopters.

I requested and received permission to post the photos and report.

Note: I enlarged and cropped the triangle formation of lights, to get a better view of them.  Upon  examination, it appears that there may be energy of sorts, surrounding each light.

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If you saw the objects over League City, Texas, at about 9:00 p.m. Friday, May 18, 2012, please report it. -Sunny

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Texas Panhandle Residents To See "Ring of Fire" Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012

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Jan. 4, 2011-  The joint Japanese-American Hinode satellite captured a breathtaking event from space. The unique view created what's called an annular solar eclipse.

CREDIT: Hinode/XRT

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Sunday's Solar Eclipse 'Ring of Fire': Where and How to See It

On Sunday afternoon (May 20), the path of an annular solar eclipse will cross parts of eight western states. SPACE.com estimates that an estimated 6.6 million Americans live within the path of annularity.

An annular solar eclipse is typically no match for a total solar eclipse. It is really more like an embellished partial eclipse, with the beautiful solar corona not becoming visible and the sky never getting really dark. Nevertheless, an annular solar eclipse still ranks as one of the most remarkable of celestial sights for avid skywatchers.

Sunday's eclipse track begins in East Asia and crossed the Pacific Ocean before reaching North America. In the United States, the U.S. National Park Service has invited skywatchers to view the solar eclipse from a national park, while the University of Colorado, at Boulder is opening its Folsom Stadium — a football stadium — to the public in what organizers are calling the world's largest solar eclipse viewing party.
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Lubbock, Texas, is not on center line, but is about 25 miles to the northeast. From there, an almost perfect ring will be formed, lasting 4 minutes 14 seconds beginning at 8:33:54 p.m. CDT. But the sun will  be only 1.3 degrees above the horizon when the annular eclipse begins.

Annularity will end six minutes before sunset. Farther to the southeast, the effect of atmospheric refraction must be taken into account. The thick atmosphere at the horizon refracts or bends sunlight so that we are seeing the setting sun about a half degree above where it really is.

In Snyder, Texas, for example, calculations neglecting refraction suggest that only the beginning of the 3 minute 40 second ring phase (at 8:33:43 p.m. CDT) will be visible before the sun drops below the horizon, but taking refraction into account shows that the sun will remain above the horizon for another nine minutes. At Sweetwater, Texas, the sun will resemble a horseshoe with narrow, pointed tips tilted down and to the right when it transitions to a lopsided ring at 8:34:27 p.m. CDT. Less than three minutes later, the sun will set.

Read the full story on Space.com

Video of where to see May 20, 2012 solar eclipse

How to safely photograph the "Ring of Fire:


Note:  Take precautions when photographing the sun, even during an eclipse.  Please check out the link above, for tips on safely photographing the eclipse.

If you would like to send in your photos of the "Ring of Fire", I will be happy to post them here on Lights in the Texas Sky.

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Lubbock "Blue Light" is most likely a remote controlled Glider

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Recent video of Blue Light Over Lubbock.
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Video Link



"A friend of ours told us about a light in the sky between Ave P and University.. between 80th and 95th in Lubbock, Texas. When he called us we video taped this along with some pictures. There was no sound and it kept flasbing on and off. Several of our neighbors witnessed it. We borrowed their binoculars and you could see red, blue, and green bright lights. Please comment if anyone knows what this is."

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Also, see the video and report on Texas UFO Sightings
http://www.texasufosightings.com/1/post/2012/05/something-strange-is-happening-in-lubbock.html
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A witness wrote and said that as the object passed over him, he was able to see that it is a remote controlled  glider.

Here are examples of L.E.D. lit gliders:

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Video Link

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Video Link

Folks, if you want to get to the bottom of this and find out what that blue light really is, check the open areas near where you see this blue light (near S. University Drive).  You may find the guy that is holding the remote. -SW


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Bright Lights In Missouri Skies - UFO Chases Car in Lebanon, MO

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Witness' depiction of how object appeared while hovering near the ground.
MUFON Case #38180

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Witness' depiction of the bottom of object.
MUFON Case #38180

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Missouri residents report UFO sighting to MUFON.

Here are the unedited sightings reports.

