Rods

[Talisyn]

Another weird sort of naturally occurring phenomenon,

Rods, sometimes known as Sky Fish or Solar Entities, are a rather new entry in the field of cryptozoology. They are said to be creatures which flit about in the air at such a high speed as to not be seen by the naked eye. However, rods appear to be observational artifacts produced by rapidly flying animals. Practically all sightings of rods are based on video evidence, due to the propensity of video cameras to produce characteristic stroboscopic artifacts when imaging rapidly flying animals, especially insects, but also including birds. Their recent popularity seems to be a result of media exposure in television and in tabloids.

They appear to be anywhere from 12 cm to 50 meters in length. Rods can control their flight path as birds and insects do.

A common speculation held by cryptozoologists and believers is that rods are some kind of unknown creature. When viewing rods on camera they appear to be able to behave and move on their own. It is proposed that they have a thin membrane across their axis which is used for propulsion through the air, in a manner similar to the way a cuttlefish uses its fins. It has been suggested that Rods are possible relatives of anomalocarids which have taken to the air. Rods were the subject of season 1, episode 111 of the History Channel series Monster Quest, first aired on January 9, 2008. During this episode, rods body structure was tested by engineering students, who commented, "..Not a whole lot of lift. It would take a huge propulsion system to make it fly..."

Though it should be noted a bumblebee defies the laws of physics by being able to fly so i don't find it so strange that other creatures on earth can deify our current view of the world.

[ALien]

very good post, had never heard of this before, i did some youtube look-ups and there were actually a bunch of clips and these are very interesting

[kidflash2008]

On that show, Monster Quest, they slowed down the video on one that was shot at high speed. It turned out to be a moth. Many of the other rods look like flying stick insects, which could be an as of yet undiscovered version of the insect.

[Talisyn]

Yup thats the primary theory but if you've seen the vid of the base jumper with the rod falling with him then it stops and spins back up-wards, i think its fair to say its not a known species. But I'll admit you can replicate the videos with insects but much like the orb theory the rods move in a very different way.

[Truthed]

You have to watch the videos and decide fr yourself, of course other things can look like rods ie: moths, but certainly some of the videos of rods do not look to move like any insect.

[kidflash2008]

I do agree some of the rods are unknown animals (probably insects). Scientists are still discovering new animals all the time. Some of the videos are moths and other critters that move very fast to the naked eye.