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Sighting Reports 2009 Infrared Video Taken of Slow Moving Light That Changed Speeds
Date of Sighting: June 14, 2009 Description: Ali Nicolls and William Puckett set up two cameras to video the sky on June 14, 2009. The cameras were set in an easterly direction and were angled about 20 to 30 degrees above the horizon. Two infrared cameras were set up and footage was recorded on DVD for each camera. The camera (containing above footage) was an IGEN (First Generation Night Vision) NV 20/20 night viewer scope with video output. The camera is sensitive in the visual and near infrared. The spectral sensitivity ranges from about 400 microns to 1,000 microns. Visible light is approximately between 400 and 700 microns. The camera was set to capture footage at 15 frames/second (as opposed to the normal 30 frames/second) so that more ambient light could be captured. The other camera was a FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) thermographics B2 infrared camera with video output. This camera has a spectral sensitivity in the "far" infrared from about 6,500 to 13,000 microns. The image above did not show up on the thermographics camera indicating that it likely was not an airplane or helicopter (no thermal signature). (See above images extracted from FLIR camera for same times as the IGEN images.) The above image also was not visible to the naked eye at any time. (We were watching the taping live on 2 TV sets each dedicated to one camera.) When the light showed up we first thought that it was a bright planet because it was moving so slow. However, once we saw that it was moving I went outside and could not see it. The light was moving in a southerly direction and picked up speed when it moved to the right of the field of view. The light may have possibly been moving away from us, but this is not known. Also several insects and birds flew by the lens during the taping session. (Some of the insects are evident on the above footage.) Ali Nicolls Observations: 1. The object made no audible sound, we had the door
open. Note: The skies were clear and a check of the satellite positions shows that no satellites were visible in the portion of the sky where the light was observed. The direction of movement of the light was different than any visible satellites. The winds aloft were from a southerly to southwesterly direction in the lower 30,000 feet of the atmosphere. This fact reveals that the light was moving into the wind the and therefore could not be a balloon or other non-propelled device. A check of visible planets showed that only Saturn was visible and it was visible to the southwest and therefore was not in the field of view of the video cameras. No tail or flame was seen with the light . Therefore the light was not a meteor or falling space debris. Now that we have eliminated most conventional explanations what could the light have been? Perhaps it could be a high altitude military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). However, this is speculation. A UAV would be propelled and should have shown up on the FLIR image. Given available data we have no explanation for this video. Additional comments: There is a possibility that the FLIR field of view may not have been extended to the area of the sky where the object was detected. However, tree positions indicate that the FLIR should have been in a position to detect the light. The FLIR images above show that the light was not visible when the IGEN detected the light. |
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