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I have video surveillance with motion detection set up on our cottage, it's a treat to watch the wildlife take over the garden when we are not there. But once i

I have video surveillance with motion detection set up on our cottage, it's a treat to watch the wildlife take over the garden when we are not there. But once in a while something curious happens: two small orbs, or lights, start to move up and down in complete synchronicity. It defies all logic, occurs only intermittently and after a while I started considering the possibility that I was being visited by some alien intelligence that only shows itself at night in remote wilderness locations. Until I realized that it was a strand of a spiders wed that, when suspended in front of the camera in an arch, causes the infrared light of the camera to reflect back at two points. As the wind blows gently the reflections move up and down. It is with mixed feelings, both satisfaction and dismay, I accept that the mystery is no more.

eitally 3y ago
fwiw, I have seen exactly the same thing with the Nest Cam I have pointed into my backyard. Not interestingly, I suppose, this camera also regularly has the IR motion trigger activated by small moths and other flying bugs. :/
runjake 3y ago
When military aviation says it "observed" something, you can safely assume it means they observed something on multiple spectrums (eg. visible light, infrared, radar, etc) and even by multiple aircraft. We're not dumb, we're trained in observation and identification, and we see (visible light|single-spectrum) anomalies all the time and those get dismissed as whatever. On the other side of the coin, we often do see stuff like Mylar balloons and other odd, but un-shocking aerial phenomena, so it's important to keep investigations scientifically-rigorous. If you click on some of the report links in the article, they lead to some reports about the "sphere in translucent cube" UAPs, along with many reports about what are clearly off-the-shelf and customized drones (eg. DJI and custom builds and the like). There's definitely something odd going on, but I feel like the news media is really trying to trump it up for clicks.
- Loquebantur 3y ago
  The problem isn't the US military being incompetent, it's american citizens living in fear of loosing control. The fantasy of pilots circling around balloons in unceasing awe and amazement provides a feeling of superiority, the "obvious" resolution there just as in stories such as GP's instill the idea of being in perfect command of the relevant context. UAPs on the other hand, the idea of them being indications of the presence of some superior non-human intelligence, that is representing ultimate loss of control. Threatening to call into question too many comfortable convictions.
  - scrubs 3y ago
    Well sure. Most mono theistic religions will struggle to incorporate alien life. Alas fundamentalist Christianity has a sufficiently ill-defined theology that it can incorporate most anything despite the fact the old testament creation story says nothing about alien civilizations in any meaningful way. Consistency with completeness have never been a pressing problem for it.
    - AtlasBarfed 3y ago
      I suspect the fear is a wee bit more primal, as in native Americans viewing European ships.
    - Amezarak 3y ago
      If you're willing to accept the existence of magic, physics-defying UFOs, then at least some fundamentalists seem equally well grounded in providing an entirely different non-spacefaring-alien explanation for them. At any rate, I don't think anyone claims to offer a complete explanation for everything that exists.
      - scrubs 3y ago
        Maybe your rain check with evangelical Christians has expired? By construction, by definition in their mind God is cause and explanation fir everything and the 66 books of the Bible is the bona-fide bottom line as they see it. And most cases it's literal truth.
b33j0r 3y ago
I would read a blog or twitter account just full of stories like this. I would send in some of my own, as I think it’s a funny and beautiful thing when a mundanely localized supernatural mystery is solved by investigating. A tone of mild disappointment is a pretty common denominator experience that grins.
- thiht 3y ago
  I have one. It’s a story I saw on TV. There were a few guys in France near the Belgium frontier who said they observed « light orbs » floating above the trees. It was not aircrafts because they moved at an unusual speed and were completely silent. They were convinced it was UFOs (the alien kind). Then they said the date when it happened. My girlfriend and I looked at each other instantly, because at this date we attended a wedding in Belgium, just near the frontier, and there was this activity where we launched these Chinese paper lanterns. We launched like 2 dozens, and it was quite windy, so it’s no surprise some did cross the frontier to be seen by our TV witnesses.
Kye 3y ago
Someone posted a blurry video of a red light moving around, disappearing, and reappearing in the sky at the local Walmart. I had to break it to them that it was the red light on top of the water tower across the street. There were no other lights, and the stars weren't visible there, so I could understand seeing a UFO moving around in the autokinetic effect. A very fun optical illusion to play with, or deeply concerning to someone who doesn't know about it. Unnatural motion seems to get the highest weight in these sightings, so I wouldn't be surprised if this effect is the #1 culprit. Imagine how the ISS or even any satellite would look with that effect, floating around as it goes from dim, to bright, to dim as it crosses the sky.

