Posted on 04/06/2009 10:05:25 AM PDT by JoeProBono
A Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) report concerning the now-famous Morris County, NJ, UFO scam describes the sighting as something manmade.
Joe Rudy, 28, and Chris Russo, 29, have been charged with disorderly conduct, after prosecutors there learned of the hoax on YouTube, where they actually showed us how they did it - red flares, helium balloons and fishing line. The first attempt at a hoax appears to be a report filed with MUFON on Jan. 5, 2009. Other hoax dates are Feb. 7 and Feb. 17, 2009.
But MUFON called this one correctly on Jan. 7, 2009.
Photo Analyst Marc D'Antonio, with FX Models, LLC, was brought in on the case after the January 5, 2009, report by MUFON's Richard Lang, a STAR team coordinator. The STAR team is MUFON's recent push to get investigations rolling quickly, especially in cases where there may be ground evidence. Lang provided D'Antonio with a video tape of the event.
The following is D'Antonio's statement on the case from Jan. 7.
"I noted that the lights seemed to operate independently, and were brightening and dimming independently, as in a flickering effect, indicative of a typical flame-based light source that I have seen countless times. By flame-based I mean a flying light created by a Chinese Lantern or a flare.
"A Chinese Lantern, as you already must know, is a paper balloon envelope with a heat source suspended underneath in the opening that heats the envelope making a crude hot air balloon until the flame goes out.
"Further, in the report, the indication was that the lights went out one by one.
"This is very telling. When lights go out one-by-one, that usually means that they were LIT one after another.
"A flare that lasts 20 minutes has burned for 4-5, say by the time the LAST one in the chain is lit, and they are all released if performed by a person or two. So this staggered fadeout pattern is expected in such situations and is what happened in this case.
"Whether this event was due to Chinese Lanterns, as I thought they could be, or flares, didn't matter actually.
"It was clear to me after viewing the video that this is not a UFO, but was a man-made hoax event.
"I informed the STAR team, that in my opinion, this was a man-made event, and not a true UFO of any kind. I suggested obtaining prevailing wind data for that evening and guessing how long the lights were visible, figure out a probable drift pattern and search for debris.
"The MUFON STAR team, using good science, did a search, and in fact they found debris from the "apparatus" along the path that the object took. So this was a good team effort, with the expected result for a hoax event."
UFO reporting mistakes are made
The case received national attention, though, when History Channel's UFO Hunters presented the case and offered the opinion that the lights were not the result of something manmade.
Making judgements in the field is tough without the help of good analysis - which takes time. Very often, field investigators are left with nothing but witness testimony. And witness testimony and MUFON conclusions don't always agree - and sometimes MUFON field investigators and witnesses agree to disagree.
The recent Long Beach, CA, sighting, from March 17, 2009, is a case in point.
I have the easy job - reporting on UFO sightings that are raw and mostly uninvestigated. So when a witness report like this comes along, I get to write a cool headline - UFO hovers near CA Navy weapons base. In this case, the witness offered an exact location, and with the help of Mapquest, I can see that the sighting is a stone's throw from Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station - like right next door.
The witness and myself got in touch with each other, and I was able to conduct telephone interviews with her from Chicago. And then MUFON followed up. Here is the final analysis I received from MUFON's Southern California State Director, Georgeanne Cifarelli.
"No doubt, this is a standard security aircraft, perhaps a flying heli. Our President had landed with Air Force One in Long Beach, and taken to the fairgrounds. There was very tight air security at this time because of that. The witness thought she had seen a disc. I think what she had seen was the rotor blades of a helicopter and as they caught the lights from below, the rotor blade disc pattern reflected and shined back on them. A helicopter is called a rotary wing aircraft because the blades spin so fast that effectively you have a big circular wing. These 'wings' look solid if light reflects on them in the same way that a three blade fan spinning looks semi-solid in the light. We have ascertained it is a helicopter. No mystery in that."
Good work by MUFON.
Some hoaxes are bettter than others.
Thanks.
On a fairly still night, you can use plastic grocery bags and a tea-light candle (with a little duct tape to secure the tea light) to make your own UFO’s. As the wax burns away, they get higher. Sometimes it takes some of the wax burning off to get them to fly, i generally scrape half of it out, first.
Oh Come on now!! CRIMINAL CHARGES?? for a harmless goof???
That’s one u(fo)gly perp there...
The first attempt at a hoax appears to be a report filed with MUFON on Jan. 5, 2009. Other hoax dates are Feb. 7 and Feb. 17, 2009. But MUFON called this one correctly on Jan. 7, 2009... The following is D'Antonio's statement on the case from Jan. 7. "I noted that the lights seemed to operate independently, and were brightening and dimming independently, as in a flickering effect, indicative of a typical flame-based light source that I have seen countless times. By flame-based I mean a flying light created by a Chinese Lantern or a flare. A Chinese Lantern, as you already must know, is a paper balloon envelope with a heat source suspended underneath in the opening that heats the envelope making a crude hot air balloon until the flame goes out. Further, in the report, the indication was that the lights went out one by one. This is very telling. When lights go out one-by-one, that usually means that they were LIT one after another. A flare that lasts 20 minutes has burned for 4-5, say by the time the LAST one in the chain is lit, and they are all released if performed by a person or two. So this staggered fadeout pattern is expected in such situations and is what happened in this case. Whether this event was due to Chinese Lanterns, as I thought they could be, or flares, didn't matter actually. It was clear to me after viewing the video that this is not a UFO, but was a man-made hoax event. I informed the STAR team, that in my opinion, this was a man-made event, and not a true UFO of any kind. I suggested obtaining prevailing wind data for that evening and guessing how long the lights were visible, figure out a probable drift pattern and search for debris. The MUFON STAR team, using good science, did a search, and in fact they found debris from the "apparatus" along the path that the object took. So this was a good team effort, with the expected result for a hoax event."Kudos.
No author credit, again?
Yeah, right. They have an "evidence" creating kook in their very midst.
Christine: I never know when these objects will show up and they do not always show up every night. As I said before I can always tell when they are around by the energy and excitement I feel when they are near. I am hoping to get others out there to photograph as often as possible, because I think this is the only way to end the secrecy surrounding these events. Obviously these ETs want us to know they are out there. Also from one of my photos that shows a UFO with windows, I was able to get a face to show up, only after having a dream in which the ET himself told me how to do it. It was a very difficult process.
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