Is the Alleged Alien Video Authentic?

[russ_watters]

I'm still having trouble with that link - not sure what the problem is.

For example, this very interesting video, which coincidentally was taken by the Long Beach Police Department, is almost certainly authentic. It was reported in the press at the time, and AFAIK, no one knows what it was. One possibility that comes to mind for me is ball lightning or some other rare but real phenomenon that is reported as a "UFO" from time to time. In any case the dripping of material "like molten metal" has been reported in many UFO reports [which need not mean alien spacecraft reports...though in some cases that is the specific claim], and in some cases trace evidence was recovered. So I can't help but think of those cases when viewing this video, but of course we could be seeing something else entirely.


The weather report from that night says it was calm. Note also that the clouds appear to be motionless as compared to the target.

Given the context and content, I think the most likely explanation is a fire balloon. These appear to be growing in popularity, we've seen a bunch here lately.

 

[russ_watters]

I'm still having trouble with that link - not sure what the problem is. .asx is some sort of media redirector, and is supposed to open media player, I think.

For example, this very interesting video, which coincidentally was taken by the Long Beach Police Department, is almost certainly authentic. It was reported in the press at the time, and AFAIK, no one knows what it was. One possibility that comes to mind for me is ball lightning or some other rare but real phenomenon that is reported as a "UFO" from time to time. In any case the dripping of material "like molten metal" has been reported in many UFO reports [which need not mean alien spacecraft reports...though in some cases that is the specific claim], and in some cases trace evidence was recovered. So I can't help but think of those cases when viewing this video, but of course we could be seeing something else entirely.


The weather report from that night says it was calm. Note also that the clouds appear to be motionless as compared to the target.

Given the context and content, I think the most likely explanation is a fire balloon. It fits very well. These appear to be growing in popularity, we've seen a bunch here lately. In any case:

-It was shot on a beach.
-Flaming pieces falling off is a common characteristic of fire balloons.

http://www.geocities.com/midimagic@sbcglobal.net/candbal.htm
Here's a good example of one "dripping" as it burns up (not as much as in the one above, though): http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=808025
Here's one with fireworks attached to the bottom: http://www.viddler.com/explore/skylanterns/videos/42/

Some of these are done for fun, some are done as purposeful UFO hoaxes. Some are so good, they may explain a very large class of UFO sightings. Such as the famous Phoenix Lights: http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/080423-bad-phoenix-lights.html
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2008/04/chopper_pilot_says_ufos_probab.php

These might be the new crop circles.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Here's a good example of one "dripping" as it burns up (not as much as in the one above, though): http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=808025
Here's one with fireworks attached to the bottom: http://www.viddler.com/explore/skylanterns/videos/42/

The apparent amount of material that falls is one thing that made me shy away from a standard lantern explantion, but something designed to produce a hoax is certainly within the realm of possibilities. But, the biggest problem that I see with that explanation is the motion - it does not appear to me that we have an explanation for the observed speed relative to the background clouds: It does not appear to be wind driven. And the weather reports indicates that there was little to no wind.

As for the first link, have you tried opening it with the Win Media Player directly?

It is a fascinating bit of War and UFO history - well worth the effort to listen at least once, IMO.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Here is an optional link for the WWII audio, that requires Real Player
http://mfile.akamai.com/5022/rm/coast.download.akamai.com/5022/clips/05/12/120705_cbs_news_ufo.ram