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Lebanon witness chased by dome-shaped disc UFO
MUFON Case #38180
Location: Lebanon, Missouri
Date of Sighting: 05/16/2012
Time of Sighting: 04:50
Viewing Distance: 20 Feet or Less
Object Features: Dome, Other
Object Flight Path: Other
Object Shape: Disc

Summary: I Saw it on the ground and it chased my car for about 1 mile no more than 20 ft behind me

Report:
I dropped my husband of at work about 3 miles outside of town as I got to the end of the driveway I saw 4 blue/white lights on the ground in the yard across the street as i looked at them about 3-4 feet above a blue-green light pulsated as if under rippling water the light started on the left changed color to a dull yellow in the middle and then back to blue green on the right it did this about 3 times.my first thought was this is not normal so I turned left on the road and started to drive fast to get out of there, I looked into my rear-view mirror and and it lifted about ten feet off the ground the bottom angled toward me and on the bottom there was a very bright orange red light it sped up with the bottom angled toward me and was following my car I barely stopped at the stop sign and turned left, I thought it had stopped but I looked in my mirror again and it was chasing me I sped up to about 65 and it stayed within 20 ft of my car, I got to the end of the road and turned right at this point I was at the edge of the city and it's lights disappeared. I did not see it after that.

Original Photo Links

Photo 1
Photo 2

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Bright orb over Springfield, MO

MUFON Case #38179
Location: Springfield, Missouri   
Date of Sighting: 5/15/2012
Time Of Sighting: 21:25
Object Flight Path: Path with directional change
Object Shape: Sphere, Star-like

Summary: Saw Bright Orb like object hovering, did swirling maneuvers, moved in different directions at slow and high rates of speed, then disappeared. Cell phone acted up and could not video. I know what I saw...Definitely strange.

Report:
May 15th 2012. I was taking my nightly jog, in Springfield, Missouri between 9-10 p.m. Location Walnut Lawn, Scenic, and Golden street area. I looked up and noticed this orb like bright light, similar to a star, illuminating in the sky. It hovered, did swirl like maneuvers, then hovered, darted in different directions slow and at high rates of speed, then disappeared. Tried to video tape it on Iphone but would not pick up at the time.


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Alien Encounter and UFO Contact in Texas

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Depiction of an alien encounter by SW/LITS

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Note: These reports were submitted to MUFON and are presented here "as is", with no corrections. -SW


Alien Encounter In Maypearl

MUFON Case #37118
Location: Maypearl, Texas
Date of Event:     05/15/1991
Time of Event: 12:00
Source: MUFON

Summary: We were sleeping and a bright light shined through bedroom window. It woke me and I saw 4 short grey figures at our bed. One at my side of the bed ; two at end of the bed ; and one moved to my fiance's side of the bed. I tried to scream but I could not.

Report:
I had moved in with my fiance' ; now my husband. One night in the early morning hours in 1991 ; I was woken up by a bright blinding light shining through the window of our bedroom window. I also heard a loud humming sound. It startled me. I had woke up and looked up at the window. My husband didnt budge at all. I looked back to the room and saw four short greyish figures with big dark eyes standing by our bed; one was standing by me ; looking at me. I could see that they were all about 3-4 feet tall. Light grey ; big head, small mouth/nose, skinny neck; body was not porportioned with their head size, body was smaller in size, big dark oval eyes, long skinny arms; long skinny fingers,they made a weird voice type noise;like a soft robotic sound. I could see two more at the foot of bed and one to the side of my husband.I saw the one by my husband; touching my husbands shoulder. I was frightened and was watching them . I didnt know what to do . I could not move or scream; like I was paralyzed or something. It felt like my arms, my head,and legs were being held down. All I could do was move my eyes to see what they were doing. I tried to holler at my husband but I could not say anything at all. The one that was looking at me; was moving its head side to side looking at me; like he was observing me or something. I seen its hand come up toward me. Right after that ; I dont remember anything else that happened .Time had lapsed into daytime; hours later. I started remembering what had happened that next night. Bits and pieces. But The next day and following a few days later; me and my husband noticed that we had gooey; jelly type ooze that kept coming out of both of our belly buttons.When we showered ; we both had said something about the goo to each other. I told him that I had the same stuff coming from mine to. We did not what it was; we felt tired the next day and the days followng that. I didnt put two to two together until days later; after what had happened. It is like I remember what happened the time of seeing them and everything else was blocked. After days going by; I kept getting sick off and on ; feeling drained. At one time I had to be taken to hospital but they did not know what was wrong with me. I had headaches; dizziness and nauseousness. It was like I couldnt breathe or something. To this day we dont know what happened to us both. We have since moved from the area it happened; a year later. I am still puzzled about it all but I know what I saw and it was not a dream either.I am a light sleeper and it was no dream. I was woken up by the bright lights and then seeing those things were terrifying. It was the most frightening thing that happened to me. I was awake and then I saw them; then all else was blocked from me. They were there and then gone in a flash. Thats all I know; I still want to know what happened to us and what the ooze was in our belly button area. We still would like to know what took place with us that night. I still think about it today. I could sketch it but I will not at this time.

