WERE THOSE UFO'S OVER CHICAGO? Photographs taken during broad daylight show what look like SAUCER SHAPED OBJECTS in the blue sky. At least 19 of the objects can be seen in one of three photos posted on Flickr. THE PIX WERE TAKEN ON FEBRUARY 8, 2009 from the elevated train platform at the Howard Street CTA Station, on the far northeast side of Chicago, on the Evanston border, looking south-southeast. I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH THAT TRAIN PLATFORM, and looking at the photos I am confident that the white objects in the sky cannot be reflections.
THE IMAGES ABOVE ARE CROPPED EXCERPTS from one of the photos. I enhanced color and contrast on the left image (color); the right image is black and white with a red filter applied.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER WOULD HAVE BEEN STANDING ON AN OPEN PLATFORM, NOT IN ANY ENCLOSURE, SO THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO WINDOW BETWEEN THE CAMERA AND THE SKY. IN OTHER WORDS, THE WHITE OBJECTS ARE "NOT" REFLECTIONS.
I FIRST BECAME AWARE OF THE PHOTOS TODAY ON A FRIEND'S BLOG. She posted the photos, but for some reason chose to use the possible UFOs as a humorous point in an unrelated story. The photos, linked to Flickr, are attributed only to "Quality," who has no profile posted.
THE LINKS TO THE PHOTOS ON FLICKR:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79822180@N00/3264107213/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79822180@N00/3264932544/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79822180@N00/3264933262/
POSTSCRIPT:
A reader wrote the following note, followed by my reply.
Hi Tom,
I guess my skepticism always comes to the fore, when it comes to UFO's :) I know the military always experiment with new types of aircraft, and undetectable secret 'things'! There just has to be a rational explanation! It would be interesting to find out what 'they' are, though. More for curiosity, than a belief in aliens :)
Dear Reader:
I mean, you could be right that they are not what they appear to be. They might be specks of dust or something on the lense. As for a "rational explanation," what is irrational about the possibility of extraterrestrial beings? Very rational scientists agree on the possibility (probability, really); SETI spends millions of dollars every year listening for intelligent signals from other worlds. A possible rational explanation "is" alien craft. But then, another rational explanation could be dust specks. We don't know, and that's what the "Unidentified" part of "UFO" means.
MORE REACTIONS HERE: READERS REACT TO CHICAGO UFO PHOTOS
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