Blue UFO Over Hawaii

[Mick West]

A UFO seen in Hawaii looks similar to an LED kite to me, appearing as a curved line of light that changes shape.


The loop above has been stabilized, the apparent jitter comes from a combination of motion blur (from camera motion, not the object moving) and loss of focus.

Here it's compared to another LED kite:

Article:

Misitina Sape told Hawaii News Now she captured the image at 8:26 p.m. near Haleakala Avenue in Nanakuli.

Not long after, a woman named Moriah spotted what looked like the same object passing over Princess Kahanu Estates.

Source: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/12/31/faa-notified-after-mysterious-ufo-seen-above-oahu-appeared-drop-into-ocean/

Here's some LED kites

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCWYY1mb63A


Any other ideas?

 

[Mick West]

Added stabilized video loop.

 

[JMartJr]

Looks like either an LED tail, or a string of lights dangling from the flying line, which is popular in China.

I've been conversing with some kite folks, seeing if anybody can be identified as the flier. If I find them, I'll share that.

FWIW, some of the folks I have talked to think it was being towed behind a boat.

Here is a LED tail I have, being flown on the line under an LED kite. From Dubai, 2015. Tail is visible from around 17 seconds in


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnDNo1XMWd0&feature=youtu.be

 

[JMartJr]

Adding -- it looks to me like it is dipping into the watr, and the lower bit that projects back to the right at an ngle to the upper bit may be the reflection, coming and going as swells change the angle of reflection.

 

[Mick West]

Here's another, with portions of the video that more-closely resemble the UFO (as it's further away)

Source: https://youtu.be/hAjyqzEnyFY?t=167


It's from 2017, and titled Rc Virus Corona (i.e. Radio Controlled Coronavirus), which I'm sure will cause some people to connect some dots.

 

[deirdre]

hmmm that same paper has a feature on kite flying just a few hours before this ufo kite.

Article:

Kite engineer's Filipino-styled kites are a high-flying distraction from the pandemic



By Jim Mendoza | December 29, 2020 at 5:08 PM HST - Updated December 29 at 5:08 PM
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - In a large empty park in Salt Lake, Kelvin Chun can be found showing off his high-flying skills. The 61-year-old retired teacher is an avid kite builder and flyer.

Source: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/12/29/kite-engineers-filipino-styled-kites-are-high-flying-distraction-pandemic/

 

[Kenny Biddle]

What about night-time parasailing? I see there are several parasailing locations on that island, four in the direction the viewer/phone were pointed towards.

 

[Mick West]

What about night-time parasailing?

Not implausible. Although they seem to generally have the whole canopy lit, and I can't really see how it would make the twisted shape.

This one is about the right color.

Source: https://youtu.be/BleafJeh5L0?t=98

 

[Mick West]

Also not implausible, but not super compelling - a drone with some lights suspended below it.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25QFLxyhUDI

 

[Mick West]

The kite right at the start of this video is a good match for shape

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSYKrNt4A8k&feature=emb_title

 

[Kenny Biddle]

I was considering this only because I don't see any fluid motion, as in the tails of the kites that have the 'slithering snake' motion. The object seems to hold its shape (a line) until it hits the water (which I believe is a good portion of the video). Perhaps the landing didn't go as smooth as the pilot expected, and the sail got twisted? I'm speculating here...I'm not familiar with whether the sail would collapse into the water or stay partially extended (?) while they tried to pull it back in. It does appear to be reflecting off the water, which changes with the waves rolling by. There's also a small light that appears more...yellow-ish, maybe...to the side (Possible jet-ski/boat that was towing it...or....the tip of a wave. With such poor quality video to work with, I can't make out much at all. I'm surprised there aren't more videos.

 

[deirdre]

I'm surprised there aren't more videos.

would you stop and take of video of that? it's just a string of lights in the sky. its not even ufo shaped.

There's a reddit thread that says there is a 2nd video on facebook but today when i checked it the [woman] must have locked down her account. maybe she was getting harassed too much. i tried looking on youtube figuring someone must have copied it but i couldnt find it.

 

[deirdre]

I don't see any fluid motion, as in the tails of the kites that have the 'slithering snake' motion.

i was wondering what happens if your remote control kite flies or gets blown out of the controller range.

 

[JMartJr]

FYI, to be picky about terminology and with respect to friends in Singapore who fly the RC aircraft with lights seen in many vids in this thread and who call them "kites," a kite is a "tethered aerodyne," with various definitional embellishments that different people add. But the bare necessities to be a kite are -- heavier than air (which these RC aircraft are) and tethered (on a "string," which these are not.)

End pedantry.

 

[deirdre]

Kite fishing is tethered. but not sure how led lights would be helpful with that.

 

[Kenny Biddle]

would you stop and take of video of that? it's just a string of lights in the sky. its not even ufo shaped.

There's a reddit thread that says there is a 2nd video on facebook but today when i checked it the [woman] must have locked down her account. maybe she was getting harassed too much. i tried looking on youtube figuring someone must have copied it but i couldnt find it.

Actually, I would stop and take video of it. Not because I thought it was an (alien) UFO...but because I like to use clips like this for demonstration purposes.

Is there a standard UFO shape?

The lack of other videos of an allegedly strange anomaly suggests that to the locals...it's probably not all that strange (and likely a common sight). I haven't seen any updates to the story. I haven't found that other video either (not yet, at least).

 

[JMartJr]

I was considering this only because I don't see any fluid motion, as in the tails of the kites that have the 'slithering snake' motion. The object seems to hold its shape (a line) until it hits the water (which I believe is a good portion of the video).

View attachment 42613

That would be very consistent with a kite LED tail as the wind dies, or the boat stops. At that point the tail is pretty much dead weight and no longer billows and "snakes" around. Especially an LED tail, as it has the extra weight of wires and LED strips.

 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

A kite would make sense, never underestimate how odd a kite can look (if you don't know what you are seeing):





Hope these aren't too far off the topic at hand.