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By Emma Marsden
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What's New
A veteran has posted video footage to social media showing what he claims to be glowing orbs over the skies of New Jersey.
The phone camera footage posted on Wednesday to the X, formerly Twitter, account of Matthew Nelson @MatthewUSAF, who describes himself as a U.S. Air Force veteran, has so far had 1.3 million views.
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Nelson told Newsweek via email that his neighbor was first to spot the mystery object.
Why It Matters
This latest alleged sighting of mystery orbs over New Jersey adds to a long list of UFO reports over the past month, but apparently it is being taken more seriously because of its source, who says he is familiar with airplanes and drones. People commenting on his video are saying they also saw it and have posted their own videos which they say are of the same object.
What To Know
The clips, which the user describes as "a couple of [unedited] pics and videos I took from my Samsung phone" show a bright, spherical golden object appearing to float and maneuver against the backdrop of a clear evening sky.
In the accompanying caption, headed 'UAP SIGHTING IN SOUTH NJ', the user described the sighting as "an extremely bright glowing orb in the sky." He went on to suggest that the objects exhibited flight patterns inconsistent with conventional aircraft or drones.
"I used to work on airplanes in the Air Force and also know a lot about drones. I can confidently say this glowing object was neither," said Nelson.
The exact location and time of the sighting remain unclear, though the user stated that it occurred near where he lived, just outside Atlantic City.
"A couple hours ago, the fighter squadron down the road from my house (approx. 15 min outside of Atlantic City, NJ) scrambled four F-16 fighter jets," said Nelson.
"My buddy and I were talking in the front yard, and a few minutes later, we noticed an extremely bright glowing orb in the sky," he continued. "It was moving slowly towards my house, and after about 10 minutes, it started moving the opposite direction. It was probably somewhere around 25,000 feet and was visible for about an hour and a half before we lost sight of it."
"What the hell is going on here in New Jersey?!" the user asks.
The authenticity and claims of the video, and the nature of the glowing orbs have not been independently verified.
Newsweek contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for comment outside of working hours via email on Friday.
Official Reaction
Since initial sightings in New Jersey, unidentified orbs and drones have been reported in other northern and northeastern states, including New York, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, as well as over U.S. military bases, including Ohio, Germany, and the U.K.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued a joint statement on the sightings, saying in part: "We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security, or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.
"The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings."
What People Are Saying
The video has been shared widely online, including by X account TruthPole which has over 70k followers, and investigative journalist Ross Coulthart, who has over 145k followers.
Online reactions have been mixed, with some users expressing skepticism and asking for evidence that fighter jets were scrambled. "Proof that 4 F-16s were scrambled please," said one Reddit user below a clip of the video posted on the platform's UFO community page.
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"I'm an AF vet and I can honestly say that being an AF vet doesn't qualify us to identify such things.," wrote one commenter, while another dismissed the claims, saying, "It just looks like it is floating by though, just a balloon to me, and the sun hitting it. He says fighter jets but doesn't post a vid on those...."
One user commented underneath Nelson's zoomed-in image of the orb saying: "If you do a quick search on YouTube you can find these exact ufo's throught the world … saw a video from London years ago that had 4 or 5 orbs like this …[one] big one and 3 or 4 smaller one zipping around. Everyone staring at the sky."
Another user said: "Saw the EXACT same thing from our house in EHT, NJ.. saw it looking East towards Somers Point/Longport around 4:30pm.. looked like it had a ring around it but it was stationary."
In a later comment, Nelson added: "Side note: the jets were likely an extremely well-timed coincidence. The 177th fighter squadron out of AC Int. Airport is 10 minutes from my house. They fly routine training all the time. I'm not here to convince anyone of anything specific. I just wanted to report what I saw."
Matthew Nelson told Newsweek via email: "The airport is 10-15 minutes from my house and these jets fly over my neighborhood regularly. I was inside my house when they flew over so I personally did not see them this time, but could hear and feel them roaring by.
"Not long after the jets flew by, my good friend/ neighbor messaged me to come outside and look at a weird object in the sky. He then tells me that four F-16 jets just flew over and that as he was watching them, he noticed the mysterious glowing object further up in the sky.
"I can't say for certain the jets were 'scrambled' because of the object specifically since that unit flies routine training and sorties all the time, however, I will note that it was an extremely well-timed coincidence at a minimum."
What Happens Next
The FBI has encouraged sightings to be reported as they continue to investigate. As reported by Newsweek, the FAA has ordered a temporary ban on drones in areas of New Jersey following reports of the various mystery drone sightings.
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