Drone sightings have now been reported in at least six states that includes New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and now Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio. Also, arrests have been made in connection with illegal drone operations near Boston’s Logan International Airport, and the Air Force’s launch facility at Vandenberg base in California.

These sightings that began in northern New Jersey in mid-November are now spreading to adjacent states and have led to an overreaction by government and the public similar to that which accompanied the COVID pandemic, and I believe has been exacerbated by constant inaccurate and uniformed reporting by the national news media in need of feeding the 24/7 news cycle.

I suspect the sightings spread because people began wondering if drones were also in their skies. So, perhaps for the first time in years they looked closely up into the night skies.

Here they saw an impressive celestial display made up of the stars of our own Milky Way Galaxy, other Galaxies, an occasional shooting star, Venus and Mars, a variety of satellites, along with a wide assortment of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. There might even have been drones that increasingly fill our night sky. To the untrained eye the sight must have been a wonder.

Here are a couple of things that I have noticed about this drone outbreak. First it has been reliably reported that no drones were sighted on Thanksgiving night. This fact begs this question; if the drones were of Russian, Iranian, Chinese, or extraterrestrial origin do they also celebrate our Thanksgiving?

It is also not surprising that the sightings began in northern New Jersey that is home to many airports including Newark’s Liberty International the 12th busiest airports in the U.S. and Teterboro Airport the busiest private airport in the U.S. by far, handling 182,000 private aircraft in 2023. Add to this Kennedy International Airport the sixth busiest and La Guardia the 19th busiest across the Hudson in New York and there is bound to be a lot of aircraft overhead both day and night. Add to this air taxis, traffic copters, law enforcement copters and who knows how many drones, and you have very crowded skies over the region.

Today drones are used by police and security agencies because they can monitor large areas for suspicious activity or even provide security for outdoor concerts. sporting events or sensitive locations like military bases or warehouses and oil refineries. Many of these activities by their nature often take place at night

Other drones are used for research and data collection in tasks like wildlife monitoring, environmental studies, or even crop and livestock assessments. The flights often take place at night to avoid interference or because of the nature of the data collected.

Drones are also employed by public safety and emergency services in search and rescue operations as in the recent North Carolina flood disaster. A drone’s ability to hover has even been used as temporary cell phone towers following a disaster with the president of one drone company claiming that his firm is working on a drone that will be able to hover in place for up to forty eight hours.

Drones are also finding a place in commercial activities such as infrastructure inspection of power lines and pipelines, mapping or delivery services. Amazon has been experimenting with drone delivery to make deliveries faster. While this technology hasn’t yet reached the point of widespread use, Amazon has launched Prime Air in select locations and recently announced FAA approval to expand its operations.

Here are some interesting facts I found about drones. All drones weighing more than 250 grams are required to be registered with the FAA including those flown for recreation, by business or public safety agencies. Now drones must be equipped with Remote ID.

A drone’s remote ID broadcast signal provides identification and location information to other parties. This helps the FAA and other agencies locate the drone’s control station if it’s flying in an unsafe or prohibited area. The FAA can take enforcement action against individuals who violate the rules and Operate in a dangerous manner with civil penalties up to $27,000 and criminal penalties up to $250,000 and/or three years in prison.

For those who want to know if they are being followed by drones, here’s how. It’s an app called “Drone Scanner” by Dronetag that is one of the most readily available phone apps that can alert you to nearby drones. It utilizes the “Remote ID” signal broadcast by most modern drones to detect their presence on your phone; essentially turning it into a drone tracker. Its available in both iOS and Android versions.

For the more technically minded there is “DedroneTracker.AI.” The manufacturer claims its advanced AI technology can detect, track, and identify drones. Utilizing data from a range of drone detection sensors accurately determines the precise location of both the drone and its operator.

Drones quietly have expanded their role in our lives, and we are just becoming aware of that. So, it’s not unusual that if we happen to look up into the night sky, we may see things like drones that were not there a short time ago and being human, we wonder what they are and what impact this unknown might have on our lives.

Finally, a Merry Christmas to all and if you hear a buzzing over your home on Christmas Eve it’s probably Santa’s drone.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com.