There have been numerous UFO sightings reported recently from many sections of Pennsylvania. Some of these observations concern bright orange or reddish-orange spheres or light sources moving across the sky. In some cases numerous objects are observed in the sky at about the same time.  From the information I am receiving, some of these sightings appear to be launches of home- made hot air balloons or what is known as Sky lanterns or Chinese lanterns.

These airborne devices are constructed on a frame that provides a somewhat round appearance. A lit candle or other fuel causes the air inside to heat up and the device then rises into the sky. These devices will appear very luminous and generally orange in color, and at times can appear quite large. They will move quite slowly, but will follow the wind patterns and could make sudden moves and turns, then move out of sight. Once the flame goes out the object will disappear, or drop to the ground. In some cases the paper material can catch fire and flaming debris can at times be observed falling from the sky.

The launching of such devices under the current dry conditions could create a fire hazard as well as pose a navigational hazard at night to low altitude aircraft.  There have been recent reports from eastern sections of the state and areas around Pittsburgh such as Fayette and Westmoreland counties concerning similar reports.

Not all of the luminous sphere observations may be so easily explained.  Some of the UFO sightings being reported are very detailed and concern low level observations of structured craft. For more information: www.stangordon.info.

April 3-4, 2012

From Researcher: Stan Gordon

In more recent years there have been fewer low level, close range UFO encounters reported than were more commonly reported during the earlier years of UFO activity in this country and abroad. There has been continuous UFO activity reported in Pennsylvania all year, but since April, I have received information concerning three close encounters with strange aerial objects that have been reported across the Keystone State. During the time period from April 3-4, 2012, there were a number of UFO sightings reported statewide. These and other reports should soon be available on my website at www.stangordon.info.

I received a UFO report via telephone from a witness to an incident that occurred April 3, 2012, at about 9:30 pm. which occurred near Mount Joy in Lancaster County. I contacted the witness and a number of interviews were conducted discussing what had taken place. The man and his family were driving down a road when his attention was drawn to a strange object that was hovering to his left over a field that was about 200 yards in the distance.

The man’s wife also observed the object. They were both curious as to what it was that they were observing, so they began to move closer to the field to obtain a better look. They approached to a distance of about 50 yards from the field where the object was still hovering and pulled off the road.

The object was completely still, and the couple could not hear any sound at all. The woman attempted to take a picture of the object, but as soon as the flash of the camera went off, the white lights that had been continuously moving on the object suddenly came to an abrupt stop, then two extremely bright white lights, one on each side of the object appeared. A bright red light also appeared at the lower center of the object.

At that point the observers became alarmed and the man who was driving quickly fled the area. When they arrived at an intersection, they noticed that object was now moving in their direction. The object began to pursue them and the driver kept increasing his speed to up to around 100 mph. The man’s wife was screaming out loud to her husband to speed up as the object was getting closer. The man was approaching a red light at an intersection where he stopped and looked out of his window. The object according to the man, approached to about 20 feet away from their car and hovered low overhead. He was quite amazed at how the object which had been hovering caught up with his vehicle so quickly at the fast pace he was moving.

The couple was very upset and concerned at this point, so the driver accelerated again to get away from the object as he turned onto Route 741 moving south. At that point, the object was still about 30 feet away. They hurriedly turned off that road and found a parking area, and the man exited the car. The man looked for the object to find that it was no longer in the area. The object was described as a solid object having a flat center and was somewhat circular in shape. It had brilliant white lights that moved continually from left to right. The object appeared to be the length of a school bus, and a large red light or beam was observed on the bottom center.

Less than three hours later, another close range UFO incident occurred in Bloomfield, a suburb of Pittsburgh. I received some information on the sighting and contacted the family involved that day.

I interviewed the young man who saw the object and his father. The 12 year old boy gave me a very detailed step by step account of his observation of a large structured craft that was hovering low over his house.

Most interesting was his detailed description of what appeared to be triangular symbols on the craft. The boy told me that he was initially, “kind of scared,” by the symbols and how big the object was.

My research associate, Keith Bastianini, an archeologist and graphic artist who lives in the Pittsburgh area, went to the location of the sighting to interview the family involved.

The following is Keith’s report of what he learned during the interviews.

Sighting Report: Bloomfield Neighborhood, City of Pittsburgh

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
April 4, 2012

The sighting occurred in the Bloomfield portion of the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, at approximately 12:15 a.m. on April 4, 2012. The witness, a twelve year old male, was returning to his parents’ home after spending the evening with a neighbor watching television. The neighbor’s residence was situated directly across the street and to the rear of the witness’s home. The night was generally clear with some intermittent clouds and the moon approaching full (on April 7).

