Numerous sightings of unidentified drones have been reported along the East Coast. The latest wave began in mid-November, with residents observing large drone-like objects, some as big as an SUV, hovering over residential areas and near sensitive sites like military bases and power stations. Some flew in formations and emitted strange light patterns. Reports peaked in early December with New Jersey’s Ocean County experiencing the greatest number of sightings. Following the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) imposition of airspace restrictions, sightings in New York and New Jersey have decreased.

In mid-December, similar sightings began to be reported in Massachusetts. Residents in various parts of the state observed drone-like objects over coastal areas and large reservoirs. On December 27, 2024 a video was posted on Reddit that showed a number of unusual objects in the night sky over Boston’s North Shore. A full version of the original video is shown below.

Taken at night, the video is difficult to interpret without additional knowledge about the scene. A time exposure computed by averaging video frames shows the silhouettes of trees in front of a diffusely lit area and bright lights on a dark background below.

The diffusely lit area is ambient sky light caused by scattered light from city lights and other sources and its reflection by the water below. Close inspection reveals a thin sliver of land in the distance. As shown below, the bright area below the horizon line is water and the bright area above it is sky.

A time exposure computed from the brightest pixels across video frames highlights bright regions including a number of object tracks above and below the horizon.

Most of the tracks can be identified. From top to bottom:

• A streak at the top left of center is a star.
• The series of white dots is a satellite. Sunlight reflected off surfaces like solar panels and antennas at specific angles cause a sudden burst of brightness as the satellite rotates, essentially acting like a mirror reflecting sunlight towards the Earth’s surface.
• Below the star and satellite are the left-wing red lights from two aircraft moving right to left. Below the horizon is the blinking light of a police boat in the water.
• Closer to the observer are lights from a house and passing cars.

Three tracks (U1-U3) cannot be identified. Their movements in the video start near or below the horizon, which implies that they are relatively close to the observer. U2 hovers for more than a minute. Eventually, U1 and U2 rise and move left out of the field of view. U3 comes closest to the water from the right and slowly moves off to the left.

The lights from these unidentified objects (U1-U3) are different from the aircraft as shown in these two short video clips. Aircraft have a blinking red light on the left (green light on the right) wing. The UFOs are pulsating white or gold-colored lights.

The pulsating UFO is not unlike a sighting that took place in Jerusalem in 2011. Although many find these events unsettling, it may be reassuring to know that they are not new but appear to be the latest manifestation of a phenomenon that has been occurring for thousands of years.