East Coast drone sightings unsettle some Arizonans as similar sightings are claimed in Buckeye
CHANDLER, Ariz. - For weeks, people in New Jersey have reported drones in the night sky.
As of now, there are more questions than answers about what they've been seeing, and it's not just New Jersey.
People in several other East Coast states are witnessing drones, some as large as cars flying at night.
New Jersey officials said during a press conference on Saturday, Dec. 14, these aren't consumer drones, but they're also asking for more action from the federal government.
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Drones mysteriously spotted in New Jersey: What we know
New Jersey residents have reported seeing dozens of drones in recent weeks, some near sensitive locations like a military research facility.
It's not just the East Coast that's seeing the drones, either.
Several people in Arizona say they've been witnessing the same thing in our skies, but it might be much easier to explain than mysterious drones.
At the Chandler Nature Center where a sky party was held, some are curious while others are concerned.
Many people here in the Valley are sharing their theories on the internet about the unidentified aerial phenomenon many claim are drones.
"It's probably not the weirdest thing to happen in New Jersey to be honest," said Aaron DeFeo, a space enthusiast.
Others aren't so calm.
Another local man says he believes it's a security measure by the American government.
"These drones aren't being flown by an average guy like myself, it's for the safety of America," said Arthur Guillory who was also at the Chandler Nature Center.
Several people in Buckeye are sharing concerns over sightings in the sky on Friday night via the neighborhood app.
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Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy believes the East Coast sightings could very well be legally manned aircraft.
"I've got thousands of videos pouring into my social media feeds now and what I come up with is I think people might have just been hearing about these drones and then going outside and looking at air traffic for the first time in their lives," said astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy.
McCarthy says Venus and Jupiter are both currently visible in the skies and also pointed out to one New Jersey senator on X that he was likely seeing the constellation Orion and nothing more nefarious.
"Because of course the constellations you know, are fairly harmless, unless of course you have a bad horoscope or something," he said.
As for the minimal information shared by the government in relation to the sightings, McCarthy said he feels confident in the statement from the Pentagon assuring the public there is no threat.
"As far as I can tell, it's more of a social frenzy than any actual concern," McCarthy said.
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As officials continue to investigate the origins of mysterious drones spotted in our area, there's an easy (and free) way to help you tell what you've spotted.
Regardless of what the answer ends up being and when that answer comes, today's technology does create a surge in conversations.
"With the amount of cell phone videos and just the fact that we have technology to digitally record these things anywhere is making it a little bit harder for people to kind of push it under the rug," DeFeo said.
McCarthy urges people who may be concerned or just curious about sightings in the sky to download flight tracker apps and other tech they can access on their phones to understand what they may be spotting.