CNN Catches UFO on Camera during inauguration?

[Jeroen]

CNN Catches UFO on Camera during inauguration? on Jan21 2009

by Senior Editor |

First of all, Congratulations to President Obama and the people of the United Stated of America. Change has happened. And, it seems possible that not only the whole world was watching the inauguration but beyond as well…
One of the questions Obama was asked was whether or not he would give the world insights in to the UFO phenomenon. Some people might think it is not such an important matter where some think it is the most important question of all time that needs to be answered to the people.
How important shows the following video from CNN, live from the inauguration. Please watch the video and take note at 0:08 and focus on the right of the screen.

http://news1800.com/2009/01/most-popular/cnn-catches-uf... /

Video on CCN's website:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2009/01/2...


- - -
This is really interesting

[FLAprogressive]

1. I believe it was an unmanned plane.....I remember seeing at thread on this

[DS1]

3. It would have to be moving about about Mach 5 from the looks of it

[Orrex]

6. I agree! It was Speed Racer!

Where's Chim Chim? He'll settle this, once and for all!

[Forkboy]

16. Nice name change.

[uppityperson]

98. Thank you, I thought it was just me. comparing back and forth, back and forth. nt

[Forkboy]

101. He took each "r" and switched them.

[uppityperson]

That makes sense. I was working with reversing the "x" but needed special

software or complex computer programing codes to make it look right and I don't know if everyone has those complex codes on their computers.

[Iggo]

30. Chim Chim's in the trunk with Spridle.

Duh.

[Orrex]

36. Doh--that's right.

Never interrupt a boy while he's petting his monkey.

[formercia]

109. Where was the shock wave?

If it was an aircraft, there would have been an obvious sonic boom.

[Cetacea]

163. It's distortion. View it on large screen for perspcetive correction.

[tekisui]

2. Whatever it was, it flies fast.

[BurtWorm]

4. It was a shoe someone was aiming at Bush's head.

[Faygo Kid]

5. Whoa. That was pretty weird. Could it be Gort?

Seriously, that WAS weird. Klaatu barata nikto.

[W_HAMILTON]

94. Gort?

Is that Stephen Colbert's financial advisor?

[QC]

142. Klaatu barada nikto!

[endarkenment]

7. That is a beanie baby.

You probably wondered what happened to the 14,0000,0000,000 beanie babies sold between 1986 and 1992. It turns out that they learned how to fly and now live in the clouds.

[Richard D]

8. Very fast and very big

and no sonic boom. And no jet engine noise.
Weird.

[RT Atlanta]

9. bird or bug

my guess is a bird or one cold-resistant bug.

[tekisui]

14. That was no bird.

[Usrename]

112. It's a bird.

They do move along pretty fast when it's cold out.

Although you can't actually see its wings beating, you can see the resulting slight change in direction.

[tekisui]

123. After few more viewings, it does look like a bird.

[Cetacea]

137. No bird moves that fast. Sorry.

I've been photographing birds for 30 years. Look at the amount of ground that thing covers. It has go to be going at super sonic speeds.

[Native]

186. Agreed. The size of the thing (using perspective) would discount the bird theory as well.

[Usrename]

187. It's a chimney swift.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ch...

[Liberal In Texas]

37. Looks like a small bird probably more in the foreground than is apparent. n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

43. Yup. Passed in front of the monument. n/t

[Celebration]

66. Wrong

It was on the other side of the monument.

[Renew Deal]

84. I disagree. It looks like it's in front of the monument.

That thing is moving fast for a bird, but what the hell is it? Maybe a bullet?

[The Doctor.]

106. Nope. Slow video;

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/16685 /

[ElsewheresDaughter]

75. wrong...it flew behind the monument

[The Doctor.]

104. LOL... this is funny. Watched it several times, it's in front of the monument.

There'll be some slow motion stuff out there... we'll see.

[The Doctor.]

