Published: Wednesday, 23rd December, 2009 4:02pm
What were mystery orange lights over Fairlie?
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My wife and kids have been ridiculing me since last Saturday when I saw a similiar thing in Fairlie(where I live) also on Saturday, but happened aroung 8.30pm.
I haven't told anyone else in case anybody that I was a loony, but obviously seeing your story in the paper has made me wonder what it was I saw!
Firstly can I say that I am NOT a UFO nut or anything.
I don't believe in such a thing, however what I saw was odd-and I've never seen anything like it before. I am 50 years old.and before you ask, I hadn't been drinking, I was simply in my kitchen getting a cup of coffee during the break of X Factor on TV.
I looked out of the kitchen window (it was pitch black obviously) and saw a glowing orange "thing" roughly in the same sort of area
that you'd see the moon and thought it was just the sky making the moon appear orange ( a sunset type of effect).
However when I went right up to the window I could see it was moving-and my immediate thought was it's a plane on fire and it seemed to be moving to the side.
I then thought NO your eyes are playing tricks, but no it was definitely there. Just as it was going out of eyeshot of the window, I dived downstairs to go outside and looked up, where this "thing" was still glowing orange (as if on fire)-it didn't appear to be too high up, there was no sound, and it still seemed to be moving to the side, then after another 20-30 seconds it went straight up... there appeared to be some separation high up when it seemed to suddenly move to the right, straighten up, move to the left, then fall a bit and then shot up till it faded really quickly.
I have no explanation as to what it could have been. The "orange flames" is the thing which is confusing me - if it were planes or helicopters lights are they not red ?..The colour I saw was 100% definitely orange.
We do have a rescue helicopter which flies around quite regularly- I've seen it low before and doing odd manoeuvres out at sea-but nothing like the thing I saw on Saturday very very odd indeed - a hot air balloon perhaps ??????? In Fairlie ????? Don't think so somehow.
As I said previously I've never seen anything like this before-so it would be interesting to find out what it was-as there must be a simple and logical explanation for what it was.
Can you let me know if you get any other readers with any other sightings like this last Saturday 12-12-09 in our area at 8.30pm?
Thanks,
Derek Fairlie (senior)
Thanks,
Editor's Note - The Geminid meteor shower took place during this weekend.
Have your say. .
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myohmyohmy
Unregistered User
Dec 23, 16:30
Comment: 7158
Sure it wasn't the funsters at Kelburn or the communal garden down at the pier letting off mini hot air balloons?
Certainly looks like them in the photo.
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Rick Toronto
Unregistered User
Dec 23, 18:40
Comment: 7166
Can you provide the direction you were facing when you saw these and what angle from the horizon they were approx. i.e. 45 degrees would be half way from the horizon and 90 degrees would be straight overhead. Thanks
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BT
Unregistered User
Dec 23, 21:29
Comment: 7169
Just seen 5 of them coming over Queniborough, Leicester (UK)- Read something on Times Online about "Geminid meteor shower" but that was 10 days ago
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Hazelkaye
Unregistered User
Dec 24, 14:47
Comment: 7198
Chinese paper lanterns with an 'orange' tealight candle inside!
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Marianne
Unregistered User
Dec 31, 23:11
Comment: 7337
Just seen one passing over the Clyde, past Largs pier and vanished/faded over Millport (about 11pm New Years Eve). It really looked like something on fire and much too big to be a balloon. I've seen flairs regularly, but it wasn't anything like that. Took a photo, but it looks small, i'll post a link here soon.
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Karen
Unregistered User
Jan 1, 01:17
Comment: 7339
Have just spent the first fifteen minutes of 01/01/2010 watching roughly a dozen or so strange orange lights moving across the sky over Largs. Have taken photographs.
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Ste
Unregistered User
Jan 1, 01:43
Comment: 7340
I saw some around 12 midnight, they went on for a good 10 minutes. In the blackpool area. The other comment about them being chinese lanterns sounds the most likley.
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si
Unregistered User
Jan 1, 02:56
Comment: 7341
I live in in south manchester and have spent over 30 mins watching these orange lights about 20 at least. No sound was made when they passed over , and they definately seemed to have control of direction. They were coming from the NW & the South at different altitudes. I first saw these over 3 weeks ago - 20th Nov at about 5.50pm ( 3 moving in a triangular pattern for over 5 mins)
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ls
Unregistered User
Jan 1, 11:49
Comment: 7343
last night between 12.01 and 12.55 we watched 12 of these lights they were coming from 2 directions but all heading towards the same point over the sea before disappearing.
hastings, east sussex
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ls
Unregistered User
Jan 1, 11:50
Comment: 7344
last night between 12.01 and 12.55 we watched 12 of these lights they were coming from 2 directions but all heading towards the same point over the sea before disappearing.
hastings, east sussex
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dizdaz
Unregistered User
Jan 1, 14:47
Comment: 7346
All the sightings you all mentioned are chinese lanterns do a search on google video or u tube they look orange i set loads of them of the other night they can be quit big :-)
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Nigel wood
Unregistered User
Jan 1, 14:52
Comment: 7348
1am over Leicester orange light round shape travelling west to east very strange,never seen anything like it!
