Chinese lanterns not UFO’s

Hopefully this will be an educational thread, so if you dont want to learn then dont be here!

Ok so as members here know (especially the UK ones) there has been a pretty big increase of Chinese lanterns around which are being released every day which often gets mistaken for being something unusual when in reality it’s something that’s very very normal.

I’ve also seen quite a few threads on the subject of Chinese lanterns on this site in my time here which often are being mistaken for UFO’s as well So I thought I would make this thread and try and show people that what they are seeing is something normal and not out of this world.

So first off what is a Chinese lantern??

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/97fd9fcf1fe9.jpg[/atsimg]

This is what they look like…..

But from far away it can clearly be mistaken for a UFO as this picture clearly shows.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fc7d0f3c4261.jpg[/atsimg]

Now you will also notice the distinctive colour, so if you do in fact see something like this in the sky then please do remember it will probably be a Chinese lantern so assume it’s that first, so don’t jump to conclusions and think straight away that it is something extraordinary.

Also from seeing these things myself they seem to just come out of nowhere and hang around and move quite slowly in the air which is why I think a lot of people assume it is something weird because it clearly can’t be a plane or a helicopter so some people jump to conclusions pretty quickly.

When they are released they seem to start off pretty low and then it gradually increases as well as they move around which seems to be quite a lot so if you see something behaving in this it’s probably a Chinese lantern.

Also it should be noted that these things do pop up around special holidays like Christmas and New Year etc. But remember they can come at any time of the year.

I’ve done some research and they seem to be able to come in different colours as well so (like in the picture above) they won’t always be orange, they can be any colour as well.







EDIT: Here are a few more so you know exactly what im taking about, and for those who have never seen them this is how closely they look to what an untrained eye would assume to be something extraordinary.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5be412e1352d.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/dcc19477dab2.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6ac1d0c5c069.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c5905c05bdf2.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 5-2-2010 by Rising Against]

I definitely think there is a need for this thread.
It should be borne in mind that one lantern can take off from the others if it just happens to catch an air current.
Lanterns can also vary in size and shape.

It also needs to be said that a lantern is a UFO if you can't identify it.
But UFO does not mean 'alien spacecraft'. Unfortunately too many people think they are one and the same

[edit on 5-2-2010 by unicorn1]

reply to post by unicorn1


Yes you’ll notice I was trying to be very careful not to say UFO or alien craft and instead say something like extraordinary or weird lol

But yes the reasoning for making this thread was because to alot of people they are UFO's so I want to try and help out a little bit by identifying them (which IMO most of them are) as these Chinese lanterns.

No offense meant but I gotta say this slight line , anyone who thinks a chinese lantern can shoot across the sky at unfathomable speeds , or that they can move in circles or eratically change direction at speed, blink on and off, point lasers at the ground, or are larger than a car desperately need their heads examining. Even with the wind or thermals they can't move at the descriptions of some reports.
I've seen a chinese lantern here in London ( 5th November last year) , the wife said " what's that?", and I could tell ( without my glasses on) that it was a chinese lantern it moved slowly and at a height of about 200 feet, it flickered like a candle does, not not distinct on, off, on , off.
When it comes to UFO's for me, I'll think about what I've seen and then sort through the most likely explanations first.

[edit on 5/2/10 by DataWraith]

reply to post by DataWraith


Ah yes but I don't think I once said that ALL of the weird things that we are seeing in the sky are 100% Chinese lanterns, I definitely do think that what some people are seeing is the real deal.

But you need to understand that very reason you state was the reason for me making this thread.

I want people to realize that when they are not seeing something extraordinary, they know it’s something not extraordinary.

That’s all.

interesting.

a little off topic but after reading ATS for a time, any post containing "chinese" i think of bad things. nothing good ever happen on here with chinese.

Originally posted by Rising Against
Ok so as members here know (especially the UK ones) there has been a pretty big increase of Chinese lanterns around which are being released every day which often gets mistaken for being something unusual when in reality it’s something that’s very very normal.

I am sorry mate but I have to disagree with you on that because you could not be any more incorrect, and you seem to have fallen victim to the government misinformation campaign -- they love to make people believe these orange lights are marsh gas, camp fires, sky lanterns, or some other mundane, infactual explanation when the truth is a lot different. They also like to make it seem as if they have no interest pursuing and investigating the phenomenon when again, the evidence paints a completely different picture.

As Datawrath has mentioned, there have been many reports of these lights behaving in ways that completely defy modern physics, and anything that a typical sky lantern is capable of doing while in flight. I personally have witnessed them about a hundred feet from my neighbours roof last in September of 2008 in Birmingham: they were stationary for about fifteen minutes, multiplying into same coloured pairs and dematerializing/materializing in thin air. They have been seen shooting up, traveling in synchronization for miles, shooting some laser facility, jetting across the sky at high speeds, and ofcourse multiplying into pairs as was the case during my sighting. They have also been reported in abundance before earthquakes.

The older Brits called them jack o' lanterns; Aussies called them will o' the wisps; Yanks called them Foo Fighters during WWII, etc. They are the objects that have often been seen in some of the older NASA transmissions, and the same object that Sharon Rowlands filmed with her phone in 2003 in Derby. Some people believe (myself included) that they are the extraterrestrial group known as The Pleiadians, which have a close connection to the planet from the past and are here to help bring humanity to a higher plane of consciousness through 2012.

Nice reason for a thread but sadly there will still be floods of totally obvious lanterns under the UFO banner, people especially here in the UK and sending lanterns up week in week out, most for parties etc but some just for to make or be part of a UFO report.

