Natural Explanation Found for UFOs

painkiller64

Avoid A Void
:cool:SPACE.com Staff
SPACE.com Space.com Staff

space.com – Mon Feb 23, 3:15 pm ET

Mysterious UFO sightings may go hand in hand with a puzzling natural phenomenon known as sprites — flashes high in the atmosphere triggered by thunderstorms.

The dancing lights have appeared above most thunderstorms throughout history, but researchers did not start studying them until one accidentally recorded a sighting on camera in 1989.

"Lightning from the thunderstorm excites the electric field above, producing a flash of light called a sprite," said Colin Price, a geophysicist at Tel Aviv University in Israel. "We now understand that only a specific type of lightning is the trigger that initiates sprites aloft."

Researchers have detected the flashes between 35 and 80 miles (56-129 km) from the ground, far above the 7 to 10 miles (11-16 km) where usual lightning occurs. Sprites can take the form of fast-paced balls of electricity, although previous footage has suggested streaks or tendrils.

The cause or function of the flashes remains murky, but Price suggested that they could explain some of the UFO reports which have cropped up over the years. That might provide some solace for UFO enthusiasts disappointed by human-caused hoaxes in the past.

Both jetliner pilots and astronauts have previously reported sightings of sprites, along with a different but equally mysterious phenomenon known as blue jets.

Price and his colleagues have focused on "winter sprites" which appear only in the northern hemisphere's winter months. Their remote-controlled roof-mounted cameras can spot thunderstorms producing sprites far out over the Mediterranean Sea.

Triangulation techniques have also allowed the researchers to calculate the dimensions of the sprites.

"The candles in the sprites are up to 15 miles high, with the cluster of candles 45 miles wide — it looks like a huge birthday celebration!" Price said.

Sprites may have some effect on the Earth's ozone layer, but researchers suspect that the global impact is small.
SPACE.com offers rich and compelling content about space science, travel and exploration as well as astronomy, technology, business news and more. The site boasts a variety of popular features including our space image of the day and other space pictures,space videos, Top 10s, Trivia, podcasts and Amazing Images submitted by our users. Join our community, sign up for our free newsletters and register for our RSS Feeds today! :cool:
 
good question kevin. i suppose we could invite the writer of that ariticle or the loop-headed bureaucrats that come up with this one here to answer that question. i am sure we all could be sooooooooo easy on them!
 
Hahaah! Yet another BS natural phenomena to attempt to explain away UFO's. And these people like to make fun of UFO eyewitnesses?!! Thats great, lol!!!!
Kinda like theories I've heard that the egyptians used giant kites to "float" 5 ton rock cubes 200 feet to the top of the pyamids, lol. Yeah, thats really realistic!

From what I saw in the video, thats like telling a pilot that he actually saw a volcanic eruption instead of a glowing orb that displayed intelligent control like hovering, intercept courses and formation arrangements! How rediculous! At least they gave some supposed "evidence" footage, unlike the infamous "Plasma Vortices" that have been postualted to cause crop circles! Haha:D
 
i also go with the rolling logs theory. it is the only natural explanation for how they got them in place.

in regards to ufo's, there have been experiences since before air travel and even sea travel; going back thousands of years of this same phenomenom, called different things by different cultures.

here is another story i found. i hope the pic shows here...

A sprightly explanation for UFO sightings? (2/24/2009)

Tags:sprites, atmosphere, lightning
833091378.jpg
The appearance of a 'sprite' (about 30 miles high by 30 miles wide), flashing above a distant thunderstorm. The 'sprite' is about 175-250 miles away from the camera. - ILAN Science Team
In legend, sprites are trolls, elves and other spirits that dance high above our ozone layer. But scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered that some very real "sprites" are zipping across the atmosphere as well, providing a possible explanation for those other legendary denizens of the skies, UFOs.
Thunderstorms, says Prof. Colin Price, head of the Geophysics and Planetary Sciences Department at Tel Aviv University, are the catalyst for a newly discovered natural phenomenon he calls "sprites." He and his colleagues are one of the leading teams in the world studying the phenomenon, and Prof. Price leads the study of "winter sprites" ― those that appear only in the northern hemisphere's winter months.
"Sprites appear above most thunderstorms," explains Prof. Price, "but we didn't see them until recently. They are high in the sky and last for only a fraction of a second." While there is much debate over the cause or function of these mysterious flashes in the sky, they may, Prof. Price says, explain some bizarre reports of UFO sightings.
An Electrifying Discovery

