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Originally posted by highlander2008
Chinese lanterns could not have had more publicity due to all this. Most people are now aware of them than ever before and have even seen them as they are released regularly in the UK. Bearing this in mind, it would be expected that the number of mistaken sightings would steadily decrease. Instead it is increasing. I find it hard to believe that hundreds of sane, intelligent people are still mistaking these things and calling newspapers, the police and military. People are not totally stupid and you have to give some credit to observers here. It does seem that people really are seeing something so unusual that it defies their rational explanation. If you read the reports, many are now saying they know what lanterns look like etc. so these observers are aware of these things.
I too was very dismissive and sceptical until I actually happened to see something myself and I am a fairly experienced observer of the night sky. I will recount exactly what I saw as it I made damn sure I got a detailed observation.
I live in a remote part of Scotland well away from any major towns so it is very dark at night. At about 9.50 I went outside to the car and immediately I noticed a brilliant shimmering orange/red light at about 300feet and approx one mile distance coming towards me as if going to pass overhead. It was the size of half a full moon and as bright as a car headlight would be at that range. It continued then stopped. It remained still at about 400ft just half a mile away for over five minutes, below cloud. Then it dimmed and changed colour to red and moved about 10 degrees right where it stopped again and hovered. All in all I watched it for over 10 minutes. I got it in a pair of high quality 10x binocualars and in them it was not a single light but two rows of about 6 smaller lights which looked as if they may be part of a larger rectangular object
I saw it well, in binoculars and for over 10 minutes at close range. I don't know what it was but it wasn't a lantern or helicopter.
A family saw similar some time ago near here driving late at night and watched it for half an hour till they became scared. Lanterns DO NOT last for half an hour, that's evidence enough in itself!!
I don't have to read all these reports to make up my mind!
Originally posted by thebox
How very bizarre -
50 mysterious orange UFOs cross the night sky
Chinese Lanterns?
Last night it emerged a woman has contacted her local newspaper to claim that the lights over Lincoln were Chinese lanterns – mini hot air balloons – set off at her wedding reception.
'They looked amazing, hope you all enjoyed the spectacle,' she said.
Nick Pope, the former head of the MoD's UFO Project, supported the Chinese lantern theory.
Originally posted by wmd_2008
Originally posted by cmazzagatti
I have a question. Why does it seem like "chinese lanterns" are confined to England, a country with coincidently the highest number of UFO sightings in the world? Since when has firing up Chinese lanterns ever been a tradition in England anyways? When were these lanterns even invented? I live in the US and I've never seen anyone use or even talk about them at all here, nor in any other part of the world.
This leads to my main point; you have to wonder whether the people who invented these "lanterns" did so with the intention of purposely distorting the phenomenon, because the REAL UFO/alien orbs look almost exactly alike from a distance. Ask ufoorbhunter.
[edit on 3-6-2009 by cmazzagatti]
Very large Chinese population in the UK almost every major city in the uk has a chinatown district!
Originally posted by waveguide3
The correct term for these toys is SKY LANTERNS. The so-called Chinese Lantern is actually a different thing, essentially used as a lighting source.
Releasing Sky Lanterns for spectacle and good luck is not restricted to Chinese communities in the UK or any other country. They are a historic mode of celebration in most far eastern countries. Anyone who's seen them on YouTube will know what a visual impact they can provide. It's only natural that people will want them for their parties, barbeques, etc. They are readily available on eBay and are sold in vast numbers for celebrating weddings, birthdays, etc. Just type 'sky lanterns' into eBay and find out for yourself. However, the UK population as a whole is still relatively unfamiliar with them, in spite of growing popularity. So, whenever someone releases a stream of lanterns after a wedding celebration, so the local press reports yet another UFO mystery. What a farce!
As to those who state that sky lanterns don't do this or don't do that, all I can say is go and watch some in real life. I can assure them that lanterns do very strange things indeed once subject to the ever changing breezes. They are lighter than air objects, so they really do move at air speed. They also rise and fall with remarkable velocity, just like a feather would. They last for a good 20 minutes and can attain heights of several thousand feet. They invariable appear an orange colour due to the flaming wick. I guess the UK and eventually the US population will become familiar with these floating gizmos, but until they do, people with more imagination than common sense will continue assigning them a character that's unexplained and inexplicable.
WG3
Originally posted by cmazzagattiWell you seem to be quite sure of yourself.
Why is it that in no other area of the world do these "sky lanterns" seem to get filmed? They obviously are a cause of great mystery and curiousity to the unknowing eye, so you would expect more sightings and videos emerging from all parts of the world,
yet the sightings seem are isolated to certain areas in Engand, specifically to ancient religious monument sites likes Stonehenge and Arbow Low in Derbyshire.
You don't find this the leadt bit strange?
Originally posted by ufoorbhunter. Sure some may be the lanterns or marsh gas, but some are very real like the ones I filmed and used for my avatar.
Originally posted by RiotComing
Another explanation has come to light, after a person discovering a burst balloon and a red LED light on the pavement near his home: