The drones are just another distraction.

[milestogo]

Its like the old trick where one person stares upward and pretty soon a crowd of people is doing it.

Are the drones bothering you? Kidnapping you? Flashing lights or making noise at you?

If not, then focus on something else.

[Ocelot II]

1. Sounds to me like that old "War of the Worlds" hysteria.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. They become a mere distraction only after they're identified.

Real people - even here on DU - are seeing groups of drones. The attention being paid to this "distraction" is warranted, IMO, until we have a definitive answer.

[CrispyQ]

3. Someone else posted, people are suddenly looking at the night sky when they never looked before.

Planes flying right toward you look like they're hovering & if they're far away they don't even look like they're moving. And light bounces around like crazy. Something that looks like a light can easily be a reflection of a light. It would be interesting to know if drone sales have increased. Someone on DU suggested this is a Christmas marketing ploy by a drone company.

[Sympthsical]

8. It's shocking how few people do

Set aside light pollution, even in most burbs you can see the basic constellations.

I'm an amateur astronomer. When my partner and I first started dating, we went up to the Mormon temple in Oakland, CA to watch the sunset (super amazing view). And you could see Jupiter, Venus, and Mars in the twilight sky. He had no idea you could see them. Literally didn't know planets were visible from earth. Over time, I would just point various things out. He didn't know constellations were seasonal - sometimes they're there, sometimes not. Started taking him with me to meteor showers. Woke him up to go see the aurora earlier this year. He had no idea how any of it worked. Just never noticed.

A lot of my friends are similar. Only one person I've ever dated has ever had even a passing interest in these things.

It's strange to me. I look up every single time I go outside. We moved to an outer suburb five years ago, and the clarity of the sky takes my breath away still. Even just taking the garbage out at night, I'll stop and stare. Below is a photo I took a few weeks ago with my phone when leaving for gym early morning.

How do people not just stare at that all the time?

[CrispyQ]

9. Apparently MD govenor Hogan took his kids out & they photographed the drones & posted them...

only to find out they were actually images of the bright stars in the constellation Orion. Well, look! There are some drones in your picture!

I'm always surprised when I'm in a parking lot & a big flock of geese flies overhead really low, how few people even look up.

[Sympthsical]

13. Or how atmospheric distortion creates sparkle/shining

There are nights where something bright like Jupiter looks really weird when it's closer to the horizon.

I do give people a pass on Starlink, though. A few months ago, partner was raking in the front around twilight and I was standing there chatting with him and a neighbor while looking up. A long chain of Starlink satellites started crossing the sky. I pointed and said, "Oh, look!" My neighbor inhaled suddenly and said, "Is it an attack?"

Totally killed me.

[milestogo]

12. I went on a group camping trip in the wilderness a few years ago

and one of the leads was a PhD astronomer. He teaches at the local high school and runs the planetarium.

Anyway, everyone should go camping with an astronomer. While we sat around the campfire, and the sky kept changing, he pointed out everything and explained everything. Its endlessly fascinating.

[Sympthsical]

14. I really want to do this at Yosemite

It's three hours away, so I have no excuse. But they have parties where people go camp out to watch the night sky and have it all explained.

Some years back, I went to the Lick observatory down near San Jose. Built in the 19th Century, completely amazing from a historical perspective alone. A few times a year they sell tickets and set up telescopes of different sizes around outside pointed at various things, and then you can go in and look through the big telescopes. On the night we went, they had the big one trained on the Wild Duck Cluster. Totally mesmerizing.

[eppur_se_muova]

16. It's amazing how many times Venus has been reported as a UFO -- even by airports and pilots.

At its peak, it's just that bright.

[Blue_Tires]

4. Finally someone gets it

The drones and the associated hysteria is an op manufactured by either Donnie or his apartheid errand boy

[Arne]

5. I thought we finally got flying the cars.

[Dave Bowman]

6. "Kidnapping you?"

I wonder if they still are into probing?

[milestogo]

7. Taking you aboard and inserting chips that will amaze and confuse

your doctor.

[C_U_L8R]

10. Or an excuse to deploy the military

What ever the reason... corrupt media are taking advantage and hyping the hell out of it

[Renew Deal]

11. Don't look up!

[Easterncedar]

15. It's just "Squirrel!"

Fox and all need something to distract their empty-headed conspiracy-addicted followers to fill the void left by the dead election-stealing stories and pretending to care about Gaza. Let them.

Doesn’t mean we need to pay attention.