PHILADELPHIA (TNS) — The latest chapter of the Northeast’s mystery drone sighting saga has some wondering: How can you actually tell what’s up in the sky?
In recent days, government officials have made conflicting statements, first confirming they were monitoring the drones, then announcing many of the sightings were actually small planes, and then on Sunday reiterating that residents are, in fact, spotting drones.
And as more people learn about the mysterious drones that have been reported in New Jersey, New York, and the Philadelphia suburbs, confusion over what people are looking at continues to grow. Over the weekend, one Philly Redditor asked users about a glowing orb that didn’t appear to budge as helicopters flew around it. “Buddy, that’s Venus,” another user responded.
One thing is for certain: Despite the conspiracy theories the sightings have sparked, experts are unconvinced this is alien activity at play.
“Unless E.T. is now conforming to FAA standards, we can safely assume that the ‘mystery drones’ originate from here on earth,” said Jimmy Church, a podcast host and TV presenter for The History Channel and A&E who focuses on UFO activity.
So what are the easiest tells when it comes to identifying what you see in the sky?
Here are some expert tips.
Watch and listen
Typically, drones aren’t allowed to fly at night unless they have anti-collision lights visible for at least three miles, according to the FAA.
Drones typically have four lights, with the lights in a square shape, while airplanes also have four lights but spread across the nose, tail, and wings.
“The first thing to look for is the navigation lights,” Church said. “[With planes] the right wingtip is the green light, the red light is on the left. The white light is located on the tail, sometimes on the wingtips and some facing backward.”
Church gleaned that in some of the sighting videos circulating online, all of those lights are on, indicating that the aircraft meets FAA standards.
As for sounds, there’s variation — especially depending on the size. But drones are typically buzzier or make more humming noises than planes. Large drones sometimes sound like helicopters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
“Listen for rotor or propeller noise,” Church added. “Helicopters, planes, and drones all emit very distinctive sounds.” Church added that if there’s no sound, it could be more advanced technology at hand, such as from the military.
Experts also say the way an aircraft moves can narrow down what it is. Drones often have more range of motion — with the ability to hover and move sideways — compared to airplanes.
Think about your surroundings
Accounting for airports — including smaller noncommercial locations — and military bases, it’s possible the aircraft you’re seeing is just a plane on its flight path to an airport.
“The other night I was looking up, walking my dog, and I saw something flying overhead. And I said, ‘Oh, could that be a drone?’ And I realized I’m underneath the flight path out of Teterboro, so it probably wasn’t,” Jeh Johnson, the former DHS secretary under President Barack Obama, told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Monday.
Flight tracker apps, like Flightradar24, Plane Finder, and FlightView, can also be useful tools to identify registered aircraft flying overhead in live time.
Experts say it can be tough to tell what you’re looking at — especially at night, when this surge of drone sightings has taken place. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Sunday that might be in part because of FAA guideline changes from last year that allow drones to fly at night, leading to an uptick in sightings.
Don’t freak out
Experts say bouts of confirmation bias are to be expected.
“You have a whole lot of people in the Northeast looking up at the sky right now focused on things that they don’t normally focus on,” Johnson said. “So, of course, there are going to be sightings in the thousands.”
Church, the UFO aficionado, agreed.
“Because of the media attention …, the recent hearings on Capitol Hill, and social media, more people are looking up in the sky and noticing things that they think they don’t normally see,” he said.
New Jersey lawmakers were told last week by DHS officials that there had been between four and 180 drone sightings across the state per night since mid-November. That wide disparity accounts for potential repeat sightings of the same drone and sightings that were actually planes.
When in doubt, you can report to the FBI
People with information about the drones are encouraged to call the FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online by visiting tips.fbi.gov.