About 100-150mph horizontally,it wasn't a Chinese lantern for sure.
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paul
Unregistered User
Jan 2, 11:32
Comment: 7374
Cardiff Wales New Years Eve 12.15 to 12.40 a.m.
Three of us were out the front lighting off fireworks when we saw the same orange lights we saw on Christmas night.
There was a procession of them one after the other about 20 travelling about 300 mph 1000ft agl from east to west approx following the M4 corridor along the south wales coast.
No sounds or flashing lights so most definatley not aircraft and impossible to be Chinese lanterns! Many other people I spoke to today said they saw them and we got it on video and photos. I think I saw the underside of one which flew close by and it appeared flat and circular but i m not sure.
We have never seen anything weird in the sky before but while out walking last xmas night we saw 3 coming from south then turning east to see this last night I think there is activity building world wide.
My view is that the governments are now being by passed and contact will be made soon with these peaceful aliens as we are now ready to join the inter gallactic club.:)
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in Switzerland too
Unregistered User
Jan 2, 19:07
Comment: 7382
on new year night, just after midnight, 1st of january 2010, we were several persons to see 2 orange lights, flying over the Lac Léman (Leman Lake), in Lausanne/Switzerland.
We were out to watch the moon, which was beautiful, full and very shiny that night, when the first light "appeared" from nowhere, with growing intensity, as if it was coming from up the sky.
The light was orange, constant, without any blinking or other color.
when it appeared it didn't move left or right, it just appeared from the blackness, and floated for about 10-20 seconds.
then it flew silently, from East to West, at regular speed and straight path.
No trail or smoke behind it, as would have done a plane (in such a case we would have seen the trail surely because the moon was very shining)
It's hard to guess an elevation, but I would say it was flying at about 500-800 meters high. The flight lasted about 2 or 3 minutes, and on a distance of 500-1000 meters (again it's hard to evaluate this parameters from memory). then the light stopped, and faded away without moving in a cloud.
With the first light we didn't had the reflex to take the camera, we just stared at it.
Then maybe 1 minute after, a second light appeared exactly at the same initial position of the first one - it looks exactly as the first light, so it could be a 2nd light OR the first one who would have followed a half-taurus path ?? - and then absolutely all of light B was like light A: position of start, light, path, speed, pause, position of end and fading away.
My friend taped the light B with his photocamera. I wait for him to send me the video file so I can maybe measure duration and distance. But I have no high hopes with the footage, he was zooming at max, so I'm afraid it will be just a shaking orange dot on a black sky.
We don't know what it was, but we know we saw it. Unfortunately, it was new year night, so we were drunk and more in a party mood. So after the 2 lights episodes, we went quickly back in living room to pursue the party. Too bad, if we had been more sober we should have stayed on the balcony and wait for further lights.
I've checked the Internet for that special night. Similar orange lights were seen a lot on England between 0 and 6 AM of 1st january 2010, also flying from East to West, but I found nothing in Switzerland.
Any other testimonies about flying orange lights ON THAT PARTICULAR night?
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Broughton
Unregistered User
Jan 2, 20:21
Comment: 7384
Just before midnight on New Years Eve in Broughton, Chester we saw 3 orange lights fly up from a SW direction quite rapidly. We saw about 10-15 in total. At one point there were 2 flying in opposite directions which leads me to rule out chinese lanterns drifting with the wind! I have checked on Heavens-Above.com and there were no satellites or Iridium flares over us at that time. Everyone who saw them is puzzled as to what they were. Several of us took videos, which are very similar to those posted on the internet!
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******
Unregistered User
Jan 2, 23:56
Comment: 7386
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James Shaw
Unregistered User
Jan 3, 01:10
Comment: 7392
They were Chinese lanterns you***.
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moorhey
Unregistered User
Jan 4, 12:53
Comment: 7432
large chinese lanterns and yes they are like hot air balloons , so far to date between xmas day and hogmany we and friends and family have sent about 40 into the sky , glad everyone enjoyed seeing them .
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Tam
Unregistered User
Jan 10, 21:36
Comment: 7639
Hi Derek are you a drummer by any chance? if so did you play with a band in the 80's called umm VIVA i think we were called I was one of the synth players.
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mark
Unregistered User
Jan 13, 23:51
Comment: 7732
we seen the lights on new years eve. about 50 of them got them on photo ive never seen a chinese lantern so dont no what these are
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munkey
Unregistered User
Jul 9, 10:25
Comment: 12303
Tommy Scott-
Yes I was viva's drummer !......my email address is poppyploosh@tiscali.co.uk
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