105. Here we go;

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/16685 /

Index 1:40

[defendandprotect]

167. Thanks ... !!!

Hope those who think this is a bird get their rulers out --- !!!

Wow !!!

It's a UFO and hope someone will give us accurate estimation of size ---

and speed --- wow, the speed!!!

[The Doctor.]

190. Uhhhh....

Sure!

[Jeroen]

175. I agree. First I thought it passed behind - hence my excitement

But still, it is very fast for a bird.

[originalpckelly]

99. Definitely some kind of bug, and the people who say otherwise are nuts.

It was no alien space craft or secret airplane.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

118. what kind of bug do you know that flies around in 10 degree weather????

[TexasObserver]

120. Like you know.

You really should practice not seeing yourself as an authority on what is and is not shown on such video.

[Cetacea]

157. With all due respect, bugs do not fly like that.

You might tone down the disrespectful adjectives too, especially considering you are so very wrong.

[defendandprotect]

168. And the "bug" would be how large . . . ?

And, it's speed . . . actually, it's speed would destroy a bug --


Do you have a ruler at home?

[Sanity Claws]

10. I've never seen anything move that fast!

What was it? It's hard to believe that the US would be flying experimental aircraft in that airspace at that time.

[defendandprotect]

169. If the US had anything like that or could fly anything like that .. . .

we'd be using it ---!!!

[dbonds]

11. Time traveling tourist from the future coming to see history being made.

[RedCloud]

32. My sentiments exactly!

Did they leave any winning lotto numbers to help us with our private bailouts?

[Soylent Brice]

47. best guess so far.

i like it.

[myrna minx]

184. I KNEW it was the Tardis.

[petronius]

12. I suspect it's an out-of-focus bird that's a lot closer to the camera than we think

On the other hand, this was a big event - no reason to think it didn't attract tourists from other planets (or from the future?)...

[Orrex]

19. Canada Geese! Canada Geese!

[petronius]

31. Those evil little buggers are everywhere, aren't they? Forget Shark Week -

I fear we're heading into the Summer of the Goose...

[Orrex]

35. 'Summer of the Goose?' That's on the Spice Channel, right?

[The Doctor.]

107. "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the atmosphere...."

[Hugabear]

69. Probably waiting for Bush to fly to Texas

Something about them being on a suicide mission...

[Chulanowa]

23. Whatever it is...

It goes in front of the Washington Monument. Actually looks like it's only a few yards from the camera

[petronius]

26. I was trying to see it as it crossed the monument, but I couldn't hit pause

in a timely manner (you must have sharper eyes than I do). I was also thinking there was a fluttery direction change off to the left, which looked like a buggish/birdish maneuver...

[Celebration]

67. I DID pause it!!!

It was BEHIND the monument.

Very weird.

PS--It took me about twenty tries. Then finally I paused it so well I couldn't see it. Yup. Behind the monument!!

[Arkansas Granny]

I suspect that you are probably correct.

[Kalyke]

46. But it looked as if it went behind the Washington Monument.

If it was closer, it would have been in front of it.

[Celebration]

68. Definitely behind the monument

I know, because I went through the pausing routine and finally caught it, and it was on the other side of the monument.

[Renew Deal]

85. I did the same thing and it looked like it was in front of the monument.

[Belial]

13. You would think that the aliens could just watch it on TV?

[Parker CA]

15. Pretty crazy looking, but it's black and very fast. Could it be a stealth jet??

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. cheney's transport, perhaps.

[nc4bo]

18. Try watching the CNN website clip. It's a bit better. It's a bird. nt

[Parker CA]

29. Looking at it again, I think you're right. It's a bird.

[Why Syzygy]

41. What kind of bird flies that fast? nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

45. One close to the camera?

Just guessing.

[Why Syzygy]

49. If it were closer to the camera, couldn't we

determine it was a bird for sure?

[nc4bo]

60. If you save the clip then open it in Media Player Classic, VLC player or

any video player capable of slowing down the frame speed, you can see what looks like wing flapping. It's especially noticeable as the bird passes flies out to the left and out of view.

