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UFO Or Meteor? FAA Weighs In On Burst Of Light Shooting Over Texas Sky

First Posted: 02/ 4/2012 9:06 am Updated: 02/ 4/2012 4:00 pm

A blaze of light shooting across the Texas sky got people talking, spurring the Federal Aviation Administration to examine stunning police footage.

The bluish-green streak seen as far north as Oklahoma City and as far south as Houston was "most likely" a meteor or piece of space junk, officials say, according to the Austin-American Statesman.

FAA officials hunkered down with dashboard camera footage provided by Little River-Academy Police Chief Troy Hess, who observed the Wednesday night light show at Bell County town.

"It kept getting bigger, and the color kept changing," Hess told the paper.

Nearby residents in the small Texas town thought this bizarre flying object might be a distressed aircraft crashing or the sort of UFO visitation celebrated in Steven Spielberg movies, ITN reports.

The UFO talk crops up whenever these strange light shows occur. In September, a greenish streak spotted across several West Coast states opened the door to a lot of conjecture. That's expected, Edwin Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, told The Huffington Post.

"Certainly, it's correct to say that most people are not used to looking at the sky, not used to evaluating either brightness, distance or angular size in the sky, and therefore, have a very good chance of misidentifying objects or effects in the sky," said Krupp. "There are all kinds of explanations for UFOs, and the least likely is that they're spacecraft from another world."

PHOTOS: UFOs? Maybe They're Just . .

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  • Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 2013

    This is a composite image of how three alleged UFOs maneuvered about in the sky over Melbourne, Australia, in early February, 2013. The final verdict isn't in yet on whether they're birds, aircraft, balloons, bugs or something truly unidentified.

  • Lanterns

    These candle-lit Chinese lanterns can rise high into the sky and are often mistaken for UFOs.

  • Exploding Weather Balloons, Not UFOs

    On Dec. 20, 2012, a bright, circular object (pictured at the top of this composite image) was videotaped exploding in the skies above Sacramento, Calif. It wasn't immediately identified, resulting in speculation that it was either an alien spacecraft, military top secret weapon, runaway planet, North Korean satellite, among others. Within a short period of time, it became apparent that this was a weather balloon. The bottom part of this image shows such a balloon as it ascended over Tampa Bay, Fla., on July 2, 2012, and exploded in an identical manner as the Sacramento object, probably much to the dismay of all true ET believers out there.

  • Boomerang UFO composite images -- 10-5-12

    This is a composite of images shot by two eyewitnesses of a boomerang-shaped UFO they reported seeing over their Burbank, Calif., home on Oct. 5, 2012. Mutual UFO Network photo/video analyst Marc Dantonio concluded the object was likely "a balloon, floating on the wind that has collapsed in half."

  • Changing UFO Pattern -- Warren, Mich. 1-10-13

    This four-image series of lights in the sky was recorded over Warren, Mich., on Jan. 10, 2013. The lights were seen changing into several patterns. The most logical explanation for these types of UFOs is a series of balloons or lanterns.

  • UFOs Over Earth

    This composite image shows four different times that alleged UFO were photographed above Earth by either space shuttles or the International Space Station. The big question is whether or not they are truly unidentified objects or if they are more likely reflections from spacecraft windows, meteors or fast-moving spacecraft-generated debris.

  • Pink UFOs Or Lens Flares?

    What appear to be pink-red UFOs are actually lens flares from the Google Earth street view camera as it snapped images in Texas (left) and New Mexico (right).

  • Lens flares Arizona

    These two flying saucer-shaped, pink-colored lens flares were created by the Google Maps camera as it drove through locations in Sedona, Ariz. (left) and Flagstaff, Ariz. (right). The images were snapped in April 2009. Submitted to HuffPost by trenna.

  • Lens flare Whiteriver, Ariz.

    This skybound lens flare was created by a Google Maps camera in June 2008 over Whiteriver, Ariz. Submitted to Huffington Post by Cheryl Weeks.

  • Lens flare Gulfport, Miss.

    This very Earthbound lens flare was created by a Google Maps camera in November 2007 at Gulfport, Miss. Submitted to Huffington Post by Jenni Parker.

  • Lens flare Eureka Springs, Ark.

    This seemingly grounded lens flare was created by a Google Maps camera in January 2008 at Eureka Springs, Ark. Submitted to Huffington Post by SE.

  • Lens flare Escanaba, Mich.

    This lens flare appears to be following a car. The Google Maps image was created in October 2008 at Escanaba, Mich. Submitted to Huffington Post by Mary Robinson.

  • Cincinnati Skydivers NOT UFOs Sept. 28, 2012

    On the night of Sept. 28, 2012, a group of strange-looking lights appeared in the sky near Cincinnati, Ohio. First there was one, then, two, then three lights, slowly descending. It turns out, however, that these lights were originating from a group of skydivers performing a pyrotechnics jump at the La Salle High School homecoming event.

  • Weather Phenomenon

    Some UFO sightings may be due to a natural phenomenon known as sprites, like this one shown from 2006. "Lightning from [a] thunderstorm excites the electric field above, producing a flash of light called a sprite," said geophysicist Colin Price.

  • Clouds

    Clouds: Saucer-shaped or "lenticular" clouds that form at high altitudes have been confused with UFOs.

  • Blimps or Advertising Balloons

    Blimps or advertising balloons: These can look like flying saucers from some angles, especially at night.

