Mysterious flashing object

Hello fellow ATSers,

This really doesn't fit in any of the forums, except for this one, which will certainly do. No, I don't think this was a UFO, but I'm definitely intrigued. I was outside getting a little "fresh air" (that's code for smoking a cigarette), when I saw a car slowly prowling my street. It looked like an undercover officer, so after I finished my smoke I kept watching from the window to see what was up. That's when I noticed the flashing in the trees across the street. I don't think the two were related; I'm just recounting my story.

Anyway, I kept watching this flashing, trying to figure out what it was. I took a little walk, all the way behind the row of houses and trees where I perceived it was coming from, and could not see it from that vantage point. When I walked back to my house, there it was again. Now let me describe it to you:

It was a small point of light, white, and almost exactly as a star would appear (in size and brightness, and I note, too, that the night sky right now is entirely obscured by cloud cover). It would flash on and off every few seconds, and as it did so, I observed that it was changing locations. It seemed to be within the leaves of the tree, which causes me to speculate that it was some sort of bioluminescent insect.

This is where I would like some input. The only bioluminescent insects in this area (northeast Indiana) that I am aware of are fireflies. I can almost certainly rule one of them out as the source of this light because a.) they are not "in season" right now, b.) the light was not tinted green as is the case with fireflies, and c. ) it seemed too bright for a firefly. I did a precursory search on bioluminescent bugs, but didn't find a species that could account for what I saw. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!
Maat

Cool story! While I'm not sure of your location, it could have been a firefly, they're out in full force here in the southeast united states. Last night I actually saw something very similar to your sighting that actually most likely was a firefly.

It could be something else, but it very well could have been a firefly since they're technically out and about even if it isn't their season.

reply to post by maatunidy


I'm really spit balling here but I've read a great many stories here recently about Law Enforcement starting to seriously test and use drones. Not Predators or Reapers but something closer to the survey style remote Helicopters/Gyocopters one can find online in the $4k-$20k range. You mention a possible unmarked unit prowling around at around the same time, yet you didn't mention having seen any reason for it. Perhaps they were testing a new toy in the field to see what it could do and how visible it was from street level in various positions?

I'd seriously looked at buying one of these survey class remote helicopters myself for a side business and they are fully controllable from up to a mile away with real time video feeds back to the controller to use it well beyond reasonable line of sight. They're quite impressive for their intended use, actually.

Again, I am guessing, of course, but it would make sense given those recent stories and the way you're describing this.

reply to post by Mapkar


I'm not ruling out this being a firefly, but I did mention my location here--northeast Indiana--where fireflies won't come out for another couple months or so. Also, like I said, the brightness and the color of the light (white as opposed to green) also seem to rule out a firefly. Perhaps--and I'm not kidding here just speculating--but perhaps it was some sort of rare "albino" firefly?

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


That's very interesting. Thank you for that info--I had no idea such things existed (but I'm not surprised). I'm kind of inspired to go back outside and see if I can see it again (I will, in fact).

I'll let you know if I see or hear anything else, but based on your info, let me just add a few details here:

I live on a cul-de-sac, and the vehicle I saw was certainly a Chevy Impala (cops use them around here and elsewhere), dark blue or black, that was driving extremely slow (5 - 10 mph). He stopped for about 5 minutes or so at the cul-de-sac before turning around and heading back the other way (crawling along all the while). Pretty sure it was an undercover, all things considered.

When I went on my little walk, I do remember hearing a faint whirring noise coming from the direction that I saw the light, but I think it was an electrical hum from the line of houses (or perhaps not). I also remember seeing an object move across my line of sight, but thought that was a bird or something. This may be nothing, or we may be onto something here. Again, I will do some more scouting to see what I can see.

Dragonfly X6 Helicopter

Above is a link to a remote-controlled, camera-mounted helicopter, as mentioned by Wrabbit, showing all of the technical specs. If you browse the website, you will see that they market it for all sorts of government and law-enforcement applications.

What I was looking for, and I found it, was information concerning any on-board lights that the device may have. In addition to two navigation lights--red and green--you will see on the tech page that it also contains a rear/tail light that is a white led light. Assuming that the red and green navigation lights were turned off, while this light was left on, it could very well account for what I saw. The flashing could then be accounted for by the light passing in and out of gaps in the trees and leaves.

reply to post by maatunidy


On June 9th, 2009 a truly remarkable and one-of-a-kind event (IMO) was recorded on a sunny morning in Conrad, Montana; the seat of Pondera County (about 1,600 square miles and only 4 people per square mile). On this day, a Conrad resident recorded photographs and videos of a brilliant, and truly bizarre, flashing point of light coming from his backyard bushes. What was even stranger was that when he examined the bushes he found nothing that could account for the light. But a short time after he walked away, the strange, flashing light, returned. His encounter is posted to MUFON a few weeks later together with 90 MB of photographs and video’s. Below is the statement (grammar and spelling corrected) he posted to MUFON;

MUFON Case 17518
A light in my yard in the bushes 7 am June 9, 2009. MT, US Attachments: Conrad_Lights.zip

A glimmer of light caught my eye from my kitchen and I caught 5 photos from inside the window. These show the star pattern which is [due to diffraction from] the [window] screen. So I went outside and investigated. I could see this light with the unaided eye for over twenty minutes, taking pictures for ten [minutes]. This object seemed to be between me and the bushes, but if I went towards it, it vanished. It would return when I gave [it] some room. The pictures I took and two videos are all with different [camera] settings and focus for a variety of views. It was flashing so some [photographs] don't show it as intense as others.

The AVI files I included are probably the best evidence of what I actually saw. I went over to the bushes multiple times and found nothing which could explain these lights. My wife and best friend also investigated after I showed them the photos and videos I am sending you, all without any explanatory findings.

I don’t know what this is, but it is weird.

Thank you.
[Witness name deleted]

To the best of my knowledge, this phenomenon has not been recorded before or since; but the description appears to exactly match your observations. I could post a picture but it would be a waste of time. To really understand what he saw that day one must get his data set from here Conrad_Lights.Zip.

Best regards,
Z

reply to post by DrZrD


Thanks Z!

I downloaded the packet and checked out the photos and videos. Interesting phenomenon, not remarkable, but definitely interesting. It is indeed eerily similar to what I experienced. Now I have a few possibilities to chew over in my mind. The differences between what is shown in the MUFON files and my experience are a.) the light I witnessed moved, and b.) this was pictured in broad daylight, while my experience was at nighttime (and from a greater distance too--I was about 40 meters away). The source of the light I witnessed was also high in the trees, in the back of someone's yard, so I had no way of getting up close to investigate.

I'll go back out tonight to see if I can spot it again, and if I do, I will try to take some pictures (although, I don't think tonight there is a dense cloudcover as there was last night, so starlight could render the pictures meaningless as evidence of an unexplained phenomenon).

As a sidenote, I would like to say how pleased I am at the resourcefulness and helpfulness of this board and in particular those who contributed above. I turned to the right people to share my experience and ask for input, and I will certainly do so again if a similar situation presents itself. Thank you!

Maat