What's up in our skies?


UFOs were seen and videotaped recently over Wisconsin and Colombia. These objects -- different and diverse from each other -- are worth looking at just to consider whether they are truly unknown or just misidentified aircraft or computer-made nonsense.


First, a rarely seen, large cigar-shaped device, reportedly videotaped over Wisconsin, on May 31 and posted by UFObook, calling itself "a new kind of UFO agency on YouTube. Our goal is to upload real UFO sightings because with today's modern computer technology, you can fake many things."



The name of the videographer in this case isn't given, along with any information about the camera used to record the UFO, which, at one point, actually looks like a giant tapered, fine-pointed pencil in the sky. The YouTube site only offers the following description:


"This video of a cigar-shaped aircraft in the rain was recorded north of Appleton, WI. It hovers on one spot and turns slowly. The author of this video discovered it when he was looking out of his window. He got his camera with video function to capture it."


That's it. No other information is provided about the person who took the video, and who doesn't seem phased or excited in any way while the nearly two-and-a-half-minute-long video unfolds.


According to Open Minds.tv, reactions to the UFO have run the gamut from a "blimp," "terrible fake," and "open sky with the UFO added in with CGI," to a "pencil hanging from a string."


After examining the recent photos of a possible UFO over the Muiderslot Castle in the Netherlands -- which he determined to be an insect -- former FBI Special Agent Ben Hansen stepped in to help The Huffington Post with these latest UFO videos.


"I'm saying the cigar-shaped one is computer-generated imagery," Hansen told HuffPost in an email. "There's no indication that the thing is turning, despite the description. I think they did a good job with the tracking as far as their zooming is concerned, but it looks like all they did was make the size increase and then decrease to a point.


"The movement was way too smooth -- I'd say definitely computer software. It couldn't stay in one place so steadily without some drifting by the wind. You can see that the clouds move slightly to the right, and a craft would be fighting that current and it had no dimensionality to it when it supposedly turned."


A couple of days after the alleged Wisconsin aerial event, multiple witnesses in different towns of Colombia watched and videotaped something in the sky they couldn't identify.


According to Colombia's Caracol News, citizens of several towns in the Valle del Cauca section of Colombia reported a red light, hovering in the sky around 9 p.m. on June 9.



Open Minds.tv reports that even though Adolfo Escobar, the mayor of Pradera, explained the UFOs as flares that had been launched by the local army, eyewitnesses preferred to believe the lights had a more supernatural source.


Watch this unusual light in the sky over Pradera, Colombia:



"The Colombian videos looked legit, but I'd agree with the mayor that they're probably flares," said Hansen.


"From the video, the pulsating light reflecting off the clouds is consistent with flare illumination. It also had a downward motion and sometimes more lateral, but never up. It either disappeared behind the cloud or extinguished, but there was no indication of unconventional movement. More probably it was a military flare rather than a Chinese lantern because they typically extinguish before they descend," Hansen concluded.


Probably the biggest obstacle these days in determining the true identity of any UFO videos is the abundance of inexpensive computer software that makes it so easy to create a UFO, upload it to YouTube and claim it as the real thing.


The entire UFO subject has become so convoluted that nobody knows who or what to believe anymore.


UFOs aren't always what they seem...check some of these out:



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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.