LOLZ 😃

 

"Appeared to be multiple objects following the same sort of trajectory, and very bright where we were."

"Banked over to the right and then climbed away at speed from our perspective."

I'm an amateur astronomer (at least in a previous life when I lived under less cloudy skies!). That's a classic description of a "bolide," a meteor that breaks up on entry to the atmosphere. Sometimes they can skip off the atmosphere, which might explain that last report of change in flight path, but I think it's more likely just a trick of perspective. Maybe distortion through the cockpit windscreen.

Bright meteors -- especially the more spectacular bright fragmenting bolides -- are far more common than most people realize, except for those living in dark sky areas of the planet. Or airline pilots.

I think it was swamp gas from a weather balloon that was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.

After watching many UFO documentaries, I've always been curious as to why, after travelling halfway across the Universe and probably through countless wormholes, bending the fabric of time etc, do they have to switch on lights when they arrive on this planet? 😂

30 minutes ago, Paraffin said:

"Appeared to be multiple objects following the same sort of trajectory, and very bright where we were."

"Banked over to the right and then climbed away at speed from our perspective."

I'm an amateur astronomer (at least in a previous life when I lived under less cloudy skies!). That's a classic description of a "bolide," a meteor that breaks up on entry to the atmosphere. Sometimes they can skip off the atmosphere, which might explain that last report of change in flight path, but I think it's more likely just a trick of perspective. Maybe distortion through the cockpit windscreen.

Bright meteors -- especially the more spectacular bright fragmenting bolides -- are far more common than most people realize, except for those living in dark sky areas of the planet. Or airline pilots.

I have seen similar things from the ground, usually around times of meteor showers.  November is during the time of the Leonids Meteor shower although it happens later in the month, there is always some activity on the periphery of it and other meteor showers.  UFO reports always climb during these times, like during and just before and after the Perseid meteor showers in August and so on.  I have seen beautiful displays when I used to live in Napa and on the periphery of Phoenix, usually after midnight but during the Perseids also at dusk. 

However when living in Napa I and some of my friends in different locations saw a series of stationary lights high overhead that would move rapidly in about a 10 degree arc, directly to our north.  I watched them until it was time for my Mom and I to drive home from the store.  This is the only time I have seen something amongst the stars I could not explain, although I am sure there was some logical reason for it, like unseen overhead clouds just blocking certain stars.  Still it was profound enough for a close friend to comment on it, who was clear across town from where I was. 

I also saw some spooky, unexplained weather in Napa in the spring of 1980, my only experience with a Tornado in Napa (although I have been in many in the Midwest so I know what the are) where my father said the funnel went right overhead, a small F0-F1 Tornado that still tore off roof tiles and toppled an 80 foot pine tree, virtually uprooting it.  And yes, it sounded like a freight train coming thru, and my impish mind took a while to register that the closest train tracks were miles away, too late to avoid getting caught in the storm. 

What was spooky about it is unforecasted weather came upon us while we were golfing.  In twenty minutes we went from absolutely clear skies, dead calm, to cumulus, to cumulonimbus, then thunder, then the Tornado.  There was not even a trace of high clouds in the sky when we went golfing that day.  Just like they say, the Tornadic weather came out of nowhere as if some giant hand in the sky arranged it.  When the funnel passed over me my father reported I just vanished as I tried to run for the cover of the pro shop about 50 yards to my west. 

The Tornado came from the west to east and exited to the southeast leaving about a 300 yard wide swath of damage, broken tree limbs, torn off roof tiles in its wake, its path on the ground was approx a third of a mile.  I had no time to be scared, and during the height of it the sound was so loud I could no longer hear, I had zero visibility, just solid bronze dust all around me and I felt wind from all directions holding me upright like I was in a narrow box.  Then it was gone and I looked back to see my astonished father looking at me, then in the direction of the tree that was uprooted.  No one was hurt that day but our pride.  I called it an unidentified flying freight train, and in Napa of all places, not Tornado alley.  Naoa has had other reported Tornadoes about every ten years or so, usually during times of unsettled, unpredictable weather.

John

John

11 minutes ago, Peter Webber said:

After watching many UFO documentaries, I've always been curious as to why, after travelling halfway across the Universe and probably through countless wormholes, bending the fabric of time etc, do they have to switch on lights when they arrive on this planet? 😂

LoL my first and only laugh of the day. 

that thing was astronomical 😄

Yes I agree, if they are out there we won't see em, they won't want us too. They wouldn't be turning on the flash lights to make themselves known

1 hour ago, Peter Webber said:

After watching many UFO documentaries, I've always been curious as to why, after travelling halfway across the Universe and probably through countless wormholes, bending the fabric of time etc, do they have to switch on lights when they arrive on this planet? 😂

They're highly advanced, but they can't bend the laws of physics enough to eliminate the side effect of friction when they brake into the Earth's atmosphere.They just hope we won't notice that.

By the way... you can tell the speed of a meteor from the color. Slower ones are yellow shading into the orange as they burn, especially the fragmenting bolides.

The really fast ones leave a very long green ionization trail from the electrons stripped out and glowing in the atmosphere.

If you ever see a blue meteor trail, that's an alien ship braking down from near lightspeed into the atmosphere from the Cherenkov effect. That's the cue to start digging a hole in your back yard for shelter.

3 hours ago, Peter Webber said:

After watching many UFO documentaries, I've always been curious as to why, after travelling halfway across the Universe and probably through countless wormholes, bending the fabric of time etc, do they have to switch on lights when they arrive on this planet? 😂

Because the FAA mandates it and they don't wanna lose their license.  Reporting to FSDO is not fun.

13 minutes ago, Orlaam said:

Because the FAA mandates it and they don't wanna lose their license.  Reporting to FSDO is not fun.

😂 My exact thoughts!

2 hours ago, Paraffin said:

They're highly advanced, but they can't bend the laws of physics enough to eliminate the side effect of friction when they brake into the Earth's atmosphere.They just hope we won't notice that.

By the way... you can tell the speed of a meteor from the color. Slower ones are yellow shading into the orange as they burn, especially the fragmenting bolides.

The really fast ones leave a very long green ionization trail from the electrons stripped out and glowing in the atmosphere.

If you ever see a blue meteor trail, that's an alien ship braking down from near lightspeed into the atmosphere from the Cherenkov effect. That's the cue to start digging a hole in your back yard for shelter.

Great information. I will purchase my fallout shelter now. Do they have them on Amazon? By the way, which planet are you from? In your post, should you not be replacing "They" with "We"?😁

Edited November 14, 20187 yr by Peter Webber

Well that's it--no more Irish Coffee for the flight crews...

17 minutes ago, w6kd said:

Well that's it--no more Irish Coffee for the flight crews...

No ways. I love my Irish Coffee...but then again only when on leave...😁

Whilst Paraffin's suggestion sounds perfectly reasonable, I can't help wondering how airline pilots can describe the trajectory of a bolide breaking up in Earth's atmosphere as "banked over to the right, and then climbed away at speed....".

Edited November 14, 20187 yr by Christopher Low

10 hours ago, Peter Webber said:

After watching many UFO documentaries, I've always been curious as to why, after travelling halfway across the Universe and probably through countless wormholes, bending the fabric of time etc, do they have to switch on lights when they arrive on this planet? 😂

 

Well, they are below 10,000 feet, so they know to slow to 250 knots and turn on the lights! Just goes to show you how intelligent they are. I still have FO's that forget that! 🙂