Reddit UAP - just witnessed something unreal

[jarlrmai]

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1ky4xtf/i_just_witnessed_something_unreal/


A very highly upvoted Reddit post, I don't think it is that interesting, but as it is so highly upvoted we may encounter it in other places etc

Time: 5/28/25 3:00pm Location: Virginia

I was casually scanning the sky with my telescope this afternoon (yes, even during the day you can spot some interesting things — birds, planes, sunspots, etc.) when something unexpected came into view.

It wasn't a bird. Or a plane. Or any kind of drone I've seen before.

This object was hovering high in the atmosphere—smooth, metallic, and completely silent. It stayed perfectly still for several seconds, then bolted out of frame at a speed that left me speechless. No wings. No propellers. No visible means of propulsion.

And yes — I managed to take snapshots through the scope. Crystal clear enough to make out the shape, the shine, even some strange light refractions around its edges.

I'm still in shock

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1ky4xtf/i_just_witnessed_something_unreal/muunr95/


Myself and other people on Reddit noticed some discrepancies

The weather shown the photos does not match weather reports for the location/date/time given

3pm for Shenandoah Valley Airport

Shows as low cloudy and just cloudy or light rain for most of the day with no clear periods.

https://metar-taf.com/history/KSHD

https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/va/weyers-cave/KSHD/date/2025-5-28

The em-dashes in the text indicate use of AI to write text, but some people just seem to have AI write everything these days.

The 4th photo has a logo cropped, indicating its from somewhere else

 

[elvenwear]

DO NOT USE <POINT A> TELESCOPE UPWARDS <ANYWHERE NEAR THE SUN> DURING THE DAY. THIS CAN CAUSE PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE IN SECONDS.

It is very dangerous to use a telescope during the daytime. If you look directly at the sun with a telescope, you will definitely do permanent damage to your eyes (see below). I wouldn't even like to look at a reflection on a metal roof or a window through a telescope. To use a telescope for viewing the sun the light has to be filtered to reduce the inbound light by a factor of 100,000 (see below). A metal roof or anything remotely reflective (even a pane of glass) would not reduce the light anywhere near enough to prevent damage. It would be easy to get a reflection off a plane or a satellite and do permanent damage to your eye.

Venus was at around 30 degrees while the sun was about to set and higher in the sky at earlier times during the day (See below). Venus is easily visible during the day through a telescope, although you cannot see it with the naked eye, meaning it would be easy to lose sight of it and not be able to locate it again. My guess is he was looking at Venus and was tracking it by hand using an alt-azimuth mount as the earth turned. He then either bumped his telescope or had issues tracking it near zenith due to gimbal rotation of the mount and was unable to locate it again.

Regarding the reduction of light by a factor of 100,000 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_viewer

The recommended optical density of this eyewear is 5, meaning that the solar viewing filter only permits 1 part in 100,000 of incident light to pass through

Regarding permanent damage to the eye:
Source: https://www.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/S_T/Solar-retinopathy

- Solar retinopathy (also known as eclipse retinopathy) refers to photochemical injury to the macular tissue (central retina). It is commonly associated with sungazing or eclipse viewing.
- A short duration of exposure, as little as a few seconds of fixation on the sun, can cause solar retinopathy.
- It results in mild to moderate loss of central vision, which can be permanent.
- There is no proven treatment for solar retinopathy. The mainstay of management is prevention through patient education.

Regarding the location of Venus: Source: https://www.heavens-above.com/skychart2.aspx?lat=38.6655&lng=-78.46&loc=Luray&alt=0&tz=EST

 

[jarlrmai]

Birdwatchers use telescopes all the time during the day, they are just careful not to look at at the sun

 

[elvenwear]

Birdwatchers use telescopes all the time during the day, they are just careful not to look at at the sun

Good point. Edited somewhat.

