UFO/ORB over Southern California declared HOAX by Physics/Astronomy expert

I thought this footage was a little to good to be true. It appears that this has been declared a hoax.

A video that purports to show an unidentified comet-like object jettisoning part of itself in another direction is almost certainly fake, a physics and astronomy expert has told media.

The video (link), which captured the imagination of internet users after it shot to the front page of social website reddit, shows what the uploader says is a UFO.

"I was driving home after work when this UFO or whatever you call it caught my eye. I pulled over in front of somebody's house to film it. I would have got a better shot but I didn't want to jump these peoples fence," writes YouTuber Ken Roberts.

"The orb thing flew straight up into the sky and disappeared," he wrote.

According to Monash University's Dr Michael Brown who lectures in physics and astronomy said, released UFO has very constant brightness and moves very smoothly.

Dr Brown also noted that the uploader had only posted one other video, which showed ordinary seagulls, two hours before he posted the "UFO".

"He supposedly recorded a UFO video during the evening, coincidently same day he created a YouTube account, but he first liked things and uploaded a video of seagulls, and only hours later uploaded his video of a crashing UFO."

While Dr Brown did concede that seagulls can be mesmerising in themselves, he said the timeline was another sign that the video was a hoax.

"If you saw a crashing UFO, wouldn’t you upload it ASAP?" he asked.

www.ufo-blogger.com...
So, what do you think ATS?

I think that in order for it to be declared a hoax, the video footage should be shown to have been tampered with or created using some type of program. Speculation on the uploader's history is, while not unimportant, hardly proof of fakery. I'm on the fence.

a reply to: Jonjonj

Agreed. I'm on the fence on this one too.

If I had recorded something like that, I'd have to create a YouTube account first, and I'd probably do a test uploading first. Also, it might be that he recorded the incident the evening before, and then uploaded the following day.

originally posted by: Jonjonj
I think that in order for it to be declared a hoax, the video footage should be shown to have been tampered with or created using some type of program. Speculation on the uploader's history is, while not unimportant, hardly proof of fakery. I'm on the fence.

I d have to agree with you there. However, being on the fence myself, I would have to lean towards an expert in the field being correct compared to a random Youtube video. Also kinda weird that for as slow as the object was traveling, no one else caught this on video in a very heavily populated city/state. I would think that an actual UFO would be traveling quite a bit faster.

There is so much "off" about the uploader/owner of the video..but we covered all that already.

It's all for $$$, getting clicks on ads.

The good thing is, hoaxers are usually giving themselves away. It's actually pretty easy to add 1+1 together with some common sense. Don't need a professor in astrophysics to smell BS with this video uploader.

originally posted by: Jonjonj
I think that in order for it to be declared a hoax, the video footage should be shown to have been tampered with or created using some type of program. Speculation on the uploader's history is, while not unimportant, hardly proof of fakery. I'm on the fence.

YOU are the typical example of someone whose belief is overruling ANY common sense.

Let's just start with the TITLE of the video "UFO crash ..." ---- doesn't this sound suspicious to you?
No information given about date or time, but pretending wanting to know whether someone saw the UFO?
Disabling comments because he is afraid of skeptical questions.
And so forth...

It has HOAX written all over it. SEE IT, open your eyes.

a reply to: NoRulesAllowed

Wow!!! Pretty aggressive there sir. Let me be clear, I don't care about the back story here. For all I know the guy was having an affair, shot the video from his lover's garden, couldn't reveal location...etc...
No, I am interested in the video. When THAT gets debunked, move on and no hard feelings.

a reply to: thesmokingman

no one else caught this on video in a very heavily populated city/state.

That is something that brings the old red flag a waving...why no other witnesses to this'?

If you are 'accepting' of any video that depicts something radically different than what is considered 'norm' then you are the type that PT Barnum is looking for.

Phishing scams rely on these types of people.
Cold calling sales people also rely on them.
The list goes on and on.

Red flags should be built into your sole from the first day that cute 18 year old says to you 'I can't get pregnant. So it's OK'.