Media Player Classic is the quickest player I can open in a hurry.

[Sanity Claws]

81. That was not wings flapping

That was a couple of ETs waving their hands at the crowd below

[lumberjack_jeff]

113. Cameras don't work that way.

a) it was crossing the field of view fast
b) it was probably inside the camera's depth of field (inside it's focal length)

[Cetacea]

155. No, it would just make it go by faster and add blur.

[Cetacea]

138. There are no birds that fly that fast. Period.

[RobertSeattle]

151. What science are you using to determine "fast"?

[Cetacea]

154. The science of Optics. Which science says 'bird?'

Granted it is hard to be definite given the lack of info and the lousy reproduction.

[RobertSeattle]

181. Two Human Eyeballs looking at a bird in HD

[defendandprotect]

171. Also flies off to the left BEHIND the trees and still visible--!!!

No bird would be visible from that distance ---

And it would have to be something of prehistoric size!!!

[AndyA]

20. What would have had permission to fly that close to the inauguration?

I don't think permission for anything would have been granted to fly that low and that close.

And that was pretty fast for the skies of Washington, D.C.

[Ayesha]

21. The aliens came to...

congratulate us on our new President and pick up the former White House occupant to take him home. When they dumped their genetic waste on our planet back in 1946, they had no idea we'd decide it could run a country!

[Why Syzygy]

22. Do any birds fly that fast? It looked kind of like it was

flapping at first. But birds don't fly that fast. Do they?

[nc4bo]

24. I believe it was much closer to the camera than it appears.

Just guessing.

[Cetacea]

136. Absolutely not. Unless it was a few feet from lens. nt

[Cetacea]

161. Correction: full screen viewing shows apparant bird

[Parker CA]

25. Can't tell from the microphone set for the video, but if it were an aircraft moving that fast,

surely there would be some very loud sounds from breaking the sound barrier. At the low altitude that appears to be at, I would imagine everyone on the mall would've reacted if it were indeed an aircraft. Weird.

[BeHereNow]

27. Very strange indeed.

Wonder what it means...
Maybe a signal of approval to us for finally
ridding the world of Bush and Cheney?

That's my first guess.
Tee-Hee.
BHN

[Old and In the Way]

28. That is strange.

Could that video have been tampered with? I can't say it looks like anything I've ever seen.

[JFN1]

33. That object was doing at least mach two.

And it's freaking big - a lot bigger than a plane. The Washington monument gives an excellent size referent, given the distance the camera was from the monument, and the size of the object against the sky.

[Bonhomme Richard]

34. Seems to me a hawk coming out of a dive.

You can see movement like wings flapping when the bird starts angling upward.

[Dumak]

38. I believe in UFOs, but

can you people who are saying it is big and fast please tell me where you get that information? I'm just not seeing anything in the video that tells me how close the object is to the camera.

[Celebration]

70. It's behind the Washington Monument

Which is a ways away from the camera.

[Dumak]

189. It looks in front to me

In the slowed version, when on the left side of the monument, it appears to overlap in front. We don't get a view of it being directly in front of the monument because a video camera is a frame-based device.

[RedCloud]

39. Look up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. it's superman.

Happy days are ahead folks.

[mockmonkey]

40. The problem is

if you watch from the CNN site and put your fingers on both sides of the Washington Monument (blocking the sky) the object flys between the Monument and the camera. There also appears to be another shadow flying the opposite way as the first clears the screen.

I think it's Bush/Cheney's Bad Karma chasing them down.

[jsamuel]

42. It flies infront of the wash. mon. which means it is small and likely a bird

[jayfish]

53. It Also Appears As Though It Exits Behind The Trees On The Left Side...

of the video which would make it considerably larger than a bird and traveling at a very high rate of speed. I say "appears" because the video is compressed and it could just be an optical trick. I'd like to see the original, uncompressed, 1920x1080 video.

