UFO over Chinese airport

[dougdirt]

Since we have had some fun UFO chats on here before, I thought this was worth posting. First a story (http://abcnews.go.com/International/ufo-china-closes-airport-prompts-investigation/story?id=11159531):

An unidentified flying object (UFO) forced Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou, China to cease operations on July 7. A flight crew preparing for descent first detected the object around 8:40 p.m. and notified the air traffic control department. Aviation authorities responded within minutes, grounding outbound flights and diverting inbound ones to airports in Ningbo and Wuxi.

Eighteen flights were affected. Though normal operations resumed an hour later, the incident captured the attention of the Chinese media and sparked a firestorm of speculation on the UFO's identity.

"It is a hidden U.S. bomber flying toward China," one Internet user wrote on Monday. Another wrote on Sunday night, "In my opinion, the UFO is neither a U.S. missile nor a Russian satellite. Suggestions that it is extraterrestrial are even more preposterous. Everyone, use your head. This is clearly a man-made phenomenon. Would the U.S. or Russia risk provoking China's anger by firing a missile or satellite rocket in Chinese skies, without warning? I believe the Chinese military is responsible for the UFO. It is a new missile or aircraft being tested out."

Fueling speculations further, Hangzhou residents released photos, taken in the afternoon before the delays, of a hovering object bathed in golden light and exhibiting a comet-like tail. Less than an hour before the Xiaoshan airport shut down, residents said they also saw a flying object emitting red and white rays of light.

Resident Ma Shijun was taking a nighttime stroll with his wife when he saw the object.

"I felt a beam of light over my head. Looking up, I saw a streak of bright, white light flying across the sky, so I picked up the camera and took the photo. The time was 8:26 p.m. However, whether the object was a plane, or whether it was Xiaoshan Airport's UFO, I don't have a clear answer," Ma told the Xinhua news agency.

The photos taken by Hangzhou residents may be unrelated to the UFO that shut down Xiaoshan Airport. According to Hangzhou meteorological authorities, residents in the afternoon probably saw light reflecting off of an airplane. As for Ma's nighttime photo, Beijing Planetarium curator Zhu Jing told Xinhua that the object looks just like a plane shining its strobe lamps.

For now, the UFO's identity remains shrouded in mystery. A spokesman from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed to ABC News that the matter is under investigation. He declined to disclose further details. A day after the sighting, however, an anonymous source told China Daily that authorities already discovered the identity of the UFO after an investigation but could not publically disclose the information because "there was a military connection." An official explanation is expected to be released on Friday, the source said.

Now, some video:
YouTube - UFO Flying Over China July 9 2010!!! REAL (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnszlJC8iGs)

So, what do you guys think?

[GIDP]

Looks unidentified to me.

[reds44]

Swear all UFO videos have the same type of music.

Definatley looks like UFO, but I'm one of those people who think pretty much all UFOs are military related.

[dougdirt]

Swear all UFO videos have the same type of music.

Definatley looks like UFO, but I'm one of those people who think pretty much all UFOs are military related.

Certainly could be. With that said, what I saw about 15 years ago is so far beyond our capabilities, I can't agree that all things are military based that are UFO like.

[reds44]

Certainly could be. With that said, what I saw about 15 years ago is so far beyond our capabilities, I can't agree that all things are military based that are UFO like.
I'm sure you've posted this before, but I don't think you're coo-coo so want to tell your story again?

[Dom Heffner]

A ghost and a UFO?

Next you're going to tell me what card I'm thinking of. :)

[Caveat Emperor]

Swear all UFO videos have the same type of music.

Definatley looks like UFO, but I'm one of those people who think pretty much all UFOs are military related.

And you have to remember, we're talking about China here -- not exactly the type of country that is particularly forthcoming with information about what goes on with their military.

I'd bet significant sums of money this was some sort of military test they were running.

[Brutus]

Certainly could be. With that said, what I saw about 15 years ago is so far beyond our capabilities, I can't agree that all things are military based that are UFO like.