As the witness departed from the neighbor’s home, his friend stood inside the door watching until the boy crossed the street to the concrete walkway leading to the rear door of his home. The family’s pet cat stood near the base of a large tree by the porch deck of the house as he approached. The witness noticed nothing unusual until reaching the position of the cat, when he inadvertently tripped on the root of a tree bordering the walk. Regaining his feet, the witness observed an unidentified flying object (UFO) hovering directly above the house approximately 30 feet above the roof. Although the sighting was no more than a minute in duration, it was enough time for the witness to note a number of details (Figure 1). He described the UFO as “saucer” shaped with a metallic brownish-silver color. The “saucer” appeared to be approximately 30-40 feet in diameter with a row of continuous, square to slightly rectangular, windows encircling the rim. Blue and red lights were notable on either side of the object. On the bottom of the “saucer,” the witness described a large circular opening from which a pole — “like a fireman’s pole” — hung in the center. The witness also observed six fin-like structures extending down around the underside of the object. Of particular note, however, were triangular-like symbols/markings on the lower portion of the “saucer.”

Almost as quickly as the witness took note of the above details, the UFO “took-off” rapidly to the west. As the object shot away, it did not disappear or fade away in the distance. Instead, the witness stated, “there was a swirl and a tunnel opened in the sky and it went into it.” The “tunnel” closed around the object and disappeared. Where the “tunnel” closed, a large round patch of haze glowing a robin’s egg blue was visible in the sky. The witness ran into the house at this point to alert his parents. The father of the witness, after hearing his son’s account, stated that he, too, saw the glowing patch of haze hanging in the sky where the UFO reportedly vanished when he accompanied his son outside. Together, father and son watched the glowing haze as it gradually faded until it became too faint to see around 2 a.m.

Figure 1. Artist rendering of the UFO based on witness sketch.

Notes:

• When asked if the witness experienced any physical effects following the sighting, his parents reported that he had slept uncharacteristically long the next day, getting out of bed around 1 p.m. They also stated that the boy suffered from lethargy and nausea the remainder of the day as well as a headache that persisted for two days.
• The witness reported that the family cat, which stood at his feet during the sighting, darted away when the UFO departed as if in reaction.
• The witness was reticent to mention it but believed he saw motion inside one of the windows on the object “like an arm waving.”
• The parents reported a strange event from late in the evening prior to the UFO sighting. The mother reported that she felt unusually tired and retired to bed around 9-9:30 p.m. The father, who stayed up to watch TV, decided to make a quick trip to the local convenience store, returning home around 10:45 p.m. He stated that because he could not find parking in front of the house when he returned from the store, he had to pass the house and park the car behind it. Passing his house, he noticed a shadowed figure in the upper bedroom window. Thinking his wife was awake and feeling ill, he called her from his cell phone as he drove around the block. She answered the phone at 10:46 p.m. (according to the phone log), after having been awakened by the call. No one else had been in the room or house at the time.

May 27, 2012

Greensburg, Westmoreland County, PA

On the evening of May 27, 2012, around 9:30 PM, several Greensburg residents were sitting outside and noticed a thunderstorm moving in. Toward the west in the distance, four bright red lights were observed in the sky for a short time, then only three remained visible. Those three red lights gave the impression of either one large object or three separate lights in a triangular formation. The lights did not appear to be blinking but seemed to have a slight twinkling effect to them. The light formation appeared to hover and was observed for over 5 minutes.

There was a lot of thunder and lightning occurring during the observation. After several minutes, one witness ran into the house to get a camera. When she returned, the lights were still there but suddenly they vanished from sight and possibly went into the clouds. She was not able to obtain a photo. One witness said that the lights should have been seen by other people in the higher elevations around the city. A video of what appears to be the same lights taken that same evening from around Greensburg by another party is now circulating. I would like to talk to that person and anyone else who saw those lights.

May 19, 2012-10 PM.

Pittsburgh-Lawrenceville area, Allegheny County

A witness observed numerous orange lights in the sky that appeared stationary. The lights appeared to be stacked vertically and rotated counter clockwise 90 degrees. The witness left to obtain his phone and upon his return he noticed about half of the objects had disappeared. Within a short time, the rest of the lights began to dim and faded out. The witness feels they could have been Chinese lanterns. From what he described, that is a very possible explanation.

There have been many similar reports both last year and this year all across the state. In some cases we are quite certain that the lights were indeed Chinese lanterns or some other similar home-made hot air balloon devices. Some of these luminous light observations, however, seem more curious.