Chinese Lanterns : Are we missing something ?

First of all i have a confession.More than once i have got excited about footage which is blatently obvious of Chinese lanterns after repeat viewing.This i put down to two factors,one, wishfull thinking and two, bad observation.I will address this but it got me thinking about the bigger picture concerning Chinese lanterns.
Now that they have cemented their ill-wanted place in ufology some questions need to be asked.

1. Are we missing valid ufo sightings because we immediately assume them to be lanterns?
Lets face it alot of credible sightings in the past look like the lanterns of today.
I think its safe to say that the lantern craze on a large scale is only a few years old.


2. Is the lantern the latest tool for the modern hoaxer?


3. Will the public stop reporting lights in the sky for fear of being duped by lanterns?


What do you think am i seeing a problem where there isn't one or otherwise?

Curious do they also call them chinese lanterns in china, or do they go "yeah its a weather balloon" hmm good question, or an American firework or something along those lines

reply to post by CrashRetrieval


I can imagine people seeing Chinese Lanterns for the first time or two and mistaking them for UFO ( always amusing when it happens to friends ) , but I think once you become familiar with the characteristics of a lantern in flight , one can pretty much differentiate between that and a UFO sighting .

Peace

reply to post by gandalphthegrey


I have

If it looks like a cake , chances are its a cake

Im still waiting for the day when one of these things blows up an Oil Refinery or something similar

reply to post by CrashRetrieval

I think its safe to say that the lantern craze on a large scale is only a few years old.

Maybe, if you are talking deliberate UFO hoaxes, I tend to agree. The lanterns themselves have been around for centuries and people have been releasing them pretty much constantly, so I disagree that it's a relatively new phenomena, it's not, it's just become popular for hoaxers as people always fall for it.

3. Will the public stop reporting lights in the sky for fear of being duped by lanterns?

No. Lights in the sky are a UFO until they are identified, which is the definition of UFO, unidentified flying object. This doesn't not mean it has to be an alien ship, or anything out of the norm really.

People shouldn't be worried about reporting something they actually saw. When they start embellishing and creating grand scenarios that didn't take place, I think it's more out of shame they will start keeping quite.

I haven't seen any Chinese lantern videos i found questionable at all, you can usually tell by the actions of the object and it becomes easy to spot. The problem lies in the people who video it, do NOT research to see what it COULD be, call it an alien controlled space ship, and post it on youtube with little source information.

I do not blame most of the launchers, most of them are doing it for reasons other than fooling a bunch of sky watchers. I don't blame most of the people that fall for it either, but some should know better at this point.

Originally posted by CrashRetrieval
First of all i have a confession.More than once i have got excited about footage which is blatently obvious of Chinese lanterns after repeat viewing.

The first time I layed eyes on a flock sky/chinese/celebration lanterns in person, I thought my home town was going to be the scene of first contact. It was only after seeing similar sightings turn out as lanterns, and after seeing MORE lanterns soon after, which illuminated the truth. Dont feel bad. Blasted things shouldnt be messing up our airspace.

This i put down to two factors,one, wishfull thinking and two, bad observation.I will address this but it got me thinking about the bigger picture concerning Chinese lanterns.
Now that they have cemented their ill-wanted place in ufology some questions need to be asked.

1. Are we missing valid ufo sightings because we immediately assume them to be lanterns?
Lets face it alot of credible sightings in the past look like the lanterns of today.
I think its safe to say that the lantern craze on a large scale is only a few years old.

Anyone who has seen a lantern, and had an expirience like yours or mine, will recognise lanterns if he sees them again. I suppose an uninitiated person could be forgiven for mistaking a lantern for a UFO and vice versa . But in terms of expirienced watchers getting this wrong, I highly doubt it. I dont think you or I would miss a genuine UFO when compared with a chinese lantern NOW after having seen lanterns and had the eyes on expirience of seeing the way wind affects thier speed and course.

2. Is the lantern the latest tool for the modern hoaxer?

I think that is a difficult question. Hoaxers come in various shapes and sizes, and levels of mastery of this "art" they practice. Not all of them are attempting to dupe the same demographics. For example , some hoaxes and hoaxsters will catch the majority of people out, because the majority of people either havent the expirience or the eyesight to catch them out in thier elaborate schemes.
Other hoaxes and hoaxsters are intent on catching out even the most well trained , even the most fastidious of observers. I think if someone wanted to create a hoax UFO invasion, then they could use lanterns, but it wouldnt fool those of us who are looking up every night in case something amazing happens, especialy not if the watcher in question has seen them before.

3. Will the public stop reporting lights in the sky for fear of being duped by lanterns?

I do not think they will. People who wouldnt know a lantern from a slice of cheese on toast, will still report sightings of UFO even when lanterns are involved !!! I doubt therefore that this will stop them reporting genuine incidents. People who DO know the difference will continue to report anything which does not appear similar to lanterns, planes, flares, and christ knows how many explainable airbourne presences.

What do you think am i seeing a problem where there isn't one or otherwise?

I think there is a problem, but it only affects people who watch for unexplained airbourne objects, and further more, only to those who cannot recognise a lantern , after the first incidence of them sighting one. On the other hand, in terms of observation of VIDEO evidence, well I would hate to try and make out the difference on video. What with camera shake and zoom and all that, its harder to tell with video in my opinion.

Originally posted by kaoticf8
Curious do they also call them chinese lanterns in china, or do they go "yeah its a weather balloon" hmm good question, or an American firework or something along those lines

Well there not really called Chinese lanterns, I would use the phrase Chinese lantern to describe the hanging paper lights that are used to decorate streets for Chinese New Year and things.

I'm not even sure they are actually Chinese I think they are Thai and called Khom Fai meaning Fire Lantern or Khom Loi which means Floating Lantern

reply to post by davespanners


Knowing your sense of humour dave i thought id come up with the idea of "Fire Pants"! Like fire lanterns except shaped like a massive pair of breifs to tickle the fancy of the more adept comedian

reply to post by CrashRetrieval

post by CrashRetrieval
.More than once i have got excited about footage which is blatently obvious of Chinese lanterns after repeat viewing.This i put down to two factors,one, wishfull thinking and two, bad observation.

At least you're big enough to admit it

1. Are we missing valid ufo sightings because we immediately assume them to be lanterns?

Probably not , lanterns tend to float fairly prosaically in one direction and have a lighter spot in the middle as the flame shines through .
Real UFO reports show craft that move in a way conventional craft don't

2. Is the lantern the latest tool for the modern hoaxer?

Absolutely , and if they can tie a piece of string to it with LED's on all the better .

3. Will the public stop reporting lights in the sky for fear of being duped by lanterns?

Probably not , when people see strange ( to them ) lights in the sky and they think it may be ET adrenalin kicks in and probably reinforces their belief they've seen something otherworldly , which of coarse they may have if it wasn't lanterns they saw .