SUBJECT: Photographs of 2 unidentified aircraft
LOCATION: Pioneer Park, Hwy. 17 – Independence/Covington, KY(Kenton County)
DATE: Sunday, November 2, 2003 – 5:26 to 5:28 p.m.
SUMMARY:
While walking my dog at Pioneer Park during daylight hours, I spotted an object in the sky that was, from my perspective, near the moon. The object was first considered a reflection of sunlight from an airplane as other high-flying planes reflecting sunlight had been visible moments earlier.However, the color of this object was pure white, unlike the gold-colored reflections seen on planes around that same time due to the color of the setting sun. Within moments, a second and identical object became apparent.Both were traveling with a slow path from east to north, first observed near the moon at an estimated 40-degrees above the horizon at 5:26 p.m.E.D.T. The objects clearly traveled on course together and at thesame general speed, heading to the north and directly over Downtown, Cincinnati.The two objects became fainter as they moved to the north and eventually disappeared in the sky haze around 5:28 p.m..
The first photo was made without using the camera zoom, showing the first visible object near the moon. (Faint white object seen to the left of the moon at the 10 o’clock position).
The remaining photos were made using the zoom set at maximum, and the second object was not noticed until after the fifth photo was taken, It was, however, visibly apparent and photographed on the fourth photo.
When I realized two identical objects were traveling together I stopped taking pictures momentarily, trying to focus my eyes on the objects to ascertain some type of aircraft identification. I could not visually obtain any make on the objects and took note that the light source of each object did not seem reflective, as I had been seeing on other airplanes, as they were each ‘white’ in color and of the same intensity.
Several images were taken of the two objects as they moved off to the north, over Downtown Cincinnati. Foreground images of nearby trees are provided in the shot for frame of reference, although the auto focus mechanism of the Olympus camera tightened the focus on the trees, leaving the two aerial objects ‘soft’ on focus.
I could not identify them as airplanes nor could any preliminary analysis of the 16-digital photos using Adobe Photoshop 6.0 reveal any additional features, such as wings or a tail section, using the magnification tool.
These are the first objects I have photographed that I cannot give immediate account for. I cannot rule out that they are two military or other jet aircraft flying together, but the reflective appearance were distinctly different than other airplanes in the vicinity (aircraft can be seen at that time and usually took on a ‘reddish’ hue due to the setting sun).No contrails were present and no sound could be heard. Traffic on nearby Highway 17 would drown out any possible sound, however.
A word on “Reflection Time”
The “reflection time” of a plane reflecting sunlight is dependent upon many variables, such as the position of the sun, the situation and banking conditions of the plane, and the convenient location of the ground observer.In the case of these 2-objects seen near Cincinnati, it should be noted that the illumination of these two objects were nearly identical and their brightness was consistent throughout their 2-minute sighting time and path from east to north. In most cases, a reflective glare will recede after an aircraft performs a banking maneuver and solid aircraft structure can be seen. This was not the case with the 2-objects photographed near Cincinnati on November 2, 2003.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
On Wednesday, October 29, a married couple reported a UFO sighting near Harrison Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, described as a bluish-white light that held a fixed position over Western Hills, also around 5:30 p.m. Thatreport is enclosed below.
Filed,
November 2, 2003
KENNY YOUNG
Analysis Submissions
Indiana researcher Lynn Taylor
offers the following comments:
Obviously, the objects were east of your vantage point, in order to be in the frame with the Moon. Also apparent is the red component of the objects, which is likely and primarily the result of reflected long-wave light rays from the setting western sun.
Most importantly, if you view the attached image, you can clearly see the ovoid shape of the object, after much of the glare has been stripped away. I have also included embossed and edge-detected images for your study.As you mentioned in your report, there are no signs of wings, or any other features consistent with a conventional aircraft.
The fact that the objects seemed to be traveling at a reduced airspeed, would not rule out a non-conventional craft, or UFO, if you will.
I agree with your statement that any reflected sunlight is normally momentary and variable in nature from the vantage point of the viewer.The appearance of the objects as you reported them would be more consistent with self-illumination, caused by ionized atmospheric gases immediately surrounding the craft. At night, these emanations can appear in a range of intensities and colors, from deep red, to blue-white. Most “nocturnal lights” are reported as reddish-orange in color.
Raw Photographs – Gallery
“Raw photos” of the 2-objects over Cincinnati on Nov. 2, 2003 that are un-edited and unprocessed can be found at the following locations (arranged in sequence below). The last photo is marked, it is a ‘frame of reference’shot showing the moon and marked with an arrow that is the E to N path taken by the objects.
Shots 1 – 3 contain the moon (3rd image is blurred), shots 4- 10 are ‘open sky shots’ showing the two objects, shots 11 through 16 contain foreground
landscape for frame of reference. Shot 17 is general shot of moon in sky, where objects were first seen, for reference.
Caution, these are big files and may take a few minutes to load for those with slower connections:
This post was published on June 18, 2015