I also used to think it was military related. After all, the technology the military possesses is far more advanced than we're told or aware of as civilians and the access we have to it.

For me, though, it changed a couple of years ago. I was speaking on the phone with someone on the back porch of where I lived. It was late at night. I looked up and noticed a bright red light hovering in the sky. It was stationary but moving. Then suddenly it zipped from West to East in the sky, disappeared and a bright flash lit up the entire sky.

Interestingly, the next day, a newspaper reported the flash and the report was that a meteorite struck earth in the Newark, Ohio area.

What the paper didn't mention, however, was that bright red light that was hovering, then streaking before the flash. I don't know a ton about meteors, but I know this wasn't one.

I certainly don't know what it was. I don't close my mind to the possibility it was as something simple as military-related experiments. But whatever it was, the bogus explanation of a meteor didn't hold water -- which makes me more skeptical about whatever it was.

[RichRed]

I actually deal with a vendor in Hangzhou. I'll have to ask the guy about this.

[MilotheMayor]

After viewing this video, I'm pretty confident that this 'UFO' was a missile launch by the Chinese government.
YouTube - Minotaur Rocket launch 09/22/2005 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiIRLij3RV4)

[GIDP]

What I will always struggle with when people talk about Ghost and UFOs is that for as popular as they are they still seem to be impossible to document other than hearsay. I have to trust people's words in pretty much every case, or I have to trust some sketchy video that unless you flat out look for it and almost trick yourself into it seeing what you want to see it is just some basic video.

I think its silly to think that there isnt other life out there somewhere because we cant even really think about how big the universe is, but you would think there would be more proof of things flying around in our skies. I'd love to have my own proof, but I find it doubtful I ever will because I for one dont even have it cross my mind, and two I honestly have never seen any proof worth a darn.

[Rojo]

What about North Korea?

[dougdirt]

I'm sure you've posted this before, but I don't think you're coo-coo so want to tell your story again?

I was sleeping over at a friends (I was 10 or 11 at the time). It was around 1 in the morning and I saw this bright light in the sky that was about the size of a baseball in comparison to the window. It larger than the moon at the time (in perspective, it clearly wasn't larger than the moon, just much closer to us).It was just floating there I guess, not moving for a good 10 minutes. I was terrified and honestly could not move. My friend, had to go to the bathroom really bad went. While he was in the bathroom, the light began to either get larger or get closer. As he flushed the toilet the light, whatever it was did a zig zag type thing across the sky faster than anything I have ever come close to seeing before. Almost made a z type flight pattern before just zipping out of sight. The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes or so. To this day, I still get a little scared to look up into the night sky when I am alone. Still freaks me out.

[dougdirt]

After viewing this video, I'm pretty confident that this 'UFO' was a missile launch by the Chinese government.


Certainly looks eerily similar. I guess the only thing I would ask is, if it was a missle launch, why was it flying so low to the ground over an airport?!

[Johnny Footstool]

Missile that went off-course.

[reds44]

I was sleeping over at a friends (I was 10 or 11 at the time). It was around 1 in the morning and I saw this bright light in the sky that was about the size of a baseball in comparison to the window. It larger than the moon at the time (in perspective, it clearly wasn't larger than the moon, just much closer to us).It was just floating there I guess, not moving for a good 10 minutes. I was terrified and honestly could not move. My friend, had to go to the bathroom really bad went. While he was in the bathroom, the light began to either get larger or get closer. As he flushed the toilet the light, whatever it was did a zig zag type thing across the sky faster than anything I have ever come close to seeing before. Almost made a z type flight pattern before just zipping out of sight. The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes or so. To this day, I still get a little scared to look up into the night sky when I am alone. Still freaks me out.
Thanks. Definatley creepy.

[RBA]

Since I grew up near Vandenberg AFB and also have been stationed there, this looks like a missle launch in my opinion.

But was a sonic boom heard?

[Blimpie]

Whatever happens around the 32 second mark of the original video is pretty interesting...