Sprites are described as flashes high in the atmosphere, between 35 and 80 miles from the ground, much higher than the 7 to 10 miles where regular lightning bolts usually occur.
"Lightning from the thunderstorm excites the electric field above, producing a flash of light called a sprite," explains Prof. Price. "We now understand that only a specific type of lightning is the trigger that initiates sprites aloft."
Though sprites have existed for millions of years, they were first discovered and documented only by accident in 1989 when a researcher studying stars was calibrating a camera pointed at the distant atmosphere where sprites occur.
"Sprites, which only occur in conjunction with thunderstorms, never occur on their own, and are cousins to similar natural phenomenon dubbed by atmospheric electricians as 'elves,' 'goblins' and 'trolls,'" Prof. Price says. These flashes are so named because they appear to "dance" in the sky, which may explain some UFO sightings.
Candles on a Celestial Birthday Cake

Tel Aviv University's research team is one of the leading global groups studying the phenomenon. But Prof. Price and his students are now working in collaboration with other Israeli scientists from The Open University and The Hebrew University to take three-dimensional pictures of sprites to gain a better understanding of their structure. Using remote-controlled roof-mounted cameras, the researchers are able to look at the thunderstorms that produce sprites when they are still over the Mediterranean Sea.
From their unique vantage point in Israel, the researchers are leading the world in the study of winter sprites. Prof. Price's new camera techniques, in particular, have revealed the sprites' circular structures, which are much like those of candles on a birthday cake. Using triangulation, Prof. Price and his team have also been able to calculate the dimensions of the sprites' features. "The candles in the sprites are up to 15 miles high, with the cluster of candles 45 miles wide -- it looks like a huge birthday celebration!"
Because of their high altitude, sprites may also have an impact on the chemistry of the Earth's ozone layer. "Since they are relatively infrequent, the global impact is likely small," says Prof. Price. "But we're researching that now."
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by the American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Now with this showing what they look like, it is easy to mistake a sprite for a ufo.
 
Ha, mistake that for a UFO? I can see how a drunk moron might. But how in the world could a trained pilot mistake it as a craft that parallels their flight path, follows his plane in a formation, or seems to tutn at right angles and acts as though it is controlled with intelligence?
I don't buy it. I mean I don't doubt that it's a real phenomenon but I expect these account for only a very few of the UFO reports.

The log theory, lol, nice! Hell, I think Kites would have worked better!! Lol
 
anybody that panics can say they seen a ufo even if it is natural lights or not. we as humans have a tendancy to react with the 'yeah right' attitude when it comes to something we dont know about or worse dont want to know about.

even though we really dont know how pyramids were built here is a pic i found...

View attachment 546

personally i dont think kites were a good idea. hard to control for one and the kites would have to have been very, very massive to support the weight of the stones.
 
anybody that panics can say they seen a ufo even if it is natural lights or not. we as humans have a tendancy to react with the 'yeah right' attitude when it comes to something we dont know about or worse dont want to know about.

even though we really dont know how pyramids were built here is a pic i found...

View attachment 546

personally i dont think kites were a good idea. hard to control for one and the kites would have to have been very, very massive to support the weight of the stones.

Hahahaha, I know I was being a smartaleck. I believe aliens or Atlanteans built them. I seriously doubt that they were built by moving huge multi ton stones up ramps with rolling logs.
 
Back
Top