Set different gas cylinder on white background. Equipment for safe shipping gas vector illustration isolated vector design.

Spray can flat glyph icons set. Hand with aerosol, airbrush, powder coating, graffiti art, cough effect vector illustrations. Signs for disinfection, cleaning. Solid silhouette pixel perfect 64x64.

Ukgas bottle

Recalling their shenanigans in a Daily Record/USA Today Network interview on Monday, Russo explained they were attempting a "social experiment" to expose “ufology” as a pseudoscience and emphasize the unreliability of eyewitness claims.

Calor

Until then, "Stories like this are great, they're exciting, regardless of what the explanation is," Moran said. "It gets people talking, and why not? Makes life more interesting."

Now an elected official in town and founder and owner of “Superhero Events,” an organization that sponsors half-marathons and other racing events to raise money for schools and charities, Russo paid the price for his transgression, but he proudly states, "We were never caught."

"It would be nice if there was some sort of conclusion, because otherwise it's purely speculation," said Moran, of Weird N.J. "A lot of our stories don't get tied up into a neat little bow. It would be nice to have some sort of lead to go on. But right now, all we have are eyewitness or earwitness testimony."

"It seems there may be some technology at play that's beyond the capability of just a private citizen flying a drone," Moran mused. "Perhaps they have some infrared or low-light capability that the standard drones don't have."

Similar sightings over the past week of nighttime drone activity in the area have ignited an explosion of viral speculation after the first reports — and confirmation of an FBI investigation — spread on social media and through news reports over the past week.

Their shenanigans resulted in fines of $250 each and community service. The hoax also resulted in two TV documentaries and a short-lived offer of a series.

Those reports later stretched from Ontario, Canada, to Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey, with the suspected flight path being northeast from Ohio, said the American Meteor Society.

As speculation ran wild and law enforcement continued to investigate, Russo and Rudy outed themselves to Skeptic magazine on April Fool's Day 2001.

"We remind everyone that it is unlawful to fly [drones] over Picatinny Arsenal or any other federal military installation without prior authorization," a Picatinny spokesperson said last week.

Update: For the latest on the drone reports, see "FBI probes strange drone, aircraft reports in NJ; flights over Trump golf club are banned."

So far, the drone sightings are focused mostly in the North Jersey area, especially Morris County, where other night-sky drone sightings were acknowledged by federal officials at the Picatinny Arsenal military research and manufacturing facility.

In September, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Green Day was rushed off the stage during a concert in front of 30,000 fans at Comerica Park in Detroit when a drone was spotted flying over the stadium.

"There's a big hubbub around here for sure," Russo said of the latest mystery. "But usually when they come up with the explanation of these things at some point, it's a boring explanation."

Morristown Councilman Chris Russo, who know a thing or two about hoaxes, having infamously perpetrated one in 2009, has a more cynical view.

Austin, who also teaches a course on drone operation, said almost all drones for sale carry a GPS chip, with the possible exception of cheaper "drugstore drones." "It's like flying with LoJack," he said.

More sightings have been posted on social media in East Hanover and Rockaway. Other sightings last week, in the vicinity of Morristown Municipal Airport, prompted Morristown and Morris Township police to post Nixle alerts, warning residents not to approach or handle the drones "should they land."

Industrial gas cylinders icons set. Outline set of industrial gas cylinders vector icons for web design isolated on white background

"We are working with our state and local partners on the reported drone activity," Amy Thoreson, a public affairs specialist with the FBI's Newark Office, said last week.

Back in North Jersey, authorities are still trying to catch the perpetrator or perpetrators behind this latest drone mystery.

"Could you be legally doing it? Possibly," Austin said. "But one thing's for sure: When they are identified, they will have a lot of questions to answer."

Another drone expert, Warren County College President William Austin, said last week that he feels the daring pilot or pilots can be identified and grounded.

The latest eyewitnesses to a growing mystery hovering over North Jersey posted their accounts on social media Sunday night, illustrated with videos of what appeared to be drones darting across the night sky in Parsippany, not far from two interstate highways and the Boonton Reservoir.

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office also issued an advisory last week — adding that there was "no threat to the community" — before referring subsequent inquiries to the FBI.

The question remains: Who or what is behind these disturbing and, in some cases, possibly illegal drone flights? Are they just innocent drone pilots having some fun at the expense of an increasingly nervous public that is prone to embracing a hoax?

Browse 26,300+ gas bottle stock photos and images available, or search for natural gas bottle or bbq gas bottle to find more great stock photos and pictures.

Russo and a friend, Joe Rudy, captured the same public's attention in January 2009 when they launched a series of helium balloons into the night sky above Morristown with red road flares attached.

thin line gas cylinder icon. concept of equipment for scuba diving, construction industry or welding works. flat stroke simple style trend modern graphic art design isolated on white background

Gas bottlechemistry

In February, a pulsing flash of light across the night sky, described by some as a "fireball," was seen in upstate New York, in and around Buffalo, with subsequent sightings near LeRoy, in Genesee County, and Warsaw, in Wyoming County.

Propane gas cylinder vector icon. Barbecue and bbq grill sign. Graph symbol for cooking web site and apps design, logo, app, UI

Gascylinder

Weird N.J. magazine co-founder Mark Moran, who knows a thing or two about local mysteries, isn't quite sure what is going on.

"They're flying at odd times, in the middle of the night, and it kind of makes you wonder," Moran said. "Generally, the private drone users do their activity during the day so they can film things and see things. You're very limited at night. Not only is it difficult to fly a drone when you can't see it, but also, what are you going to be looking at other than just darkness or random lights?"

© 2024 iStockphoto LP. The iStock design is a trademark of iStockphoto LP. Browse millions of high-quality stock photos, illustrations, and videos.

At about the same time, Julie Washington posted a video of a drone flying over Lake Intervale. Another poster claimed to see five drones near the Parsippany PAL building about 3 miles away. Yet another was spotted by Forest Drive, a little farther to the west of the reservoir, "just hovering," said a Facebook post by Leena Butala Sheth.

Creative abstract fuel industry manufacturing business concept: 3D render illustration of the set of color metal steel containers or cylinders with different liquefied compressed natural gases LNG or LPG with high pressure gauge meters and valves isolated on white background

"I could see five of them" on Sunday night from the backyard, said Jonelle Ferentinos, who lives less than a mile west of the reservoir in the Lake Intervale section of Parsippany. "It was dark, so I really couldn't see where they were coming from or going to. They just seemed to be flying around."

3d Vector natural gas tank, Used for cooking and various industries, consumable and energy economy concept. Eps 10 Vector.

Or could there be a more sinister motivation at play? Is someone trying to obtain images and data on our critical infrastructure and military bases? A prelude to alien invasion?