[mdccclxix]

I wonder, if there aren't any known lifeforms in our solar system, at least none that we can "see" that would be so complex as to build amazing space ships, then how do they travel from 4.3 light years away (25,278,089,104,689.51 Miles, the nearest star) to just coast along our sky? Sit, then zig zag away? Land with incredibly bright lights with little known purpose? When will they interact already! I mean, don't they need a soda or something? 25 quadrillion miles will wear a brotha out. I'm pulling away from my UFO beliefs as time goes by. I don't believe any videos, any, that I see - until a little dude lands in NY and NBC interviews him.

[Dom Heffner]

I wonder, if there aren't any known lifeforms in our solar system, at least none that we can "see" that would be so complex as to build amazing space ships, then how do they travel from 4.3 light years away (25,278,089,104,689.51 Miles, the nearest star) to just coast along our sky? Sit, then zig zag away? Land with incredibly bright lights with little known purpose? When will they interact already! I mean, don't they need a soda or something? 25 quadrillion miles will wear a brotha out. I'm pulling away from my UFO beliefs as time goes by. I don't believe any videos, any, that I see - until a little dude lands in NY and NBC interviews him.

Love the ones that have bright flashing lights...they can fly across the solar system but are VFR rated apparently....

[RBA]

then how do they travel from 4.3 light years away (25,278,089,104,689.51 Miles, the nearest star

Helloooooooooooooooooooooo. Worm Hole or Black Hole. Come on people, space travel is not that hard to figure out.

[Redsfaithful]

I think if people truly stopped and thought about how huge the universe is they'd realize the entire concept of extraterrestrial UFOs is a pretty silly one. Just like it's pretty silly to think we'll ever leave our solar system (one of 200 billion stars in our galaxy) with a manned expedition, let alone our galaxy (which is one of 125 billion galaxies in the universe to give a sense of the vast scale we are talking about).

It's actually kind of depressing, I would love for some of this stuff to be legit, but reality is reality.

[Rojo]

I think if people truly stopped and thought about how huge the universe is they'd realize the entire concept of extraterrestrial UFOs is a pretty silly one.

Think of it this way -- in an infinite universe there are infinite possibilities.

I just don't seem them wearing mylar jumpsuits.

[marcshoe]

I just figured they were heading to N. Korea to pick up Kim Jung Il and take him home.

[Johnny Footstool]

I think if people truly stopped and thought about how huge the universe is they'd realize the entire concept of extraterrestrial UFOs is a pretty silly one. Just like it's pretty silly to think we'll ever leave our solar system (one of 200 billion stars in our galaxy) with a manned expedition, let alone our galaxy (which is one of 125 billion galaxies in the universe to give a sense of the vast scale we are talking about).

It's actually kind of depressing, I would love for some of this stuff to be legit, but reality is reality.

Our current understanding of physics makes interstellar travel pretty farfetched.

However, it's also pretty farfetched to assume that our current understanding of physics is anything close to complete.

[dougdirt]

Our current understanding of physics makes interstellar travel pretty farfetched.

However, it's also pretty farfetched to assume that our current understanding of physics is anything close to complete.

Yeah. Even 200 years ago the things we can do now seemed absolutely out of the realm of possibility.

[GIDP]

If aliens were fake why did then what happened to Elvis?

[Orodle]

The F-117 Stealth Fighter is early 1970s technology, not known publicly till late 80s early 90s. Its a military aircraft.

[RedsManRick]

It's actually kind of depressing, I would love for some of this stuff to be legit, but reality is reality.

And our understanding of reality is not complete. I think it's silly to dismiss the notion just because we can't understand how it would work or why.

Assuming we make it that long, imagine where human technology will be in 10,000 years -- and that's just a tiny bucket in the life of the universe.

[marcshoe]

I don't know if it's been posted, but I heard today that an analysis says this is a combination of video of the Chinese missile launch and a photoshopped UFO.

Here's the story, (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/20/china.ufo.debunked/?hpt=Sbin#fbid=qiezK5WpOp7)and here's a detailed explanation. (http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/china-ufos-space-expert-james-oberg-says-dont-jump-to-conclusions/19560026)

[KronoRed]

If a civilization has achieved space travel, what possible interest could humans be to them?

