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Has anyone ever truly, honestly, mistaked Venus for a UFO?

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qqqq said:
Are u sure that would be venus, i'd be pretty confident saying the small light is venus. If the bright light is venus then the cam is well over compensating
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Oh, I just figured the large one was the Moon, and the small one above his ear is Venus.
 
About 30 or more years ago, around 3 am after a party... (and no, I wasn't drunk) a group of us were outside, and one of us noticed something in the northern sky. the direction is important. It was weird enough in that it appeared to be changing colours, like a revolving light going from green to red and maybe a bit of blue in there. It wobbled a bit, and seemed to move in a tight circle.
I was impressed enough I found the phone number for a local radar base (no longer in commission, although Cadence was filmed there) anyway, I digress. The fellow I finally managed to be connected to, told me there wasn't anything on the radar, and that it was probably Venus. We all huffed at that, but oh well.
Fast forward to about 2 years ago when I took my spark group to the local university observatory on an outing. We were observing the moon, and the Professor of Astronomy commented it was too bad we weren't able to be there when Venus rose, as it would have been quite a sight for all those 5 and 6 year old munchkins.
I asked if Venus ever appeared in the northern sky in our neck of the woods, and she said no.
I think I will believe her, given her academic qualifications and the fact she is the grand Astronomy poobah at the university in my neck of the woods.
So, in answer to your question that started this thread, 30-some years ago I thought I had mistaken Venus for a UFO, but as of two years ago, I hadn't.
;)
 
AnnetteMarie said:
About 30 or more years ago, around 3 am after a party... (and no, I wasn't drunk) a group of us were outside, and one of us noticed something in the northern sky. the direction is important. It was weird enough in that it appeared to be changing colours, like a revolving light going from green to red and maybe a bit of blue in there. It wobbled a bit, and seemed to move in a tight circle.
I was impressed enough I found the phone number for a local radar base (no longer in commission, although Cadence was filmed there) anyway, I digress. The fellow I finally managed to be connected to, told me there wasn't anything on the radar, and that it was probably Venus. We all huffed at that, but oh well.
Fast forward to about 2 years ago when I took my spark group to the local university observatory on an outing. We were observing the moon, and the Professor of Astronomy commented it was too bad we weren't able to be there when Venus rose, as it would have been quite a sight for all those 5 and 6 year old munchkins.
I asked if Venus ever appeared in the northern sky in our neck of the woods, and she said no.
I think I will believe her, given her academic qualifications and the fact she is the grand Astronomy poobah at the university in my neck of the woods.
So, in answer to your question that started this thread, 30-some years ago I thought I had mistaken Venus for a UFO, but as of two years ago, I hadn't.
;)
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Cool story! I wonder if the guy on the phone didn't know that or he was giving you "the excuse"
 
Gareth said:
I mean c'mon, seriously. So occasionally it looks very bright and maybe kinda low. But it doesnt move. It doesnt just disappear. It doesnt have flashing lights.

Such a ridiculous explanation that was bad when it was used in some of thoe Blue Book reports, but the fact it still gets thrown around today is just ludicrous.

Then again, maybe Im making that all too common mistake of overestimating people. Wouldnt be the first time.
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Um, yes.
When I was in my teens I did, although I realised after I'd been watching it for a while.

And it does move - and covers quite a bit of sky in a relatively short time. It's not zip-zippy stuff, but you definitely notice (no doubt the fact that it's the closest planet to us has something to do with that).

It's particularly inexcusable since I'd been looking at the sky since I was a little fella, so I should've known better (I'll go for the "atmospheric conditions" cop out...and yes, wishful thinking).

So now you know my secret shame...I once mistook Venus for a UFO.
 
I've been drunk before and saw Venus move. Along with everything else. I'm not making fun of people btw.

There is a trick the brain plays that can give the illusion of something moving etc. I forget what it's called. I'll just stick with brain fart for now.
 
As for the pic, it looks sorta diffused, I guess is the term to use. That may not be what the naked eye saw, but I've seen some really bright versions of Venus before. Perhaps as big and bright as the photo. The really big object is the moon no doubt.
 
jarshua said:
Wow, I haven't either! where was this taken?
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I can see it almost this bright from my back porch. I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow night. From my office building in North Dallas, I can see the moon and venus and maybe Orion or Serius but that is about it. Combine that with 3 airports in a 15 mile radius and I can see the potential to imagein it moving slowly.

