Jerusalem UFO: Another Video Surfaces

Jerusalem UFO: Another Video Surfaces
February 7, 2011
Lee Spiegel
AOL News

There must have been quite a few people with cameras out and about in Jerusalem around 1 a.m. on Jan. 28 because they captured a spectacular UFO sighting that has sparked a viral debate since then.

When AOL News first reported the incident last week, three videos had been posted online reportedly showing a UFO sequence over the Islamic shrine known as the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The first two videos, taken by two individuals, show a bright light descending from the sky and stopping to hover over the shrine for a few moments before a quick flash of light seemingly signals the UFO's rapid acceleration straight up in the air.

At least one camera recorded a triangular series of red lights rotating in the sky above the scene.

One of the main justifiable demands of skeptics -- who mostly feel that all UFO photos or videos are either faked or can be easily explained by normal, conventional objects -- is that there should be multiple examples of visual evidence, preferably obtained from different angles, in order to provide a more substantial analysis.

In this case, a third video allegedly showing the same UFO sequence was released from what appeared to be a much closer view than the first two. But, it turns out, most viewers of the third one seem to agree that it's more likely a hoax, due to several inconsistencies in both the visual and audio components of the video.

So that left a huge question lingering about the overall authenticity of the first two videos and of the event itself, something that the Jerusalem Post referred to as "close encounters of the fabricated kind."

And now, a fourth video has surfaced to keep the viral argument alive. This new piece of evidence, showing the UFO activity from a different angle, also includes the movement of traffic within it -- something the third video was sorely lacking.

It's a very impressive piece of footage. However, one early skepticism suggests that, while the video may be legitimate, the audio track may have been overdubbed after the fact, to include the surprised voices of onlookers reacting to the UFO's speedy departure.

So, as mystifying as the UFO appears in the videos, there are still unanswered questions. And that's sort of the ongoing pattern in reports of unidentified flying objects.

But at least this is a step in the right direction. Keep those camera batteries charg