  • Sunken Ship in the Baltic Sea

    On June 19th the Swedish-based diving company Ocean Explorer discovered something they've never quite seen before. They were exploring in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland looking for sunken treasures when a very unusual image suddenly appeared on the sonar. A 197 feet diameter cylinder shaped object was discovered at the depth of approximately 275 feet which resembles the Millennium Falcon from the movie Star Wars.

  • Baltic Sea UFO 1

    An image released on June 15, 2012, shows a close-up view of the unidentified object sitting on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

  • Baltic Sea UFO 2

    Close-up of rock bed that forms the Baltic Sea UFO, which still mystifies researchers.

  • Baltic Sea UFO 3

    One of several odd stone circle formations, sitting on top of the unidentified object at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

  • Antarctic UFO -- Aug. 10, 2012

    A circular UFO hovers above the Neumayer-Station III research facility in Antarctica on Aug. 10, 2012. Theories ranging from a simple weather balloon to a more elaborate ship from another planet have run the Internet gamut. The next slide shows a closeup of the object.

  • Antarctic UFO Closeup -- Aug. 10, 2012

    This is a closeup of the UFO from the previous slide. No official explanation has been offered about the object.

  • Manufactured UFO -- 2011

    Pictured is a quad copter -- a deliberately manufactured UFO created by special effects wizard Marc Dantonio for a National Geographic special, "The Truth Behind: UFOs," which aired in December 2011. On the left is what the small device looks like resting on the ground, measuring 4 feet in circumference. At right, is how it appeared behind a tree in the night sky.

  • Police Dashboard Camera In Texas

    In February of 2012, this fireball was captured by a Texas police chief's A dashboard camera. F.A.A. say this was probably a meteor, falling to Earth. .

  • Meteors

    Meteors: Space debris can create a spectacular light show when it burns through the Earth's atmosphere, and sometimes reported as UFOs.

  • Civilian or Military Aircraft

    Civilian or military aircraft: Planes can look mysterious at night or in certain light conditions, thus confusing an observer.


FOLLOW HUFFPOST WEIRD NEWS

A blaze of light shooting across the Texas sky got people talking, spurring the Federal Aviation Administration to examine stunning police footage. The bluish-green streak seen as far north as Okla...
A blaze of light shooting across the Texas sky got people talking, spurring the Federal Aviation Administration to examine stunning police footage. The bluish-green streak seen as far north as Okla...
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12:22 AM on 05/27/2012
So many geniuses here.. Which one should I choose to believe. Ill guess Ill do what youll do with the answers you post...Draw them out of a hat
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
guoyakla
Me Boss = You're Not
12:39 AM on 02/16/2012
fake.....
06:49 PM on 02/14/2012
I knew I couldn't have been the only one to see this! I never heard anything about it locally. I saw this first-hand while I was driving in Austin. It was definitely a meteor or "space junk". I've seen plenty of shooting stars and it moved just like that. I could even see small fiery bits falling off the tail of it as it fell (and yes it had a tail...you can't see it in that black and white footage, but it was there). It was a meteor and not a UFO. And this is coming from someone who believes 100% that UFOs exist and visit/have visited earth.
11:42 AM on 02/14/2012
If a UFO is unidentified flying object, and people call it an alien aircraft, wouldn't it technically be "identified" and therefore be known as an IFO?

:P
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bigdaveh
If facts have a liberal bias, I'll use facts
03:46 PM on 02/09/2012
Refraction of an oncoming car coming towards to police cruiser
02:16 PM on 02/07/2012
Its The Blob
07:29 AM on 02/07/2012
It was Obama's birth certificate
06:57 AM on 02/07/2012
Well I dont know what to comment on this
*confused*

http://www.weird-strange-facts.com
12:17 AM on 02/07/2012
BS I've never seen a meteor travel that slowly........
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
westcoastsc
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhe
09:41 PM on 02/06/2012
Too slow to be a meteor.
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Woodsie
nulli dei, nulli domini
04:15 PM on 02/06/2012
Three weeks ago, about 2;30 in the morning, (in central Ky.) I couldn't sleep and got up, turned the tv on in the den, but no lights, and from the armchair I have a good view of the night sky through the opened upper window shutters. About ten minutes later, a flash caught my eye and I saw a bright orange object sail by fast and disappear over the hills. I knew it wasn't a shooting star; seen plenty of them out here, and it was a bigger, brighter 'ball'. I thought it must be a meteor or a plane afire but not a mention the next day of anything. It made me remember Hale-Bopp and miss it... : )
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03:52 PM on 02/06/2012
It was just e-mail from god to Pat Robertson...
12:06 PM on 02/06/2012
I don't get it. Why is it so hard for people to understand that we are not alone in this vast universe. I would find it more surprising if it is proven there is no intelligent life in the Universe besides us.
10:40 AM on 02/06/2012
Okay, once again, until an object that is moving across the sky (i.e., flying) is identified, it is, by definition an unidentified flying object. The term "UFO," although popular in fiction to mean "object from outer space," it simply means Unidentified Flying Object, an object not recognized by those (or even one) who sees it. So, in my humble opinion, and by this definition, it was, indeed, a UFO.
08:14 AM on 02/06/2012
The Bible says in the last days there will be "signs and wonders in the heavens"
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hplhenry
Think lucky and be lucky
08:41 AM on 02/06/2012
It also says some nut built a big boat and put two of every breed of animal in the world on it.
10:42 AM on 02/06/2012
Your point is..... seeing as how evidence of said "big boat" has been found, and evidence of the flood has also been documented?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mynamesyow
Scientist, Gonzo, Champion of the Poor
01:54 PM on 02/08/2012
idk about the animals, but there are around 2000 Flood myths reported by cultures from all over the world throughout history...