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Black Triangle Sighting and Interaction in Electra

MUFON Case #38153
Location: Electra, Texas
Date of Sighting: 05/15/2012
Time of Sighting: midnight
Sighting Duration: 00:12:00
Viewing Distance: 101-500 Feet
Object Flight Path: Straight-line path
Object Shape     Triangle, Unknown

Summary: Flew above our heads and responded to a flashlight by turning on third gold light

My daughter and I were outside sitting on the front porch steps, when we heard a strange rumble sound coming from the East. We both thought it was a low flying plane at first, then we were able to see two white/blue light that seemed to pulse up and down. As it got closer we knew it was not a plane by the low rumbling sound it made, and the two lights in front were hanging down from it, almost as long as a telephone pole.
We could not see any type of body for this craft. As it slowly passed over us, I flashed my flashlight at it three times. It then turned on a third light, gold in color, located behind and in the middle of the first two. It looked as though there could have been five feet or more between the lights. After that we stepped out into the street and started walking in the direction that it flew away in.
It never really moved very fast it seemed to just glide away almost. As it drifted off into the distance, maybe ten miles ahead of us, it stopped blinking its lights, and just went out of sight. We were not frightened by it, more amazed than anything, and thought it was cool that it seemed to respond to my flashlight by turning its third light on.


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Fiery Red/orange Orbs Over San Marcos, TX - 05/11/2012

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This is only a drawing of what the orbs might have looked like.
Depiction by SW.

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Witnesses observe reddish orange orbs in the skies over San Marcos, Texas.

The first report was submitted to MUFON and the second report was emailed to me.  These reports are presented here, "as is", with no corrections. -SW

MUFON Case #38085
Location: San Marcos, Texas   
Date of Sighting: 05/11/2012
Shape: Orb/Sphere

3 red-orange glowing orbs moving in sky, hovered then moved again, from Wimberly Texas area toward Seguin Texas Area, Disappeared in sky directly above where I and others stood watching!    

I was preforming the duties of my job which require me to be outside patrolling at night. I happened to look up (as I like looking at the stars) and I saw 3 red-orange orbs that were then joined by a 4th of the same color and approximately the same size. At first I thought maybe they were stars or meteorites but they where first off moving and then also moving to slowly. I saw them in the sky down the street from where I was and the lights moved toward where I was but not "at" me. You could hear a slight whirring noise as they got closer but they were not planes. The lights almost resemble fire but not really. They were moving over the highway from the direction of Wimberly, Texas very slowly when they were almost over the complex I work at they stopped, hovered a moment and then continued moving slowly toward Seguin, Texas ( I think that is East to West...not really good at the cardinal directions haha). When they were above the complex I work at/ field next the the complex they just disappeared like they were never there. One of the lights did sort of fade come back and then disappear but the others were just gone and the noise with them! Although I am curious about what they were I dont really care...It was exciting. I ran to try to get my family but the lights were gone before they came out. Several people stopped at our complex squealing and yelling excitedly "Did you see that? Did you see that? What were they?" Another person said that people were stopped in the street in town trying to take videos and photos...he said they wouldnt come out on his own camera and my phone wasnt strong enough to pick them up as I have an older phone.

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Report submitted to LITS
Location: Sam Marcos, Texas
Date of Sighting: 05/11/2012
Time of Sighting: 21:25
Duration of Sighting: 7 to 8 minutes
Shape: Orb/Sphere

My 15 year old daughter and I spotted 7 bright orange ball looking objects flying over San Marcos, Tx on 05/11/2012 at 9:25 PM.  We followed them around in our vehicle for appox. 7 to 8 minutes until they just disappeared into what seemed to be thin air.  There bright lights were also dimming and then brightening constantly. 