As I've said loads of times, if it's orange, flickering and floating slowly across the sky then no matter how daft you are you cannot turn it into a UFO report as it's very obviously a lantern...

It's one of my pet hates on here, thread upon thread of orange blobs, same with UFO's that have flapping wings, NO it's not a morphing UFO it's a bloody bird for gods sake

What if, it was the Aliens releasing these chinese lanterns...
Then we would all be screwed..

Or - We would be in "Bad luck"
It would really be sad...

Maybe they come here to actually release chinese lanterns into the skies and watch our reactions...

Travel through time and space...
wow!

What about the ballons??

[edit on 5-2-2010 by Ram]

reply to post by hermantinkly


Yes but my point is that i want some people to realize what is something and what is nothing though.

Some people are seeing chinese lanters (even i have seen a big big increase) and thinking that they are UFO's or if you will "Alien Craft's"

I want to see something as much as the next guy but everything that i have seen which seems like something odd in the sky has always turned out to be one of the CL's sadly

I've released Sky Lanterns myself (note they aren't 'Chinese lanterns' which are used for illumination only). It almost caused a farm fire and really put the s***s up me! After that, my belief is they should be banned on Health and Safety grounds. I started this thread on the subject: Sky Lanterns - BBC News

Logically, a ban on their release would eliminate a major cause of UFO misidentification and save a heck of a lot of boring, misguided stuff on YouTube. I'd have expected a fairly unanimous agreement from ATSers, but no. Some members are simply here to argue, whatever the topic and think it would be wrong to ban these 'harmless' bits of fun. Ah well, yer can't please everybody.

WG3

[edit on 5-2-2010 by waveguide3]

reply to post by Rising Against


G'day Rising Against

Did you read Mclaneinc's post in one of the other current chinese lantern threads:

Originally posted by Mclaneinc

The sooner they ban them the better..

Just so I won't have to read thru 3000 UK based lantern threads, sorry UFO threads...

"Look son, there's a UFO up there, see that orange thing, if you look real hard you can see the alien keeping warm by the candle"

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

PS: Mclaneinc .....I hope you don't mind me posting that

And I think Chinese lanterns come up far too often as a convenient excuse for anything that can't be explained otherwise. I've never seen one in person myself, I've never seen one for sale, and yet, magically, they are fricking EVERYWHERE now. Seriously?

Some sightings undoubtedly are these. And planes, and balloons, and many other common objects. But I get weary of the INSTANT responses of "Chinese lantern lol" responses in threads. It's a bright light in the sky, this automatically makes it a lantern, and it's dismissed. ugh.

I have seen Chinese Lanterns for sale in shops and market places. Also seen them floating in the sky at night on numerous occasions in the past year or so. Or what I assume to be lanterns anyway.

Earlier tonight though I witnessed something a bit different. I looked up in the night sky and saw the familiar orange flame floating slowly in the sky. Just a Chinese Lantern I thought to myself. Watched it for about a minute and then it seemed to fizzle out into what I can only describe as a few reddish dots. Then these dots came together to form a red blinking light which began to move much more rapidly (but still not a fast speed) across the sky.

I'm not really sure what I witnessed here. Certainly wasn't the ordinary Chinese Lantern which I have seen before.

Ah haa haa, this is the perfect thread to discuss what happend last night.
Nothing major, but anyway, Chinease Lanterns/Sky Lamps were released in my Local area last-night (Swansea, South Wales) and low and behold, upon checking Facebook a few hours later, numerous people where saying, "I JUST SEEN 3 UFO'S!"
obviously unaware of the concept of Sky Lanterns.
This confusion is makes me sad, yet, also happy that people are at least watching the skys.

Ill now give a brief discription on flight path and observations..

Rougthly 6.30pm a faint Orange/Red glow could be seen in a 'almost' Northenly direction. It was slowly raising up higher into the sky then seemed to ''stop'' at a height of about 200 meters.
Then started to come towards my direction.
As it near'ed me it was also gaining height. Eventually it passed over head at about a distance of maybe 400 meters and broke into cloud cover that eventually denied anymore sighting of the object.
Now the reason that it stoped, was that it was mildly windy, i tried to remmember how strong the gusts where and could quite clearly feel the wind hitting my face as i viwed the object.

Obviously this is not a UFO, but hopefully people can read my disscription and deduce any further sightings that are simular and reason to what there actually seeing.
Although, i must admit, it was quite strange when the Lamp stoped and seemed to stay still for about 5 seconds. Which is why i understand how people get confused or excitied to what they are seeing and jump on the Ufo idea.

What I saw couldn't have been ordinary Lantern. Unless they can change from the steady orange glow to a red blinking light moving a bit quicker across the sky.

All the steady orange glowing lanterns that I have witnessed in the past, certainly didn't change into any other form.

I was in Bedfordshire and saw chinese lanterns being launched at dusk about 2 miles away. I observed them via Binoculars. What amazed me was how fast the moved.

Great OP.

T

I always feared this would happen one day, luckily nobody was injured or killed. They defiantly should be banned.

Chinese lantern sets fire to house after landing on roof as family sleeps

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk...

A mother-of-two told yesterday how her house was set on fire - by a Chinese lantern which landed on her roof.

Anne-Marie Cobb, 40, and her children Samuel, eight, and Amelia, six, were asleep when the blaze took hold at 11.15pm.

The paper lantern landed on a partly-built extension to the rear of the property and set fire to the insulation in the roof.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk...
A timber frame for the extension then also caught fire - just 2ft from where Amelia was sleeping.

Fortunately a neighbour spotted the flames, dialled 999 and helped evacuate the family.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk...

A decade ago UFOs was a weather balloons,now UFOs are chinese lanterns..Nice.