Nice post OP.
Thank you for at least posting something new, and an actual topic.
So, let's look at this.
First of all, looking at the YouTube video, the source of the original video is as follows, a user with the encouraging name: energeeeresearch
www.youtube.com...
He has 5 uploads on YouTube, 3 are repeats, so in total there are 3 unique videos uploaded, all showing this type of thing.
energeeeresearch lives in Irwin, PA
Further research shows the following (to quote him!)
(apologies for the spelling mistake and grammatical errors, these are his own words!):
"the video was taken with a Sony analog handy cam with 15x digital zoom and it has auto or manual focus switchable. maybe someone with more elaborate
video processing equipment could enhance it or even reverse the image to give some better contrast to the objects detail and watch for the puff of
smoke right before it starts to dim out which is definately in the upper atmosphere"
(again apologies for the spelling mistake and grammatical errors...)
So enough of that, to the juicy daytime videos (I am completely ignoring the nighttime portion of the video in the OPs post, because... well...
seriously... come on! please don't make me shunt out teeny tiny lights in the night sky again...)
I watched all his videos, and one especially caught my eye see here:
August 4th Video - YouTube
(dated August 4th 2009)
Please look at about 3 minutes and 26 seconds into the video... the white object pops, emitting particles.
Pops... emitting particles, and a white object.
Then there is the case of a single white object emitting multiple other white objects (as seen in the OPs video and on energeeeresearch's multiple
posted videos).
Okay, I hate to think this, but meteorological balloons, you know, weather balloons... please - read on before you tut and get all gnarly...
So - not knowing a darned thing about Irwin, PA, I look on a map, and I realize that we are looking at a town that is 17 miles from Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh...
Not wishing to labor the point, before you all start to rant about weather balloons, please look at how people use them, tie them together and launch
them etc...
www.clubequark.org.br...
Tell me - please - seriously - if a big old weather balloon popped, like one imaged in the above pdf file, leaving its other balloons there... it
would pop, particles would be emitted (ie emitting bits of balloon, the helium or other gases inside), leaving the other balloons to continue.
Tell me (again - seriously) - if a bunch of balloons were making there merry way up into the sky - and they separated, would it not look like the
images you see in the video(s).
I apologize for using weather balloons, as - like "swamp gas" they have a bad name...
But seriously people for a minute... given the choice between these small white objects floating in the sky 17 miles from a major university being:
a. Some intelligent device, alien, or top secret man-made stuff
or
b. errant (or even purposeful) weather balloons tied together and... sorry... popping or separating and/or popping...
Well, I am sorry, I go the meteorological way on this.
ttfn
askbaby
I am a true skeptic, not a basher.
ps. To the OP - thank you for posting... this year has been "oh so bad" on ATS, and whilst I honestly think we are looking at something launched
from Carnegie... at least you have posted something worth talking about...
Peace!
(edited to try to make the URL's easier to use!)
[edit on 15-7-2010 by askbaby]