Lights outside my window

[Dr.Jass]

I noticed an odd light through my side kitchen window a little while ago. It kind of looked like someone was throwing a lit tiki torch in the air or something. I couldn't see anything out the front window (tree cover), so I walked out on the porch... and a white balloon floated across the field across from my house. I'd say the balloon itself was maybe 5' tall, and suspended below it was some kind of pan or basket that had a relatively-large fire in it. It illuminated the whole balloon really well. I watched as it rose, drifting off toward the west, expecting the whole shebang to catch fire and tumble from the sky, but it never happened.

It must've been pretty well-engineered, because I watched it until it was well over a mile downrange at a few thousand feet of altitude... it was no larger or brighter than a star at that point. I didn't have adequate footwear to venture outside to watch it any further, but its travel eventually made it disappear far enough downrange that the neighbors' roof obstructed my view. I've gotta say, it was fairly mesmerizing to watch.

Someone got an A in homeschool science tonight, methinks.

 

[Stretch]

Chinese sky lantern?

 

[71dusterman]

Probably a sky lantern. Operates on the same principle of a hot air balloon. People use them to honour people for their birthday or a person passing away. The candle/heat source is designed to burn out before cooling the balloon enough to come back down to earth.

 

[Dr.Jass]

It wasn't a sky lantern, or at least what I think of in those terms. This was pretty large, shaped much more like a hot-air balloon and clearly made of sewn cloth in that style. It was also literally a flying bonfire rather than a candle or small flame--that's why I expected disaster. The flames were probably a foot or more high, the tops of them about a foot below the balloon itself, and almost looked to be fed by wood with some kind of accelerant. It looked like a small campfire, and if string or cloth was used to suspend the fire, it would've crashed within 100' the way that fire was burning.

 

[thrashingcows]

I thought sky lantern myself, but you further description makes it obvious it was not that.

I had a sky lantern land not far from my house years ago, had a note to someones grand parent who had passed away...made me tear up a little.

 

[Jester]

It wasn't a sky lantern, or at least what I think of in those terms. This was pretty large, shaped much more like a hot-air balloon and clearly made of sewn cloth in that style. It was also literally a flying bonfire rather than a candle or small flame--that's why I expected disaster. The flames were probably a foot or more high, the tops of them about a foot below the balloon itself, and almost looked to be fed by wood with some kind of accelerant. It looked like a small campfire, and if string or cloth was used to suspend the fire, it would've crashed within 100' the way that fire was burning.

Sounds like it'll burn down a house if it lands on someone's roof... yikes!

 

[Dr.Jass]

Sounds like it'll burn down a house if it lands on someone's roof... yikes!

Yeah, the fuel situation didn't seem particularly well thought out. That being said, it went a significant height and distance without the envelope catching fire so it's possible it just burned itself out.

Still not a great idea simply for the reason you stated... and it's happened with proper sky lanterns.