However, it doesnt go away and it is in roughly the same position and level of brightness the next night or even a few days later in most cases. So, unless you are a complete bafoon, I dont think it is not likely that it is the culprit for a large percentage of sightings.
 
What was that major case from the the 50s (or 60s or 40) where the cop chased a UFO for a while and eventually went nuts and left the force, and maybe even killed himself (not sure about that)? I think Klass went and investigated and maybe Hynek?

It was a Blue Book thing and the Air Force explained it as Venus. Just ridiculously insulting.

I read about it Dolans book but its pretty well known.
 
Has anyone ever truly, honestly, mistaken Venus for a UFO?

Venus gave me a bit of a start the other night, because it was so bright. But common sense quickly kicked in. The time to worry, is if you mistake a UFO for Venus, then the bugger swoops down and takes you ;).
 
Gareth said:
What was that major case from the the 50s (or 60s or 40) where the cop chased a UFO for a while and eventually went nuts and left the force, and maybe even killed himself (not sure about that)? I think Klass went and investigated and maybe Hynek?

It was a Blue Book thing and the Air Force explained it as Venus. Just ridiculously insulting.

I read about it Dolans book but its pretty well known.
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Do you mean the Portage Ohio case? It was in 1966.
 
I mistook a rod for a bug once. Ok, more than once.

I also thought this ugly jabba the Butt lookin bich was hot while drunk (I was the one drunk. ok, maybe she was too, but you get my point no?). I forgot to look at other things than her titties. Push up bras and all... but I'll spare the details. Other than, good news, Aaron did not reproduce! Yeah condoms!!
 
Aaron LeClair said:
I mistook a rod for a bug once. Ok, more than once.

I also thought this ugly jabba the Butt lookin bich was hot while drunk (I was the one drunk. ok, maybe she was too, but you get my point no?). I forgot to look at other things than her titties. Push up bras and all... but I'll spare the details. Other than, good news, Aaron did not reproduce! Yeah condoms!!
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Well known phenomenon. One of the few reliable ways of telling when you've had too much to drink is when certain people start looking good...
 
Aaron LeClair said:
I mistook a rod for a bug once. Ok, more than once.

I also thought this ugly jabba the Butt lookin bich was hot while drunk (I was the one drunk. ok, maybe she was too, but you get my point no?). I forgot to look at other things than her titties. Push up bras and all... but I'll spare the details. Other than, good news, Aaron did not reproduce! Yeah condoms!!
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That's a touching story Aaron.Who says romance is dead...;)
 
You all might notice that Aaron is not likely to be around here anymore, he posted a highly questionable thread earlier today, I PM'd him and told him I was going to take it down, and he completely freaked and told me to remove his account. I think he might have been wasted, and frankly, I don't appreciate some of these whacked-out posts. So I'm banning him, just putting this on here so anyone who might have wondered why he's banned, will have a better idea of why this is the case.

dB
 
David Biedny said:
You all might notice that Aaron is not likely to be around here anymore, he posted a highly questionable thread earlier today, I PM'd him and told him I was going to take it down, and he completely freaked and told me to remove his account. I think he might have been wasted, and frankly, I don't appreciate some of these whacked-out posts. So I'm banning him, just putting this on here so anyone who might have wondered why he's banned, will have a better idea of why this is the case.

dB
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Oh man. Sad news. I always thought his posts were more of an attempt at being wacky for wackys sake, rather than actually being wacky, if you know what I mean.

Is it perma?
 
Butthurtis Internetus....

happens to the best of us i guess.......

watch 3 episodes of david carradines Kung Fu and see a Dr if the problem persists :D

the optimun path seems obvious, the test will be one of pride versus logic. i wont pretend, i'll be disapointed if the latter doesnt win through
 
That sucks, Aaron was a staple of this board.

If indeed he was drinking and posting, that can be very dangerous :) When I get that urge I usually just drunk dial my brother so there is no historical record of my ramblings....
 
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