Jay

[lumberjack_jeff]

44. Well, it's clearly flying and pretty much unidentifed.

CNN clearly caught a UFO on camera.

[Adsos Letter]

48. Rods!!!!!!!!!!

[Why Syzygy]

50. Someone with video software

needs to analyze it. Any takers?

[jayfish]

57. You're Not Going To See Anything With That Crappy Video.

You would need the original 1920X1080 feed to see anything conclusive.

[nc4bo]

61. True it is bad when enlarged but you can catch the flapping of the wings as it flies out of view. nt

[jayfish]

63. I Thought I Saw That Too.

More of a twist to change direction than a flap.

Jay

[nc4bo]

65. LOL - It's symbolic or, it's the bushy soul fleeing away from it's owner.

Sorry, can't help it.

[Seldona]

92. Beat me to it.

My guess is either something of ours, or something natural passing close in front of the camera without a reference for depth perception.

[BeHereNow]

51. From LBN- "Unidentified Object Identified as Flying Monkey from Wizard of Oz."

The witches monkeys were coming to recruit the chimperor;
they heard he needed a job.

BHN

[akwapez]

52. Bird

It clearly goes in front of the monument. You can see the bird appears slightly darker against the background of the monument.

[robertpaulsen]

54. Can't CNN just let his father Jor-El watch the inauguration in peace? n/t

[SidDithers]

55. Was it spewing chemtrails over the jubilant masses below?...nt

Sid

[Marr]

56. It was very obviously a small bird. You could see it flapping towards the end there.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

72. it went behind the Washington monument...it was NOT a bird...too fast

[nc4bo]

78. It's in front of the monument. You can only see it well at an extremely slow speed.

I can't take a print screen of the video atm but can try later.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

80. Or...

cover up the screen with pieces of paper, or just your fingers, so that only the washington monument is visible, then replay the video and watch the bird reappear.

Damn, some people are suckers for anything.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

79. Except it flew in front of the Washington monument.

I could see that, and I haven't even got my glasses on.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

91. ...

[Phoonzang]

58. It would appear to be related to that "Rod" phenomenon....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_ (cryptozoology)

Actually looking at the video, it just looks like a freaking bird. It flies in front of the trees on the left.

[RobertSeattle]

145. Bird-Rod!

[leftofthedial]

59. probably a bird very near the camera.

the object passed in front of the Washington Monument and was out of focus, so, in a long shot like that, it was relatively near the camera.

Wolf Blitzer and UFOs---MIHOP!

[kwassa]

62. It was the space alien leaving. He was a Bush supporter

[Dukkha]

64. clearly a bird

You can see the wings flapping during normal play on the view. Slow it down and it's more obvious.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

71. CNN pulled the video....it's no longer there

[L. Coyote]

73. I saw planes flying in the background while watching. This one is in a haze.

IDIOTS!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

74. I hope someone saved a copy of that video!

[nc4bo]

77. I have it saved as a .flv file. nt

[semillama]

76. This birdwatcher says: Definitely a bird

Could be something like a falcon or Cooper's Hawk - those birds are really fast, especially if they are focused on prey.

[Radical Activist]

82. in this age of modern digital photography

why is every picture of a UFO still so grainy and hard to make out?

[hugo_from_TN]

102. Excellent Question!

In my opinion, it is because photographs that are not grainy and blurry allow one to see what the object actually is (bird, balloon, airplane, Venus, etc.). Only the ones that are blurry and grainy are left and these become the extraterrestrial ships in the imagination of the viewer.

[Radical Activist]

103. I suspect that you're right.

[jayfish]

129. Well In The Case Of This Video,...

it's a compressed copy of the original that has a low frame-rate and very low detail. In the case of photos; modern digital photography is not necessarily a good thing. The CCD's in most, if not all, consumer grade digital cameras are horrible in low light situations. They are also ruinous when using digital zoom techniques outside of the capability of the camera's lens and CCD.

