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Strange light appeared over Morris County , New Jersey , on Jan. 5 this year . The brilliant crimson lights were first noticed in the night sky by an eleven - year - previous girl , who orient out three visible light group together , and another pair some aloofness away .
The lights travel mutely and slowly , then disappeared one by one .
Joe Rudy releases a burning flare along side the smoke trail left by a vanished balloon while Chris Russo kneels down to get the next flare ready.
The daughter ’s father , a fender , said he was baffled : " I ’ve been in aviation for 20 yr andnever image anything like it . " law field song from alarmed residents , and the supposed UFO made national news .
Iexamined the casethe next day , observe hit parallels between this sighting and the ill-famed 2008Phoenix Lights hoaxin which flares were link up to balloons . I provide a elaborated , spot - by - head analysis showing that the New Jersey lights were almost certainly a copycat hoax .
However , many multitude refused to accept the skeptical explanations declare oneself by myself and others , conclude that alien spacecraft was more probable .
Skeptical of the skeptics
Some UFO buffs jest at the thought that this was a hoax , claiming that the movements of the Christ Within reign out the possibility of flares .
The caseful was even profile on the popular History Channel show " UFO Hunters . " Bill Birnes , the trail police detective ( and publisher of " UFO Magazine " ) also dismissed the flare account . consort to the show , " police say the unknown flying object was nothing but flare — a theory " UFO Hunters " has already tested and evidence implausible . "
The show was very influential , with many viewer accepting their conclusions without question .
The case remained open ( among many UFO groups anyway ) , until this calendar week when , on April Fool ’s day , two 20 - something college kids , Chris Russo and Joe Rudy , admitted to the hoax .
" We set out into the woods … conduct one helium tank , five balloons , five flares , fishing line , duct tape , and a video camera , " the couple explain now . " After filling up one 3 - foot balloon with atomic number 2 , we tied about five feet of sportfishing melodic phrase to the balloon , secured the line of reasoning with tape , then tied and taped the flare to the other end of the argumentation . Once all five balloons were ready , we struck the 15 - minute flares and released them into the sky . "
{ { video=“LS_090402_ufo_hoax " title=“The Great New Jersey UFO Hoax " caption=“When residents of Morris County , NJ saw smart sparkle in the night sky Jan. 5 , many thought it was a UFO . But Joe Rudy and Chris Russo pull the fraud with helium balloons and flair as part of a societal experimentation to create a media event . It worked . recognition : Chris Russo & Joe Rudy via Skeptic.com . Used with permission " } }
realise that , in the conspiracy - minded UFO community of interests , hoax admissions are suspect , they cautiously documented their prank in a series of videos . For all but the out fringe of UFO buffs who may suspect that those video themselves were faked , their explanation is iron - enclothe and proven , typesetter’s case closed .
societal experiment
In a posting atSkeptic.com , the pair say the hoax was a " social experimentation on how to create your own media effect smother UFO sightings … to show everyone how unreliable eyewitness accounts are , along with investigators of unidentified flying object . "
Indeed , that point was well made .
On the " UFO Hunters " show , police detective Birnes and his squad reviewed footage of the light , conclude that " these lights are moving without any independent cause … you may almost make out a frame . " Yet we make love this analysis was all wrong : the lights were in fact moving severally ( tie to balloons in the malarky ) , and there was no material body at all , triangular or otherwise . As Russo and Rudy note , " If a respected UFO tec can be easily falsify and drained wrong on one UFO case , is it potential he ’s awry on most ( or all ) of them ? "
From scarlet twinkle in the sky to ruby faces at the History Channel , this solved UFO compositor’s case proves that you ca n’t always believe what you see , either in the skies or on TV .
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Benjamin Radford is managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer scientific discipline magazine and a skill - ground paranormal investigator . His books , films , and other projects can be found on hiswebsite . His Bad Science column appears on a regular basis on LiveScience .
