What am I looking at?

Things in the sky are often not what they seem. These signs help tell a drone from other objects. If you are unsure, report it anyway and choose “Not sure”: every report is checked automatically against the positions of aircraft, and a person makes the final call.

Drone

• Can hover, or suddenly change direction or speed.
• Often makes a buzzing sound. Larger winged drones sound like a moped or a lawnmower.
• At night: blinking or coloured lights that move unevenly.
• Military drones often fly low and in a straight line, with triangular wings.

Plane or helicopter

• Flies steadily and in a straight line.
• At night: navigation lights – red on the left wing, green on the right, plus flashing white lights.
• Airliners flying high often leave a white trail, and their sound seems to come from somewhere other than where you see the plane.

Star or planet

• A bright point that hardly moves against the other stars over several minutes.
• Venus and Jupiter can be very bright, especially low over the horizon in the evening or before dawn.
• Near the horizon, stars twinkle and change colour. If you stare for a long time, the light may seem to move – that is a trick of the eye.

Satellite

• Crosses the sky steadily within a few minutes, without blinking and without a sound.
• Often fades out gradually as it enters the Earth’s shadow.
• Starlink satellites can appear as a string of lights, one after another.

Balloon

• Drifts slowly with the wind and changes height, with no course of its own.
• High up, it can reflect sunlight even after sunset.
• There are weather balloons, advertising balloons and smugglers’ balloons.

Sky lantern

• An orange, flickering flame.
• Rises slowly and drifts with the wind, then goes out after a few minutes.
• Often several are released together, at celebrations or weddings.