Morristown UFO? Hoaxers Tell Their Story

By Nancy Atkinson - April 02, 2009 08:14 AM UTC | Site News

If you follow UFO sightings at all (and even if you don't) you probably heard about the Morristown, New Jersey UFO's from earlier this year. Reports of the sightings in January 2009 were covered extensively in newspapers around the country, on CNN, several national talk radio shows, and even was featured in the History Channel's new show, UFO Hunters. Well, yesterday two New Jersey residents Joe Rudy and Chris Russo revealed something big: its was all a hoax. The two created the entire five-night spectacle by tying flares to helium balloons.

Everyone should read their account over at Skeptics.com

(and the Bad Astronomer beat me to the punch by posting about it before I could,

so read his take on it, too.

) Why did they do this? "We set out on a mission to help people think rationally and question the credibility of so-called UFO "professionals," write Rudy and Russo, "We delivered what every perfect UFO case has: great video and pictures, "credible" eyewitnesses (doctors and pilots), and professional investigators convinced that something amazing was witnessed. Does this bring into question the validity of every other UFO case? We believe it does."

The article provides links to videos of how they created the hoax, and provides all the extensive media reaction. Most of the media includes quotes from "experts" including a pilot who saw UFO lights. But the two "hoaxers" call into question the validity of so-called UFO investigators and shows like the History Channel's UFO Hunters, as well as eye-witness accounts even from so-called experts. They make some great points in their article: "This begs an important question: are UFO investigators simply charlatans looking to make a quick buck off human gullibility, or are they alarmists using bad science to back up their biased opinions that extraterrestrial life is routinely visiting our planet? Either way, are these people deserving of their own shows on major cable networks? If a respected UFO investigator can be easily manipulated and dead wrong on one UFO case, is it possible he's wrong on most (or all) of them? Do the networks buy into this nonsense, or are they in it for the ratings? How can a television network that has pretensions of providing honest and factual programming be taken seriously when the topic of one of their top rated shows deals with chasing flares and fishing line?"

Check it out.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com