eitally 3y ago

fwiw, I have seen exactly the same thing with the Nest Cam I have pointed into my backyard. Not interestingly, I suppose, this camera also regularly has the IR motion trigger activated by small moths and other flying bugs. :/

runjake 3y ago

When military aviation says it "observed" something, you can safely assume it means they observed something on multiple spectrums (eg. visible light, infrared, radar, etc) and even by multiple aircraft. We're not dumb, we're trained in observation and identification, and we see (visible light|single-spectrum) anomalies all the time and those get dismissed as whatever. On the other side of the coin, we often do see stuff like Mylar balloons and other odd, but un-shocking aerial phenomena, so it's important to keep investigations scientifically-rigorous. If you click on some of the report links in the article, they lead to some reports about the "sphere in translucent cube" UAPs, along with many reports about what are clearly off-the-shelf and customized drones (eg. DJI and custom builds and the like). There's definitely something odd going on, but I feel like the news media is really trying to trump it up for clicks.

Loquebantur 3y ago
The problem isn't the US military being incompetent, it's american citizens living in fear of loosing control. The fantasy of pilots circling around balloons in unceasing awe and amazement provides a feeling of superiority, the "obvious" resolution there just as in stories such as GP's instill the idea of being in perfect command of the relevant context. UAPs on the other hand, the idea of them being indications of the presence of some superior non-human intelligence, that is representing ultimate loss of control. Threatening to call into question too many comfortable convictions.
- scrubs 3y ago
  Well sure. Most mono theistic religions will struggle to incorporate alien life. Alas fundamentalist Christianity has a sufficiently ill-defined theology that it can incorporate most anything despite the fact the old testament creation story says nothing about alien civilizations in any meaningful way. Consistency with completeness have never been a pressing problem for it.
  - AtlasBarfed 3y ago
    I suspect the fear is a wee bit more primal, as in native Americans viewing European ships.
  - Amezarak 3y ago
    If you're willing to accept the existence of magic, physics-defying UFOs, then at least some fundamentalists seem equally well grounded in providing an entirely different non-spacefaring-alien explanation for them. At any rate, I don't think anyone claims to offer a complete explanation for everything that exists.
    - scrubs 3y ago
      Maybe your rain check with evangelical Christians has expired? By construction, by definition in their mind God is cause and explanation fir everything and the 66 books of the Bible is the bona-fide bottom line as they see it. And most cases it's literal truth.

b33j0r 3y ago

I would read a blog or twitter account just full of stories like this. I would send in some of my own, as I think it’s a funny and beautiful thing when a mundanely localized supernatural mystery is solved by investigating. A tone of mild disappointment is a pretty common denominator experience that grins.

thiht 3y ago
I have one. It’s a story I saw on TV. There were a few guys in France near the Belgium frontier who said they observed « light orbs » floating above the trees. It was not aircrafts because they moved at an unusual speed and were completely silent. They were convinced it was UFOs (the alien kind). Then they said the date when it happened. My girlfriend and I looked at each other instantly, because at this date we attended a wedding in Belgium, just near the frontier, and there was this activity where we launched these Chinese paper lanterns. We launched like 2 dozens, and it was quite windy, so it’s no surprise some did cross the frontier to be seen by our TV witnesses.

Kye 3y ago

Someone posted a blurry video of a red light moving around, disappearing, and reappearing in the sky at the local Walmart. I had to break it to them that it was the red light on top of the water tower across the street. There were no other lights, and the stars weren't visible there, so I could understand seeing a UFO moving around in the autokinetic effect. A very fun optical illusion to play with, or deeply concerning to someone who doesn't know about it. Unnatural motion seems to get the highest weight in these sightings, so I wouldn't be surprised if this effect is the #1 culprit. Imagine how the ISS or even any satellite would look with that effect, floating around as it goes from dim, to bright, to dim as it crosses the sky.