 

[JMartJr]

So do sunspot watchers. Don't look at the Sun through a scope that is not equipped with a solar filter.
----------------
That said, I think these are unrelated pictures grabbed by a bot and used to spam Reddit -- note:

The first two might be the same object, if they in fact show an object, but the third is totally different (and has what appear to be a string coming off the top!)

 

[jarlrmai]

Reverse image search didn't bring them up so possibly AI or just someone trying it on.

 

[JMartJr]

IF they are AI images, it is interesting that an AI software would scrape enough UFO images to notice that they often have strings coming off of them.

 

[Ann K]

The comments reveal more about the "UFO mentality" than they might realize they're displaying, specifically the fact that the user was banned (for faking things) is considered by the believers as proof that "they don't want you to know".

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

A username being in a format like {random verb/adjective}-{random noun}{random short multi-digit number} is a bit of a red flag to me, suggesting it was randomly generated. It's like an algorithm you'd use for creating a wifi password.

 

[John J.]

This object was hovering high in the atmosphere...

(Quoting Reddit poster in OP)

There have been similar claims looked at several times on this forum:
The witness doesn't know the size or speed of the object and doesn't refer to any rangefinding equipment, so how can the witness know its altitude?

—smooth, metallic, and completely silent

If it's high in the atmosphere, how does the witness know it's smooth, as opposed to being reflective or illuminated?

And depending on e.g. wind conditions, visible airliners at altitude can be silent to observers on the ground, so the silence in itself is not anomalous.

 

[NorCal Dave]

Myself and other people on Reddit noticed some discrepancies

The weather shown the photos does not match weather reports for the location/date/time given

3pm for Shenandoah Valley Airport

Shows as low cloudy and just cloudy or light rain for most of the day with no clear periods.

Seems this right here at least challenges the information about the event. Did the OP ever respond?

 

[TK85]

A username being in a format like {random verb/adjective}-{random noun}{random short multi-digit number} is a bit of a red flag to me, suggesting it was randomly generated. It's like an algorithm you'd use for creating a wifi password.

It's reddit's own username generator they implemented some 3-4 years ago. I guess their telemetry data showed people weren't completing the "Create An Account" form, possibly because new users were struggling to come up with a new, unique username? Who knows, but I hate it, really cheapens the website by a lot.

---

re: thread subject matter: I'm convinced it was all made up; a clever, above average hoax, as far as /r/UFOs original content is concerned. There are some resourceful people around, that from time to time will concoct pieces believable enough and post to either /r/conspiracy or /r/UFOs for great impact.

 

[jarlrmai]

Seems this right here at least challenges the information about the event. Did the OP ever respond?

No they cross posted to a load of subs and got the account deleted, which further fueled the conspiracy

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

these are unrelated pictures

That was my first impression.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

IF they are AI images, it is interesting that an AI software would scrape enough UFO images to notice that they often have strings coming off of them.

Heh

I immediately thought, "These look awfully familiar." But I can't really identify any one of them.

I can totally believe that these are AI generated art that draw on familiar visual elements without replicating any one image exactly.

...including a Plan 9 From Outer Space flying saucer model hanging from a string.

 

[Trailblazer]

The last two images also don't make sense in the context of the scenario presented.

They seem to show an object moving at high speed, enough to leave vapour trails/smoke trails, and yet are supposedly "snapped through a telescope". It would be impossible to follow a fast-moving object like that through a telescope, and the story says it "stayed perfectly still for several seconds, then bolted out of frame at a speed that left me speechless".

So supposedly they managed to catch two totally different images in the split second it was "bolting out of frame"?

 

[JMartJr]

It also occurs to me how much this one looks like your standard "fly/bee/ plus digital zoom or compression" UFO, such as THIS THREAD or the one with flies at an air show (?) that I seem to remember Leslie Kean being interested in, but which I cannot now locate.

IF that's the case, the "string" may be some motion-blurred wing action going on...
Edit to add -- AND, IF that's the case, it is even less likely to be the same thing as the other two images.