Sighting Investigation Report
Date: 10th October 2020
Time: 20:00
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
Investigator: Ash Ellis
Case Reference: NW201003
Classification of Incident (Hynek System): CE1
At 8pm on 10th October 2020, our witness was called outside by her son who had been observing a bright red light in the sky for around 45 minutes. The witness originally brushed it off as a chinese lantern until she looked at the object with binoculars, at which point she stated that she could see a row of white lights running horizontally along the object with strange hieroglyphic-type symbols on the top and bottom parts of the circular light. She watched the object, which she described as stationary and being the size of the moon through binoculars, for around 2 hours. At one point the object changed shape into looking similar to a jellyfish, and at another point a black disc appeared on the right hand side looking like a solar eclipse does. After 2 hours of viewing the object suddenly disappeared from view.
After conducting a telephone interview with the witness, I asked her to take a photograph in day time to show where the object was. The red circle signifies the object location and size (as seen through binoculars)
These sketches were made by the witness immediately after the object disappeared showing the symbols she saw and the different appearances the object took
The fact that the object was visible for such a long period of time immediately rules out most airborne vehicles and we are likely to be looking to identify an astronomical object. Due to the vulnerability of the witness, however, as well as the unusual description of possible symbols and shape-changing behaviour described, I wanted to ensure a thorough investigation was completed with all possible angles considered.
We can rule out most air traffic, meteors, space junk and other items making entry into the earth’s atmosphere due to the stationary and long-lasting appearance of the object.
I spoke with my contact at the National Police Air Service who confirmed that although there were no police helicopters or planes in the area at the time, Cheshire Police HAD utilized their police drone during this time period. The drone that Cheshire Police have used since August 2020 is the Matrice 300RTK
I spoke with two professional drone operators and they both independently confirmed that the drone wouldn’t be airborne for that length of time and that it in no way matches the descriptions given. They also said that although drones can be made to look unusual by all manners of light arrangements on the drone itself, it would be highly unlikely that anybody using a drone for leisure or other purposes would have it airborne and stationary for this length of time.
To quickly mention the original thought of the witness is that it looked like a chinese lantern, the length of time this was visible rules this explanation out. Chinese (or sky) lanterns are generally airborne for between 5 and 10 minutes and move with the wind, so also wouldn’t be stationary, even on a relatively calm night.
Similarly to Chinese lanterns, flares are similar in appearance and can look like a bright red object in the night sky. Also similarly to lanterns is that flares last for minutes, rather than hours so we can rule this out as well.
A chinese lantern at night
Flares pictured in early evening sky
I visited the location of the sighting on the 12th November 2020 to get a feel for the area and to see if there was anything noticeable that could explain it. One thing I noticed nearly straight away was a flame at the top of a Flare Stack at the nearby Stanlow Oil Refinery. Flare stacks are used to safely burn off excess gas. Could the witness have seen this flame from a distance and mis-identified it due to the darkness and not being able to see the rest of the tower and other noticeable objects around it?
Flare stack at Stanlow Refinery
I sent the witness a number of photos of these gas flares taken at night from different distances and although one of them “looks slightly like it” she states that this isn’t what she saw (I didn’t give any context to the photos). Also importantly, the direction of the Flare Stack is opposite to the direction the witness saw this object. The weather according to accuweather on the night was calm with a wind speed of 19km/h, which although classed as a “light wind” under the Beaufort Scale, would cause the flame to move and flicker as you would imagine if you picture wind blowing on a flame.
The other witness in this case was the adult son of the reporting witness. He was the one who originally saw the object and was observing it for around 45 minutes before the witness started watching as well. He was unwilling to speak on the phone however he did answer a few questions via text message, confirming the direction the object was seen and also that when the object disappeared from view it “blinked out”.
I was unable to locate any further witnesses after making appeals with a number of local news outlets. I was also unable to find any other reports from anybody else who may have seen the object.
I made enquiries with nearby airports, airfields and also a local military cadet base. None had received any reports or had knowledge of anything that could explain it.
Having examined these other means of explanation, and after talking to experienced UFO investigator Dave Hodrien from the Birmingham UFO Group, I return to my original hypothesis of this being an astronomical object of some sort. I used Stellarium to look at the layout of the night sky for the time and date in question. Jumping out at me straight away, was Jupiter and Saturn clearly in the south-west direction, relatively low down in the sky.
This matches both with the direction the object was seen and the low positioning as from the photo provided by the witness, the object was just above house level. An important point here is Saturn being visible, as this matches the witness saying that there was a second, smaller, object to the left, which is how Saturn would have appeared that night.
Because both planets are lower to the horizon, this causes the illusion that makes them look bigger than they usually do in the sky because you have points of references (houses for example) as well as causing atmospheric distortion to have a bigger effect, which can cause space-based objects to look much different than usual due to the increased air density. This includes both appearance and colour.
This effect is evidenced in a BBC News report from 2011 whereby a search and rescue effort was launched in Tynemouth after a member of the public reported seeing a distress flare being launched (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-15165928). This flare was found to be a genuine misidentification of Jupiter, which appeared bright red in the sky.
BBC News Headline, 2011
As shown above, flares can look similar to Chinese lanterns in the night sky, as described by the witness as her original thought of what the object was.
To quote the skyatnightmagazine.com,
“The bright, orangey red Jupiter is another planet frequently taken to be a UFO”
To address the symbols being seen on the object as well as apparent changing shape of the object, this could be a result of mis-alignment of the binoculars used. This causes the binoculars to see two different images at the same time and causes your eyes and brain to “fight” to try and see the correct image as well as seeing double. This can make the object you are looking at appear quite a bit different to how it actually does. It’s hard to know how much binoculars are misaligned without using expert equipment, which isn’t an option in this case.
Clouds and other objects in the sky such as birds and insects can also cause the illusion of an object changing shape as they pass in front. Clouds would also explain the object “blinking out” when it did eventually disappear from sight. This includes high clouds which are present even if it appears to be a cloudless sky.
To conclude, I am confident with the analysis and evidence I have obtained, and I am of the opinion that this sighting is most likely to be a mid-identification of the planet Jupiter.