Here's the video,

a reply to: thesmokingman

So, what do you think ATS?

It's a Hoax , not because of what he said , although those points were already raised in the thread but because .... who saw it ?
There is still no independent vitrifaction of this large streaking object in the sky , no other footage and no one backing up the story with their account of what they saw ... because it was not there.

No doubt the guys that made it have made a few quid from their viral hit and are working on the next.

a reply to: gortex

LOL is that avatar Giorgio-A-Tsoukalos?

What really convinced me among other that it's a hoax is, the quality of the video seems like phone quality, though you can clearly see that it's a mounted camera, the slight shaking is the tripod being unstable, especially right after the object is going behind the building, you can clearly see the movements are of a mounted camera.

A mounted camera should produce much better quality, so i think the bad quality is an edit together with the orb, and all we actually see is a plane doing it's business.

Just overall the video looks fabricated.

a reply to: tsurfer2000h

How can you be sure there were not other witnesses? There may have been hundreds who did notice it but who did not bother to do what this individual did. What you really meant to ask is why no one else took a video or photos and bothered to upload it to YouTube? Well, as the whole event only lasted a few seconds, it is quite plausible few would have noticed it, let alone had a camera ready to film the crashing object. So there really is no mystery about it.
If you do not want to accept an event happened because you realise that you do not have a reasonable explanation for it that does not involve aliens and you want to suggest that it may have been hoaxed, fine. But at least offer evidence for your "explanation". Otherwise, it is just speculation.

originally posted by: thesmokingman

originally posted by: Jonjonj
I think that in order for it to be declared a hoax, the video footage should be shown to have been tampered with or created using some type of program. Speculation on the uploader's history is, while not unimportant, hardly proof of fakery. I'm on the fence.

I d have to agree with you there. However, being on the fence myself, I would have to lean towards an expert in the field being correct compared to a random Youtube video. Also kinda weird that for as slow as the object was traveling, no one else caught this on video in a very heavily populated city/state. I would think that an actual UFO would be traveling quite a bit faster.

Is he an expert in the field of "Youtube posting habits"? Because that's what he's basing it off of.

well its now all over the ufo websites I peruse daily, and I can tell you the general consensus, although there are some who may believe this is real, but generally the view is that it most likely is fake, as there should be alot of people coming forward if its as spectacular as it appears.

Haha couldn't have picked a better person to open this thread the smoking man lol

a reply to: Mianeye

yes, the camera is unusually steady compared to his other youtube video of "seagulls in new York". His other video looks like it was taken by a drunk standing on the deck of a ship in a typhoon while suffering from DT`s.

He couldn`t hold the camera still while taking a video of a mundane scene of seagulls sitting on a rail but he was steady as a rock while taking a video of what he thought was a UFO crashing?

Though I do respect his credentials, I dont think his debunking was very scientific. Its sounds like he just gave it a "once over" and made a quick hypothesis. Though I do believe the posters timeline to be significant evidence in regard to it being faked, its not out of the realm of possibility that it could be explained as mentioned by another poster. I also feel his analogy of the "orb" was missing words like "seemed" and "appear". Until I see solid evidence of the video being faked Im gonna take a seat on the fence with the hawks.

a reply to: micpsi

How can you be sure there were not other witnesses?

Don't you think there should have been more than one report about this by now?

The amount of calls that would flood the local police dept., and news station would be astonishing yet all we have is one youtube video...and that doesn't seem strange to you?

What you really meant to ask is why no one else took a video or photos and bothered to upload it to YouTube?

Glad you know what I meant to say, but that isn't close, as I said why no reports about something in the sky that looks like it's crashing, why no reports to police about something falling from the sky...I have a hard time believing nobody else would report this event to someone.

If you do not want to accept an event happened because you realise that you do not have a reasonable explanation for it that does not involve aliens and you want to suggest that it may have been hoaxed, fine. But at least offer evidence for your "explanation". Otherwise, it is just speculation.

I am pretty sure I was clear with my explanation...

When no other witnesses report seeing something that the uploader saw it sends the red flags a waving.

Do I need to be any clearer with my explanation?