[dougdirt]

If a civilization has achieved space travel, what possible interest could humans be to them?

Why do people study just about everything? From the simple to the complicated, some devote their lives to the study of those things.

[RBA]

If a civilization has achieved space travel, what possible interest could humans be to them?

As slaves for the copper mines on Mars.

[texasdave]

Soylent Green is People !!

[UKFlounder]

Watch the Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" and you'll understand

[pahster]

If a civilization has achieved space travel, what possible interest could humans be to them?

Reality TV?

[RedsManRick]

If a civilization has achieved space travel, what possible interest could humans be to them?

Curiosity? Or the "The Day the Earth Stood Still" argument?
(humans are too violent, too much of a danger to be allowed in to deep space, so they're keeping tabs on the situation)

[GIDP]

I just want to get one of those probes everyone talks about.

[Rojo]

I just want to get one of those probes everyone talks about.

Drink heavily at a rest stop.

[Redsfaithful]

Our current understanding of physics makes interstellar travel pretty farfetched.

However, it's also pretty farfetched to assume that our current understanding of physics is anything close to complete.

True, but I feel pretty comfortable with my position. I don't think most people have a good sense of just how far away things really are.

[BoydsOfSummer]

Looked like a Pink Floyd concert to me.

[OldRightHander]

True, but I feel pretty comfortable with my position. I don't think most people have a good sense of just how far away things really are.

Pretty staggering to say the least. I have no problem believing that there might be other people out there, but the sheer distances involved would make it pretty likely that were are blissfully unaware of one another. Now that doesn't rule out some entirely different technological capability that would involve some sort of shortcuts, but it would have to be something way beyond our capability to begin to understand. The energy required to even think about opening any sort of wormhole would be vastly beyond what we have the ability to create. I can't even get my head around what it would take for some entities to travel sufficiently faster than light to actually get here in a timely manner, or to manage whatever kind of shortcuts there might be to cut down the distance.

[Roy Tucker]

True, but I feel pretty comfortable with my position. I don't think most people have a good sense of just how far away things really are.

i helped my daughter with an astronomy project where one light year equaled one jelly bean. we then estimated how many jelly beans there were in a gallon and then equated different astronomical object distances to gallons of water in bodies of water. iirc, we went from a sliver of a jelly bean (sun to earth) to a large lake in ohio (edge of the universe) which ended up being a whole buttload of jelly beans. i remember a 20 gallon aquarium, a water tower, and a swimming pool in there somewhere too.

she got like an a+++ and the teacher kept her project. we didn't know if it was because he liked her estimating techniques or he wanted the jelly beans on the poster.

[CrackerJack]

If a civilization has achieved space travel, what possible interest could humans be to them?

They may want to aid us. Or maybe they're just curious.

There are obviously a lot of things we don't know or understand yet. Spirits and "aliens" are likely part of the natural order of things in the universe, ecspecially if you subscribe to something like Spiritism or Buddhism, or have had life experiences that open you up to it.

Any ways, it's where I disagree with Hawking. I can't think of reasons why much more evolved, intelligent beings would be interested in any of our petty resources. It's also likely they've evolved beyond consumption-based lifestyles and the accumulation of wealth and materialism as the core of their existence. They may want to learn or help stop something, but I'm doubting they're interested in taking something, otherwise they already would have long ago, among other reasons.

[Dom Heffner]

Light that started at one end of the Milky Way, say just even 2000 years ago, travelling at the speed of light, has still not reached the other end of the galaxy.

[KronoRed]

They may want to aid us. Or maybe they're just curious.


True, granted I'm not usually curious about the moss growing outside on the rain barrel, but I could be if bored enough :D

[marcshoe]

Some scientists would be, though.

[texasdave]

Watch the Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" and you'll understand

It's a cookbook!

[Roy Tucker]

It's a cookbook!

with fava beans and a nice chianti.

[GIDP]

Drink heavily at a rest stop.

of all the replies I thought I would get after that post, you topped every single one of them.

:laugh: