Video: My recent sighting (also my first).

Here's a still image and video I recently captured in Pleasanton, CA:

YouTube clip



There wasn't enough room in the video description area so, as you'll see, I've posted additional info in the comments area. I hope I've done an adequate job of including relevant details. My gut-level feeling is that this was, in fact, something man-made and designed for advertising purposes, but I would be interested to read any thoughts y'all might have.

Hi there flightsuit, thanks for joining us.

First, well done for not claiming that this is a definate alien craft. We get sick of the small minded.

Your video and still-shot, along with your youtube description are excellent work...your talents would not be wasted here. Stick around.

As for the craft, you may already have answered the question as to what it is. I wonder if anyone else caught it on camera or took a pic that night?

Do you have any more info on the advertising company you mentioned? A website perhaps.

Let's see what other comments are posted here...once again, welcome, and thanks for sharing this.

[edit on 6/12/2008 by nerbot]

Certainly looks interesting! Have you had a chance to view it from close enough to be able to notice any details? i.e. if it were an ad balloon, like a brand, a message on it, anything? Was there any wind at the time (and what direction, if so)? Have you tried to know if other people have spotted it as well?

Here's the video embedded

On the same youtube page there was this fascinating case, I'll try to post the link but if I can't it's the one about a ufo taking on water in Australia, must be one of the best mass sightings ever.

www.youtube.com...

Well I have to say that does not look faked.
But why would they allow you to have it on there if it was real?
Because it would be classified.

Originally posted by nerbot

First, well done for not claiming that this is a definate alien craft. We get sick of the small minded.

It's amazing, the crud that people on YouTube will try to pass off as evidence of the paranormal. To you and everybody else, thanks for your kind words and interest!

The advertising company is called American Air Lights, and here's their Web site:

www.americanairlights.com...

Here's the news item (with video) regarding the UFO flap they caused just a few days prior to my sighting:

www.news10.net...

Originally posted by SpookyVince
Have you had a chance to view it from close enough to be able to notice any details? i.e. if it were an ad balloon, like a brand, a message on it, anything?

Thanks for your questions! Let's see:

It's hard to say how close the thing was. This is especially true in my case, because, owing to an eye condition called carataconis, I have virtually no depth perception. As I said somewhere in the text description on YouTube, what I did see looked very different from what shows up in the still picture and video. There was an almost chaotic display of mostly white lights, but no discernible message that I could see, nor any shape or structure beyond the crazy lights.

Was there any wind at the time (and what direction, if so)?

I honestly don't remember. Here in the SF Bay Area, it's so often windy that I don't generally take note of it.

Have you tried to know if other people have spotted it as well?

I haven't looked into that. This is one of many things I should really pursue. If I wasn't so darned busy, I would have probably already found the time to phone that aerial advertising company and ask if they had anything flying in the area on the night in question.

Thanks for the post, I'd be beating myself up if I saw something like that and had to use my camera phone to record it.
It always seems like these times are the only times people don't have good quality cameras.
I have had nightmares when I see a UFO very close, and I can't find my camera.. I come out.. and its gone... fail dream.

It looks a lot like this

reply to post by Phage


Indeed... A lot! What is it exactly? You seem to know what's on the picture there...

reply to post by SpookyVince


I'm sorry. Didn't you watch the whole video? It is an internally illuminated blimp.

I wasn't clear... I was mentioning the original post of course. It sure does look like your video, but it's "just only looking like it", and I was wondering if you had any more info on it. Not to sound anything like mocking... but everyone can see indeed that it looks like a blimp. I've seen videos of birds that look like planes for instance.

reply to post by SpookyVince


The OP was looking for information. He said (in his youtube comments) that it may have been a blimp but it didn't look like any he had seen.

Just offering possibilities. It's what I do (most of the time).

That's an excellent find, Phage, and the blimp in the New York video sure does look an awful lot like what's in my video. It's very interesting to see how the New York blimp can be highly conspicuous and quite visible in the sky without the "Sanyo" logo being discernible until almost the very end.

My impression was that the thing I saw had extremely bright lights on the outside, as opposed to being lit internally, but there's a quality to the light from the blimp that seems very similar, as does its low-speed, floating kind of movement.

Regardless, it's quite a beautiful video, really. I'm putting it in my YouTube favorites right now.

reply to post by flightsuit


Thanks for the plug. We fly our nighttime ads all over the west coast, and we've caused more than a few 'sighting' over the years. It's all good exposure for us.

Jason Ford
Director of Flight Ops
American Air Lights