Blue orbs over Chazy Lake: a dozen similar stories follow a single report
In a September 16 report to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), a witness who identified himself as military described strange blue orbs over Chazy Lake in New York State. After a local radio station's website published the story, hundreds of comments came in, including many Upstate New York readers sharing similar experiences of their own. None of the claims has been confirmed by an independent source.
The original report submitted to NUFORC came from the Dannemora area. The witness, who identified himself as military, claimed he saw blue-lit objects roughly the size of a pickup truck over Chazy Lake. According to his description, they moved over the lake, hovered for a while, then suddenly shot straight upward. By his account, the entire phenomenon lasted about two minutes. WGNA, which published the story, itself stressed that the report could not be independently verified.
After the article was published, hundreds of comments came in, many of them describing similar experiences. One person claimed to have seen two orbs near Lake Delta. Another said they observed an object over Oneida Lake on three consecutive days. A couple in Canandaigua reportedly experienced something similar, and someone watched an orb near Albany International Airport for nearly an hour. Several reports came from the Lake George area. According to one person, the phenomenon is also visible on a dashcam recording, but the footage was not published, and the article gives no details about its content. A Galway resident noticed something unusual over their home in broad daylight. Further claims came from the areas around Cayuga Lake, North Creek, and Route 22 near Dresden. And a reader in Gloversville reported that blue orbs floated down the street, then suddenly rose into the sky.
What do we know, and what don't we?
All that can be said for certain is that a single report submitted to NUFORC was followed within a short time by hundreds of comments, including about a dozen specific sighting accounts. These did not come from a single area: Chazy Lake lies near the Canadian border, while the Canandaigua, Cayuga Lake, and Oneida Lake areas are hundreds of kilometers away from it. No photograph or verifiable recording is linked to any of the cases, apart from the single dashcam reference mentioned. Nobody has confirmed the identities of the witnesses or the exact times of the sightings either. It is therefore unknown whether the lights reported at the different locations represent the same phenomenon or are independent sightings of differing origin.
The story clearly shows how quickly similar accounts multiply once an original sighting becomes public, regardless of whether the same phenomenon actually lies behind the claims. Until further verifiable evidence emerges, such as footage, radar data, or an official investigation, the blue lights over Chazy Lake remain an open question.
The sober take
The WGNA article itself notes that drones, airplanes, satellites, Starlink satellite trains, the International Space Station, or atmospheric phenomena, possibly even an optical illusion, could be behind lights seen in the sky. However, there is no information about any official investigation or identification relating to these specific cases.
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