[Note: I emailed the witness back and asked a few questions about the sighting.  I have not received a response. -Sunny]

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Mist Shrouded Boomerang - Abilene, Texas

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Witness depiction of mist shrouded boomerang
MUFON Case #37907

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A witness in Abilene, Texas reports observing a mist shrouded black boomerang-shaped object with blue lights on the underside of the "wings".

Though the object was observed on March 21, 2012, it has just recently been reported.

Here is that unedited report.


MUFON Case #37907
Location: Abilene, Texas
Date of Sighting: 2012-03-21
Viewing Distance: 501 Feet - 1 Mile
Sighting Duration: 00:03:00
Object Flight Path: Straight-line path
Object Shape: Boomerang

Black Boomerang UFO with blue-white lights along wings, shrouded in mist

I was in my back yard viewing the night sky from my patio, it was a fairly clear night and had been star gazing for 30 minutes without anything unusual to note when a strange dark object caught my eye as it passed in front of the stars in the southern sky.

At first I thought it was something else, though I didnt know what it could be, maybe a flock of birds, a civilian or military aircraft. Most of the objects structure was visible as a black boomerang shape, with about 4-5 light blue-white lights along the bottom side of the wings, but there was something strange about it.

There appeared to be a mist or a shadow all around it as it flew across the night sky towards the north. The object and its lights were visible, but the effect of the "mist" surrounding it made me blink and strain to focus at what I was seeing even though the outline of the object was clear.

I didnt have my binoculars and my wife was inside, so I debated on staying to watch the object but I knew I didnt have much time before it would pass out of line-of-sight, blocked from view by surrounding houses.

I ran through the house and grabbed my binoculars and yelled at my wife to come outside quickly as I ran out the front door. I could not find the object again though.

Original Photo link

Please note that the report is from MUFON, "as is", with no corrections. -SW

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The "Avengers" Battle Aliens On The Silver Screen

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Video Link

Note:  If you don't like spoilers, you might not want to scroll down. 

I actually got to see a movie on it's opening weekend.  Hubby and I drove to the Majestic Theater in Eastland, Texas, to see the Avengers.

I have my dad to thank for my love of comic book heroes, both Marvel and DC.  When I was but a wee lass, Dad would take me to the local comic book store each week, where we would seek out new reading material, both new and used. How I loved those outings with my Dad.

Along with my college level science books, I always looked forward to flipping the pages of the 10 cent comics, following the stories and enjoying the artwork.  Some of mine and my Dad's Marvel favorites were Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, X-men and my personal favorite, Silver Surfer.   The silver surfboard flying alien may have his own movie by 2014.

Note that my Dad started reading comic books during WWII.

On the DC side, I favored Superman, Aquaman, The Flash and Green Lantern.  For some reason, I never was that much of a Batman fan but he sort of grew on me in my later years.  Maybe Adam West had something to do with that... or not.

As I got older, I had less time for comics, or maybe I thought I'd outgrown them.  I must be entering my second childhood, because the comic book heroes of my youth still engage me today, only now on the silver screen.

As for the Avengers movie, it was what I expected and that isn't bad at all.  The premise is alien technology in the wrong hands, brings more aliens and lots of destruction.  There's those pesky aliens again, which are apparently used by Loki (Thor's adopted brother) and led by Thanos (for you comic geeks out there). 

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Thanos - "Bringer of Death"- Avengers end credits.

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When it comes out on DVD, you can bet that I will be adding Avengers to my collection.  If you haven't seen the movie yet and you like the characters, fast action and high tech special affects, you'll be pleasantly surprised.  There's a spoiler at the end, so you know there will be a sequel.  I look forward to it.

Additionally, Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man... perfect.

-Sunny

More on the Avengers movie villains.

More on the beautiful and historic Majectic Theatre of Eastland, Texas, a step back in time.

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Supermoon 2012 - Photo

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Supermoon 2012

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We had clouds early on but they finally cleared and I was able to grab a shot of this year's supermoon. 

Mine is not so spectacular a photo, as the moon was already high in the sky.  However, it was a decent shot for my Sony Handicam Hybrid, with 60X optical zoom.