Jay

[LeftyMom]

83. "Unidentified Flying Object" flaps. It's a bird.

[Rainbowreflect]

86. You would think with the million plus cameras there someone

else would have caught something.

[John1956PA]

87. Here is a screen shot of the object as it passes in front of the monument.

[nc4bo]

88. What did you use to capture that frame?

I resorted to taking a photo of a freeze frame w/my digi camera. All my programs wanted to copy the entire video, not the danged frame - ack.

[John1956PA]

90. I discovered a "Snipping Tool" program which I had not known of before I searched for it.

My PC uses Vista, and the Snipping Tool program came bundled with it.

[nc4bo]

96. Oh ok. Guess I better stomp on over to sourceforge and see if they have

something comparable for XP.

Cool tool!

[greyl]

174. Try CamStudio and SnagIt:

http://camstudio.org /
http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp

These were gotten by using SnagIt to capture the video while it was playing, then saving individual frames:



CamStudio is great for recording to video anything that happens on your screen.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

89. OMG ROFLMAO!!!!!! There Are People That Actually Questioned This?

Oh, that's rich! Could it be any more obvious that it's a bird? There are people who actually, genuinely, sincerely think that's a UFO???

Indeed, there are some who really need to up their meds. Holy cow.

[jayfish]

116. I Don't Think It's A UFO, But...

given the video we have to work with, your claim that it's obviously a bird is almost as ridiculous as saying it's an alien spaceship.

Jay

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

121. With That Very Video, Yes; It's Absolutely Obvious It's A Bird.

Swooping down, flying across fast. Common friggin sense.

UFO... Sorry, but that's just too goddamn funny!

[jayfish]

126. You're Delusional.

You have delusions of grandeur if you think you can definitely see what that is.

Jay

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

135. There's A Difference Between Seeing And Knowing.

I do not need to see the detail of a bird in order to use obviousness, common sense and logic to make a firm conclusion.

To think it's a UFO, had the possibility of being a UFO, or to entertain the notion of it being a UFO, is what's delusional.

[ColbertWatcher]

93. LOL! Yes, CNN it was a UFO. Please investigate it at the exclusion of everything else. n/t

[Robeson]

95. It's logical to assume they were coming to consult with our new President....

...as they did with Clinton....

[Sequoia]

97. I'm ba-a-a-a-ck !!!!

[liberalpress]

100. It's a donkey

My Dad always said America would elect a lack President when donkeys fly

[Xicano]

108. Looked like it was slightly out of faze

I know, I know what that sounds like. You'll have to excuse me I know I am new here so allow me to explain that I am into studying the metaphysical multidimensional aspect of our universe. If that object isn't some small animal flying close to that camera and giving the perception of something else. Then I'd say it could be an object vibrating at a slightly different rate than physical matter but close enough for the camera to pick up. In either case both would explain why nobody responded to its flyby.

Other than that. I have no idea.

[Ecumenist]

110. Sounds as good as any other answer to me Xicano!!

BTW, Welcome to DU, from a fellow Californian. Right glad tameetcha!!

[Xicano]

115. Hi Ecumenist

Thank you for your welcome. Isn't it like a breath of fresh air now that mudo el culo is out of the White House?

[aaaaaa5a]

111. I listen to Art Bell's "Coast to Coast" every now and then too...

and I will admit that when I saw the internet footage I was intrigued.


But I looked at the image on my CNN recording and it is a bird. There is no debate! On standard TV it looks suspicious. But on a 52 inch HD plasma it's a bird in plain site.

[jayfish]

117. You Should Dump It To Your PC...

then get a screen cap to end this debate. If you're recording device and PC have firewire ports, it's pretty straight forward.

Jay

[northernlights]

114. well, Obama did appoint an alien

as ambassador to mars. I know this because I read it in line at the supermarket checkout. There was a picture right on the front pages.

Seriesly, you guys. You should try reading to stay more informated. Just like Sarah does. You betcha. Also.

