Well this is exciting. I couldn't find any current thread about this so this will be my first topic. yay me.
At any rate, there has been some buzz about a UFO sighting over the Xiaoshan International airport in China on July 7th.
An excerpt taken from tnerd.com:
Yesterday, the Chinese government shut down an Airport and averted all the flights when a "comet-like fireball" was spotted hovering over the airport's skies in the Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou. Hundreds of people at the airport witnessed the sighting of that mysterious glowing object, allegedly believed to a UFO.
The air traffic control of the Xiaoshan Airport reported the mark of a UFO on their radar, which later vanished mysteriously leaving the airport officials no choice but to shut down airport for about 3-4 hours as a precautionary measure against any contact with that extraterrestrial object.
A Chinese news agency mentioned of a local bus driver who was one of the witnesses to the UFO sightings in China on July 7 late afternoon; quoting his words "The thing suddenly ran westwards fast, like it was escaping from something."
And here's a video.
<youtube=9de44GEIPQw>
The official statement right now is that it was a Chinese military experiment but "no details are permitted at this time."
So, discuss. I'm not a huge UFO nut myself, but this thing does look really eerie.
While a military experimental aircraft might be possible, running it over a crowded international airport doesn't seem like the brightest idea.
Edit: adding an update on 07/17/2010
For those of you just joining in, here is an update:
10 days ago over the Xiaoshan Internation airport in China, an unidentified craft halted air traffic for 3-4 hours. The object was confirmed to be detected on radar by air traffic controllers.
The Escapist community has thrown in every possible imaginable scenario to account for the so-far unexplained sighting. As it stands we've had:
1.)Experimental Aircraft (Scramjet?)
2.)Missile testing or a rocket of some kind
3.)Comet or other debris illuminated by China's high smog cover
4.)Furon Starship
5.)Cthulhu
6.)Ghost Whale
7.)Chuck Norris round-house kicking all of China
8.)Giant sperm (eww...)
9.)Goku
10.)Google updating their maps
11.)Space Jellyfish
12.)North Korea firin itz lazer
13.)A Gundam (God I hope so. That would be so freakin AWESOME)
Over all the one thing most people have settled on is that it is definitely a UFO by definition. It's an object that appears to be flying that has not (as of yet) been identified.
If China's military knows what it is, they're not talking.
As hesitant as I am to throw up my arms and yell "They're Here!" there are a few thing that don't add up in my mind.
As far as I know, China is VERY strict about their airspace and to the best of my knowledge, they also boast the largest military air force. This would rule out the possibility of this thing being any kind of aircraft or rocket from a neighboring country.
The most glaring discrepancy is China declaring it to be an experimental aircraft, but that doesn't explain why the would test it over a populated area and an international airport to boot. It could be that it is malfunctioning or out of control, but it appears to be flying in a very controlled manner in the video. With the immense size of the country, there is no logical reason that such an extremely visible craft would be flown over a populated area instead of a more isolated area.
At 30 seconds into the video, we notice the disruption in the tail flare. While this does coincide with the idea that this may be a rocket, it doesn't explain it's ability to changed directions in such a manner as it was reported as doing. Again, to the best of my knowledge, rockets aren't capable of changing directions in such a way. Plus, as others pointed out, a rocket like that would be FAR to visible to any target it was aimed at, assuming that it was a rocket designed for warfare.
Let's assume for a moment that (and this is just an assumption) that this is, in fact, an alien craft. It stands to reason that China would be a prime location to fly over for information gathering as it is one of the most densely populated countries on Earth. For a race that did not know the differences between our countries and societies, it makes sense that the most populated area would be the logical place to study first.
Were it the case that this was an alien craft, claiming it to be a undisclosed military experiment would be the best way to avoid causing mass panic.
I'm still doubtful that this was actually Alien, but excited by the prospect none the less.
Let's hope we here more about what the hell this thing is.
I'll keep you all posted.
At any rate, there has been some buzz about a UFO sighting over the Xiaoshan International airport in China on July 7th.
An excerpt taken from tnerd.com:
Yesterday, the Chinese government shut down an Airport and averted all the flights when a "comet-like fireball" was spotted hovering over the airport's skies in the Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou. Hundreds of people at the airport witnessed the sighting of that mysterious glowing object, allegedly believed to a UFO.
The air traffic control of the Xiaoshan Airport reported the mark of a UFO on their radar, which later vanished mysteriously leaving the airport officials no choice but to shut down airport for about 3-4 hours as a precautionary measure against any contact with that extraterrestrial object.
A Chinese news agency mentioned of a local bus driver who was one of the witnesses to the UFO sightings in China on July 7 late afternoon; quoting his words "The thing suddenly ran westwards fast, like it was escaping from something."
And here's a video.
<youtube=9de44GEIPQw>
The official statement right now is that it was a Chinese military experiment but "no details are permitted at this time."
So, discuss. I'm not a huge UFO nut myself, but this thing does look really eerie.
While a military experimental aircraft might be possible, running it over a crowded international airport doesn't seem like the brightest idea.
Edit: adding an update on 07/17/2010
For those of you just joining in, here is an update:
10 days ago over the Xiaoshan Internation airport in China, an unidentified craft halted air traffic for 3-4 hours. The object was confirmed to be detected on radar by air traffic controllers.
The Escapist community has thrown in every possible imaginable scenario to account for the so-far unexplained sighting. As it stands we've had:
1.)Experimental Aircraft (Scramjet?)
2.)Missile testing or a rocket of some kind
3.)Comet or other debris illuminated by China's high smog cover
4.)Furon Starship
5.)Cthulhu
6.)Ghost Whale
7.)Chuck Norris round-house kicking all of China
8.)Giant sperm (eww...)
9.)Goku
10.)Google updating their maps
11.)Space Jellyfish
12.)North Korea firin itz lazer
13.)A Gundam (God I hope so. That would be so freakin AWESOME)
Over all the one thing most people have settled on is that it is definitely a UFO by definition. It's an object that appears to be flying that has not (as of yet) been identified.
If China's military knows what it is, they're not talking.
As hesitant as I am to throw up my arms and yell "They're Here!" there are a few thing that don't add up in my mind.
As far as I know, China is VERY strict about their airspace and to the best of my knowledge, they also boast the largest military air force. This would rule out the possibility of this thing being any kind of aircraft or rocket from a neighboring country.
The most glaring discrepancy is China declaring it to be an experimental aircraft, but that doesn't explain why the would test it over a populated area and an international airport to boot. It could be that it is malfunctioning or out of control, but it appears to be flying in a very controlled manner in the video. With the immense size of the country, there is no logical reason that such an extremely visible craft would be flown over a populated area instead of a more isolated area.
At 30 seconds into the video, we notice the disruption in the tail flare. While this does coincide with the idea that this may be a rocket, it doesn't explain it's ability to changed directions in such a manner as it was reported as doing. Again, to the best of my knowledge, rockets aren't capable of changing directions in such a way. Plus, as others pointed out, a rocket like that would be FAR to visible to any target it was aimed at, assuming that it was a rocket designed for warfare.
Let's assume for a moment that (and this is just an assumption) that this is, in fact, an alien craft. It stands to reason that China would be a prime location to fly over for information gathering as it is one of the most densely populated countries on Earth. For a race that did not know the differences between our countries and societies, it makes sense that the most populated area would be the logical place to study first.
Were it the case that this was an alien craft, claiming it to be a undisclosed military experiment would be the best way to avoid causing mass panic.
I'm still doubtful that this was actually Alien, but excited by the prospect none the less.
Let's hope we here more about what the hell this thing is.
I'll keep you all posted.
