Unidentified Flying Object Reportedly Caught on Camera over New York City

An enlarged still of the object. *(NeedthatCheese / Reddit)*

A video posted anonymously to social media site Reddit last week shows what appears to be a saucer-shaped unidentified flying object over New York City.

According to the poster, the video was recorded by a friend flying back to New York City from Florida.

It is, they said, “By far the clearest video I’ve ever seen.”

In the video, an object can be seen flying past the plane at a seemingly incredible speed; so fast, in fact, that it only fully appears in four frames.

However, given that the object seems to be moving opposite the plane’s heading, it is unclear how much of its apparent speed is due to the movement of the plane. A slow or stationary object might seem to be moving very quickly due to the relative speed of the observer viewing it. This is the result of something called motion parallax, whereby objects that are closer to the observer appear to move faster than those that are farther away when the observer is in motion.

So, if the object is a balloon floating relatively close to the plane, as some have speculated, then the speed of the plane and its proximity might combine to make it appear to move much faster than it is.

Another hypothesis is that the object is a drone. It should be noted that it is considered a criminal offense to fly, take off, or land a drone within New York City. Furthermore, the plane is likely above the altitude at which a commercial drone could fly, although that wouldn’t rule out some sort of military craft.

Regardless, the object does appear metallic and seems to be reflecting light off of its surface.

As of yet, no person has taken responsibility for the object, and as such, it remains unidentified.