[Bandito]

119. Looks pretty real!

[TexasObserver]

122. Could be. I'll look forward to the detailed analyses which will follow.

It's surprising how many people who pretend to be open minded are so ridiculously closed minded about this topic. I consider it a major failing of a person, and indicative of a closed, uneducated mind.

[SidDithers]

131. While others minds' are so open, their brains fall out...nt

Sid

[TexasObserver]

132. you speak of yourself

unenlightened one

[defendandprotect]

172. And I'm sure you have evidence of that ---

or is it just FEAR of that for you?

[RobertSeattle]

124. It's a BIRD

I record CNN's HD feed onto my DVR and just watched it - it's very clearly a bird. Nothing else.

[Belial]

125. Fast bird?

[RobertSeattle]

133. Why do you think it is "fast"?

If a bird flies in front of you by 10 feet from right to left or so it will disappear in a matter or seconds.

Believe me - it's a bird - it is exceedingly clear when you watch it in HD on a 42 inch LCD screen.

[Cetacea]

140. Only it;s not close as it leavs the area. It's not a bird.

[RobertSeattle]

144. Believe what you want to believe but in reality land it is a BIRD

And isn't that the most plausible explanation anyway?

[Cetacea]

149. Reality Land?

If you know for certain it is a bird you should be a Sports Illustrated Photographer.

[RobertSeattle]

150. I'd bet $10,000 it is a bird

I saw it, with my own eyes, on my high definition TV, in high definition. It is a bird, the simplest and most obvious explanation. If you saw it in high definition you'd admit it too.

I can't help you. I know you want to believe it is something else, but it isn't.

[Cetacea]

156. Perhaps you are correct. I lack HD .

[Moochy]

183. 10,000 would buy a pretty good HD Tv...

[Cetacea]

162. Now, did you get off on the snark?

[nc4bo]

127. Please, if it is at all possible, get a snapshot of the frames? I thought it was something otherly

at first but went to the slightly clearer CNN video posted above and saw the bird flapping it's wings as it flew off to the left.

Please find a way to post it to ease the minds of your fellow DU'ers. Consider it an installment on Obama's call to service for America.

It's a bird peeps, a bird.

[RobertSeattle]

134. I don't have the expertise - but I can tell you what my eyes see - it's clearly a bird

And my wife confirms it as well - very clearly a bird in HD.

This is just a classic example of how something can look different in "low def" compared to high def.

[greyl]

152. 2 stills showing the bird in front of the Washington Monument:

It's closer to the camera than that rigging on the right, in fact.

I can't believe these people are serious!

[lovuian]

128. UFO is saying we need to admit that they exist

dang they violated restrcited air space Baaaawaaaahaaa

[pinniped]

130. Asshole was surveying the crowds one last time.

[baldguy]

139. Just 'cuz you can't identify it doesn't mean it's space aliens.

[Cetacea]

141. Nor is it Venus, swamp gas, or a bird. nt

[LeftyMom]

159. Well, for an alien it sure looks suspiciously like a bird.

What with the flapping wings and the moving like a bird and all.

[Cetacea]

166. Really. How many times did it flap it's wings and all?

Not that it isn't a bird. On a small screen and from a lousy generation copy it could be anything.

[LeftyMom]

170. Several visible on the left end of the shot.

The motion also looks like that of a bird moving on wind currents. So it's either a bird or something that does at least a passable imitation of a bird in flight. Common sense would suggest that an object that moves like a bird and draws no attention from a skillion people is much more likely to be a bird than anything else. Without the flapping blowing trash would be an equally good guess- urban tumbleweeds (blowing plastic bags) can move on air currents similarly, but I can't recall that I've ever seen one appear to flap in the wind unless it's stuck on something rather than blowing around.

[Cetacea]

173. Could be. But you'd be amazed how little peoole look up.

I have seen fireballs in a crowd of people and was the only one to even notice. And it's really hard to miss a fireball, but only if you happen to be looking up at the sky.