See super-full-moon photos from around the world, on space.com.
-Sunny

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Photos of Objects - Aledo, Texas - 5/4/2012

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A colleague and friend of mine sent photos and a brief report, of what he captured with his camera.

A violent thunderstorm swept through the Aledo, Texas area, on the afternoon of Friday, May 4, 2012.  My friend was lucky to capture an anomaly during all the lightning strikes and hail.

As you can see in the first picture, there appears to be an object (upper left hand corner of the photo).  According to the witness, it appears to be a disc, almost vertical and seen "on edge".

I raised resolution and enlarged the object.  It does not appear to be a bird.  The witness informed me that during the storms, all birds and animals had already taken cover and were nowhere to be seen.

There does appear to be some sort of distortion around the object, giving it the appearance of an energy field (possibility).

The witness stated that before the storm and while he watered the trees, a military helicopter buzzed the residence, at approx. 800 feet.  The close proximity of the chopper actually "shook the ground."

After the storm had passed and the sun had set, my friend noticed an orange light to his southwest.  It was moving about, which shows in the first photo below.

The second photo below, shows the orange orb after it stopped moving about in the sky.  This sighting took place at 9:30 PM.

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Cigar-shaped Object Over Riverdale, Bronx, NYC

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I received this emailed report today, from a witness in New York City, 

Location: Riverdale, Bronx, New York City, NY
Date of Sighting: April 25, 2012
Time of Sighting:   07:25
Duration of Sighting:  3 minutes
Shape of Object:  Cylinder/Cigar

Recent sighting of object similar to May 3 Dallas UFO
Hello,

I have been searching the internet trying to find something similar to what I saw in the sky over the Riverdale section of the Bronx, NYC on April 25, 2012 at 7:35 in the morning.  I was stunned by the artist's representation on your site of the UFO seen flying over Dallas on May 3, 2012 because it was shockingly similar to what I saw.

I was on my balcony facing west when I noticed what I first thought was an abnormally low-flying airplane.  We are in the flight path for La Guardia airport and I'm used to seeing aircraft regularly.  As I watched this object, which was traveling south (and NOT in the regular flight path for either take-off or landing at La Guardia), I realized that I couldn't see any wings or tail fins.  I also realized that I couldn't see any windows.  The object was bright white, and the best I can describe it was that it looked like the fuselage of an airplane but with bluntly rounded "nose" and "tail"--sort of like a giant white pill capsule--with a very pale, almost indistinguishable gray band around the middle.  At the same time, or very shortly after, I saw the object, I also saw a regular aircraft traveling west (and perpendicular to the object) along the normal flight path.  The regular aircraft appeared to be much higher than the object I was watching and I was still able to make out its wings and tail fins.  The object I saw was moving along almost leisurely and I kept looking at it as it moved past me to check if I could see wings once I had a rear view of it.  No wings.  No tail fins.  This sighting bothered me because, on the one hand I knew that I had seen something "not right", but on the other hand I was trying to convince myself that it MUST have been an airplane.  So, I began to search the internet and today I found the picture on your site.  What I saw had no windows or cockpit and the nose was as bluntly rounded as the tail.  In fact, the only reason I make a distinction between the nose and tail of the object is because I naturally assumed the object was "following its nose", so to speak as it traveled south.

The sighing lasted at least 3 minutes.  I was awake, on my second cup of coffee and my first cigarette.  I also had my glasses. It was full daylight and a very clear, cloudless day.  The sun (which was behind me and already slightly above my 7-story building) was reflecting off both the object I saw as well as the conventional aircraft I compared it to.

So, thank you for letting me share my sighting.  And thank you, too, for your site.  I am now convinced that I'm not crazy and that I don't need new glasses.

Regards,

[Name withheld by SW/LITS]

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The post which the witness refers to:
Cylinder UFO Over South Dallas - 05/03/2012

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Other Reports of Cylinder/Cigar-shaped UFOS:
Cylinder/Cigar-shaped UFO Over Houston, 2000

Cylindar/Cigar-shaped Object Seen Over McGraw, New York & Fort Wayne, Indiana

Cigar-shaped UFO over Garland, Texas

Cigar shaped UFO over Yuba City, California

OVNI (UFO) From Argentina

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