Morristown UFO hoax

The 5 red lights attached to balloons released by Chris Russo and Joe Rudy over the skies of Morristown, NJ

The 2009 Morristown UFO hoax[1][2] was a series of aerial events involving mysterious floating red lights in the sky, that first occurred near Morristown, New Jersey, on Monday, January 5, 2009, between 8:15 pm and 9:00 pm. The red lights were later observed on four other nights: January 26, January 29, February 7, and February 17, 2009. The events were later revealed to be a hoax, perpetrated by Joe Rudy and Chris Russo. Rudy and Russo have described the hoax as a social experiment,[2][3] with the ambition of exposing "ufology" as a pseudoscience and raising consciousness around unreliability of eyewitness claims.

Five flare lights attached to helium balloons were released by Rudy and Russo and seen in the skies above Morris County, New Jersey. Sighting reports were concentrated in the towns of Hanover Township, Morristown, Morris Plains, Madison, and Florham Park.

On January 5, 2009, at 8:28 pm, the Hanover Township police department received the first of several 9-1-1 calls.[4] Neighboring police departments also received numerous phone calls in regard to the strange lights. Morristown Police Lt. Jim Cullen alerted Morristown Airport about a possible hazard to airplanes. Airport control tower workers reported seeing the lights in the sky, but could not determine what they were.[5] Hanover Township police also contacted the Morristown Airport to try to pick up the objects on radar, but they were unable to pick up anything.[4]

Major and local news networks covered the story, and websites, including the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), posted information about the incident. On April 1, 2009, Rudy and Russo came forward with video evidence proving they were the perpetrators of this hoax, demonstrating how easy it is to fool the so-called UFO "experts."[2]

On April 7, 2009, Russo and Rudy pleaded guilty to municipal ordinance charges of disorderly conduct and were sentenced to fines of $250 and 50 hours of community service.[6][7]

Joe Rudy releasing a balloon with flare attached, with Chris Russo, seen kneeling, preparing balloons for launch
  1. ^ "The Great UFO Hoax of 2009 - Lab Notes Blog - Newsweek.com". Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "How We Staged the Morristown UFO Hoax". eSkeptic. Skeptics Society. April 1, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
  3. ^ "09-04-01". skeptic.com. April 1, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Police Puzzled By Strange Lights Over Morris County - wcbstv.com". wcbstv.com. January 6, 2009. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
  5. ^ "Little red lights over Morris raise a big stir, questions | Daily Record | Daily Record". Dailyrecord.com. Retrieved January 12, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "NJ Men Fined $250 for UFO Hoax". livescience.com. April 8, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Sarah Schillaci (April 7, 2009). "Judge hits Morris County UFO hoaxers with fines, community service". New Jersey On-Line / Star Ledger. Retrieved June 21, 2013.