Hello fellow ATS'ers! Well like most of you, I go out and enjoy watching the stars. Lately I've been noticing these weird planes- not the fact that their motions are sparatic or that they are an orb of light- but just that I don't know what it is! My father was an air traffic controller for a while 'back in the day' but even he said its not anything he's familiar with, I believe he could be out-dated since he has been retired for 20+ years. I am most positive this isn't of 'alien origin' but it is technically a ufo to me.



It's not silent, but its rather quiet for how low it is. It's not so low that its at tree-top level its probably a good bit higher than that. I see them quite frequently, every other night. It flies at regular speed. Also I never ever seem to actually see the body of the plane, even if I use binoculars. I was sort of set on "Oh its some sort of new stealth plane". And was kind of excited about it. The lights are always in a triangular shape, Anyone know what it is? I'd love to find out what it really is, thanks.

Originally posted by ZiggyMojo

Only problem with the drawings is that the Nav lights (red and green) must be on the wingtips.

Red on the left, green on the right wingtip. (as in spider's first pic)

This isn't true. They do not have to be on the wingtips but rather should be used to designate left and right. There are examples of planes where these lights are not on the wingtips. If the OP is telling the truth (which I think he is) then the object in question wouldn't have these lights on the wingtips anyhow since it was moving on a plane/axis that would put the colored lights at the nose and tail. It could just be a case where the lights were placed differently. Either way it is different from a normal setup but it isn't inconsistent with the format of the placement, just the color placement.

Bae Hawks and F18's do not have their lights on the outermost wingtips. The lights are positioned near the mouth of the engine inlets or intakes, ahead of the wings, on the body of the aircraft. I don't know that military planes all follow the same guidelines since they are not commercial aircraft. I'm pretty sure the guidelines shown on the FAA website are for commercial transport/cargo etc. aircrafts and do not apply to military or government aircraft used for non-commercial applications.

Originally posted by AboveBoard
Hmm. Well, since you see them a lot - any chance of getting a picture? It might be possible to determine the shape by manipulating the photo to see if there is any differentiation between the night sky and the object?? At least it might be possible - I would not be the photo expert, but there are plenty of them on ATS that might give it a go. It might help solve some of the mystery, or it might lead to more questions. In any case - interesting thread!

peace,
AB

Yea, I'll look out for it tonight. I've always been hesitant of taking photo's at night just due to the fact that every light in the sky because a shakey blur or a blur of lights. But Yea, I'll do my best. :]

Originally posted by ZiggyMojo
My guess is that it is a UAV drone with the blue/green light at the center and a red at the nose. It fits the description of low flying craft too. These are much larger than people realize and at night their distance could be deceiving too.

Awesome, that could very well be it. I remember back when they crashed that drone in Maryland (a few months ago?) I wouldn't be surprised if they are still flying them around the northern east coast. I just think its odd to fly drones like this over populated areas.. If they are testing it, wouldn't a desert or field be better? Not the hilly jagged land of Maine..

Well I know they test a lot of these at Pax River near Chesapeake Bay.. So I would imagine some go up the coast quite a ways. I'd think they would choose other areas too, but who knows?

Of course, it may not even be a UAV.. That's just my guess.