The official story on yesterday’s UFO mass sighting shows two different versions of events unfolding. The first version involves a series of yellow objects hovering in the sky and eventually disappearing into the distance. The other version details a blue and silver jellyfish or saucer shaped object that came down and eventually vanished. One of the stories has a fairly easy explanation, but the other is quite unexplainable.
Looking through the video records of Times Square’s security and tourist footage on the morning of October 13, 2010 shows that in the early hours several people stood in a high profile location carrying several balloons directly in view of security cameras and passers-by. As the morning went on they released these balloons and sent them soaring in the air, inevitably destined to be seen by pedestrians throughout the city. These balloons would be released and inevitably blamed by some for the sightings that would occur throughout the day. The balloons were launched in Time Square to mark the occasion of the centennial of Madrid’s Gran Via (or “Great Way”). The occasion was also marked by a small parade. This would be the official story later claimed by skeptics to the events that day. This story largely does, however have a major flaw.
Massive balloon releases occur every year in New York with some regularity. Major sporting events, shopping centers opening, cancer and aids awareness groups, and a number of other celebrations both scheduled and improvised set off thousands of balloons in the Big Apple every year without being followed by massive UFO sightings. The NYPD were aware of the balloon launch and still have no explanation for the objects observed in the skies. People were standing on street corners terrified of something they were seeing that really made an impression – a far larger impression than yellow balloons in the sky.
Other images from that day show disc-shaped craft and even stranger more detailed objects hovering in the distance. A live webcam image submitted to MUFON from Time Square’s Earthcam showed a massive triangular craft lit up in the distance. And as far south as Maryland an object was seen heading toward New York the previous night. And this isn’t even taking into account the Twitter messages that poured in shortly after the object was first sighted. These more dramatic UFO sightings continued on into the night, long after any balloons could have lasted in the air.
Were there balloons mistaken by some witnesses in New York as the unidentified flying objects others were seeing? It’s fairly possible that a few of them were. But where did the rest of the reports come from? The balloon release story only explains a few of the sightings made by those who have never seen a balloon release before in the city. And the rest of it remains a complete mystery not only to the witnesses, but to authorities analyzing footage of the objects since yesterday morning including the FAA and the NYPD who are being pressed for answers and looking for an explanation. Their take on it? The balloon story just isn’t taking off.