An account of a sighting from a skeptic

reply to post by Arbitrageur

I can't rule that out, I guess, but still a bit doubtful. To my recollection I couldn't see any lights on the ground or on the water, but I can't entirely rule out deviations and where things may be obscured from my POV.

reply to post by wildtimes

I've considered trying to get in touch with someone that saw it, maybe putting up an ad it the local newspaper and refer people to an e-mail address will do the trick. Bonfire glare, hmm, interesting. But the characteristics of the ball of light compared to the flames doesn't correspond with each other. It was like a big circular light bulb when it was shining with yellow light, but then it dimmed down to something like that of a star, both in shape and lumination. It would be a pretty awesome looking bonfire though!

reply to post by Orkojoker

I think someone looks like a kook if they jump to conclusions and ignore plausible explanations. I'm quite open to what I saw, and careful to take it too seriously.

reply to post by packinmomma

Thank you. If you treat others with respect, you will most likely be treated the same way. And so far, everyone has been very polite and supportive.

Anyway, here's a visual representation of what I observed. It's as accurate as it's going to get, the red outline is approximately where the ball was located. The picture is obviously taken in daylight, but it's the best I could do. MSPaint is an awesome tool.

Originally posted by Droogie
reply to post by Arbitrageur

 

I can't rule that out, I guess, but still a bit doubtful. To my recollection I couldn't see any lights on the ground or on the water, but I can't entirely rule out deviations and where things may be obscured from my POV.

As this photo shows, you can see reflections of things in the air (like the big white area I circled) that you can't see on the ground:

www.polarimage.fi...


Given the terrain you show which would tend to obscure the view of parts of the ground this could be quite possible.

Interesting case, a nice read and always good for someone who's skeptical about it to come forward. It seems perfectly legit to me, sounds like you went through all the right emotions of a true sighting. Wonderment, fear, regret - these things flush over you when you know you're witnessing "the phenomena". Getting caught up in the moment and not reaching for a camera is also a very strong sign of a real experience. The zig zagging movement is widely reported, from internet people to my close friends experiences and my own.

I can understand the difficulty of only having one sighting - leaving you puzzled as to whether it was a real unexplainable phenomena or perhaps misinterpretation of something more normal. But that said, give it a chance, don't shy away from it, talk about it with people and keep the possibilities open. You might just see something similar again in the future, and then you'll really be able to start piecing things together.

Thanks for sharing!

Originally posted by ArbitrageurGiven the terrain you show which would tend to obscure the view of parts of the ground this could be quite possible.

It certainly could. But then it leaves me puzzled as to what on earth (pun intended) could account for the strange changes in the size and brightness of it. Maybe that's how the optical illusion works. Either way, it sure was a strange and cool thing to observe.

reply to post by markymint

Those feelings are just a sign that I saw something I was unfamiliar with, and in that sense, it was a "true sighting". Which I'm sure is what you meant. Arbitrageur may be onto something, that this was a mirror effect or a reflection of something on the ground that was obscured from my POV. But I'm also curious about what that could've been. My POV wasn't static as I was on a moving bus, and it behaved the same way from every angle until it disappeared. I need to get a better grasp on optical illusions and such before I can feel entirely comfortable with that explanation though.

I can understand the difficulty of only having one sighting - leaving you puzzled as to whether it was a real unexplainable phenomena or perhaps misinterpretation of something more normal.

Yeah, this is something that has stuck. But then again, altough it may seem irrational, I'm perfectly fine with living in doubt about it. I've also tried bringing it up with a few friends, but they've usually reacted by looking at me like I have a small dog standing on my head. Thanks for your input!