I think in the compressed, small mode it looks like something moving way faster than any bird. However at full screen mode the perspective is corrected more and it appears that it could be a bird.

It's not fair to viewers that it is presented in the small compressed mode, though you can double click the CNN video for full screen.

[Redstone]

143. Yeah, right.

Redstone

[IGotAName]

146. Oh yeah. It's the Martians.

Heading home after they couldn't get tickets.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

147. Well it if was a UFO

Maybe the aliens saw the crowds from their distant planet and wondered what was going on

Or maybe the aliens realized the significance of the event and wanted to join in

Or maybe they were just there to take Darth Cheney home

[Garbo 2004]

148. "What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"

Average cruising airspeed of an unladen European Swallow: http://www.style.org/unladenswallow /

Maximum airspeed velocity of unladen swallow, whether European or African not indicated: http://newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/zoo00/zoo00333.htm

[Zodiak]

153. My guess is that it is a bird

I admit I only saw the low def "analyzed" video, but after seeing it frame, by frame, it looks like a likely candidate for a bird.

Here are the reasons:

1. The object passes in front of the monument clearly. This would position the object between the monument and the camera, the distance in question could be as short as a few yards, and without knowing the object's size, we have nothing to go on.

2. The object seems to disappear and reappear from frame to frame. If the object was a bird of prey or similarly-marked bird, the color of its underbelly and underwing tends to be lighter than the top-side. The camera didn't seem to pick the object up near as well every other frame because the wings were flapping..that is, if the object is a bird.

3. The object seems to disappear completely after a few frames. This is most likely because the object changed angles from the camera quickly....a bird leaves a very low visual profile from the front or behind.

4. Also, the object changes shape from frame to frame, as well, or at least the nimbus of darker color around it changes shape. If this were a bird, those would be the wings flapping.

5. There do not seem to be any eye-witness accounts of this object passing nearby. If this were to be a big UFO traveling at high speed in front of that many people, there would be multiple eyewitness accounts that surface. Perhaps an alternate video. So far we have one video where no one reacted at all...not very good evidence that this is anything other than something mundane...like a bird.

There are just too many observations that are consistent with the object being a bird for me to not to say that is the likely candidate for the identity of the object. I like the idea of UFOs as much as anyone, but this is a poor candidate for a genuine, confirmed UFO sighting.

[JCMach1]

158. I always remember birds flying around the Washington monument

Plus it can be quite windy and if they are flying with the wind, they would go quite fast...

[Cetacea]

160. Double click the CNN video for full screen. It looks like a bird.

The perspective is much better on a larger screen.


http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2009/01/2 ...

[patrick t. cakes]

164. bird

.

[Agent William]

165. Watch it in full screen

It appears to pass in front of the Washington Monument. My guess is that it is an insect.

For the record...I want to believe.

[Lucian]

176. It looks like a bird.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big believer in UFOs and alien spacecraft coming to visit Earth and such, but even I admit that's not a UFO.

[pinniped]

177. It was a flying bug.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

179. again their are no bugs out in 10 drgree tempts...it was a bird

[bushmeister0]

178. I think it's just some AF hotdog on CAP buzzing the multitude.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

180. Aright I watch it on a large screen....IT IS A BIRD

[Ganja Ninja]

182. I agree.

For those who don't, look at the part where its almost about to dissapear and you can see the wings flap.

[paparush]

185. Bird..out of focus, flies between the camera and the Washington Monument.

No sonic boom either.

Looking for Marine One carrying the Bush back to TexASS.

[semillama]

188. Some interesting facts on raptor flight speeds:

Cooper's Hawk: average flight speeds of 22-55 mph.

Peregrine Falcons have normal flight speeds of up to 60 mph, and approach 200 mph speeds at the ends of their dives.

so yes, the speed of the object on the film matches well with a raptor.

[Skinner]

191. This is embarrassing.

It's a bird. Go to the CNN website. Watch it in full-screen mode. It flaps.

It's a bird.