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- Seeing the aurora borealis, 00:01
or the Northern Lights, is certainly on my bucket list, 00:02
and Canada is a great place for it. 00:05
In certain parts of the country, 00:07
they appear up to 300 nights a year. 00:08
But one Canadian family says they recently saw something 00:11
just as amazing, and a lot more unexpected. 00:14
May 10th, 2024. 00:19
It's between 10 and 11 PM in Kelowna, British Columbia. 00:21
Bobby Vandenhorn and his family are gathered 00:26
on his rooftop patio, 00:29
hoping to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis. 00:31
- The aurora borealis 00:34
is a beautiful natural phenomenon. 00:35
Essentially, as the sun is giving off solar energy, 00:38
it's flying through space and it slams 00:41
into the Earth's atmosphere. 00:43
All of those charged particles interact 00:45
with the various molecules 00:48
that make up Earth's atmosphere and burn up into light, 00:50
and we get this spectacular, 00:54
beautiful light show as a result. 00:56
- [Tony] But as the Vandenhorn family waits 00:58
for the lights to appear overhead, 01:00
something else catches their attention. 01:02
- What is that? - Bobby records a cluster 01:05
of five bright white orbs twinkling in the distance. 01:08
- [Tony] And that's just the start. 01:18
As the night goes on, 01:20
Bobby takes several more videos 01:21
of strange light formations, 01:23
and he says the footage doesn't capture the half of it. 01:25
- I probably saw about 20 plus groups 01:29
of those orbs, and each group 01:34
had anywhere from, you know, two to three, 01:38
all the way up to 25 to 30 of them. 01:40
- [Tony] Bobby posts the video online 01:44
and even submits it to the local news, 01:46
where it draws thousands of eyes. 01:48
- I couldn't help but think, like, 01:51
maybe there's a link between what's going on 01:52
with the aurora borealis, 01:54
whatever energy comes into the atmosphere from that, 01:55
perhaps those little orbs use that energy to fly. 01:59
- It turns out the northern lights 02:07
have been especially active lately. 02:09
In 2024, they were even visible as far south as Florida. 02:11
Scientists say that's because the sun 02:15
is in its solar maximum, the peak of its 11-year cycle. 02:17
Can solar activity explain Bobby's unusual encounter, 02:21
or will our experts find another source for his sighting? 02:25
[tense music] 02:29
At times, the lights form a V-shape, 02:33
so we have to consider if they could just be 02:36
a V-shaped aircraft. 02:38
- There's a number of aircraft 02:40
that could match the V-shape that we see. 02:42
The B-2 bomber has a V-shape to it, 02:44
but what they don't have is independent lighting 02:47
that moves relative to the other lights on board. 02:51
These lights are actually moving independently, 02:53
so this is why I think there are five independent objects. 02:57
- [Tony] What are those five independent objects? 03:01
- The way these lights are moving, 03:04
it almost seems like a choreographed movement. 03:06
I think there is a high probability 03:09
that what we're looking at are drones. 03:10
This particular day was one 03:13
of the largest geomagnetic storms to ever hit the Earth. 03:15
We know that there are a lot of people with their eyes 03:18
on the sky, and given 03:21
that the aurora borealis hasn't started yet, 03:23
these drones could be the pre-show. 03:26
- But if this is a drone show, 03:28
it's not a particularly visible one. 03:30
- He had to zoom in to be able to show them better. 03:32
That's because they were at a relatively high altitude. 03:34
They might have been at 3,000 feet or 4,000 feet. 03:36
Drone shows don't occur high up in the sky. 03:41
They generally occur down low to the ground, 03:43
and we're not seeing that here. 03:46
- [Tony] Instead, like the aurora itself, 03:48
these flying objects may have a natural explanation. 03:51
- If you watch Canada Geese, 03:55
you'll see something really impressive. 03:56
You'll see that the leader is in front during the brunt 03:59
of the forces hitting him. 04:02
When the leader gets tired and drops back 04:05
into the V, another leader will emerge, 04:08
and we could be seeing these two coming up to the lead. 04:11
- [Tony] Now, we've seen reflective birds mistaken 04:15
for UFOs before. 04:18
However, those had 04:20
an obvious light source beneath them, a greenhouse. 04:22
But these don't. 04:25
- Birds don't produce their own light. 04:27
If we were looking at birds, 04:29
there would have to be some sort 04:31
of light hitting those birds and reflecting back 04:33
to the Earth. 04:35
We don't see that here. 04:37
- Our verdict? Unexplained objects. 04:44
Between our two experts, 04:47
we can't make a call one way or the other. 04:49
We'll have to wait and see if any more UFOs emerge 04:51
from this intense solar activity. 04:55

– English Lyrics

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Lyrics & Translation

[English]
- Seeing the aurora borealis,
or the Northern Lights, is certainly on my bucket list,
and Canada is a great place for it.
In certain parts of the country,
they appear up to 300 nights a year.
But one Canadian family says they recently saw something
just as amazing, and a lot more unexpected.
May 10th, 2024.
It's between 10 and 11 PM in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Bobby Vandenhorn and his family are gathered
on his rooftop patio,
hoping to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis.
- The aurora borealis
is a beautiful natural phenomenon.
Essentially, as the sun is giving off solar energy,
it's flying through space and it slams
into the Earth's atmosphere.
All of those charged particles interact
with the various molecules
that make up Earth's atmosphere and burn up into light,
and we get this spectacular,
beautiful light show as a result.
- [Tony] But as the Vandenhorn family waits
for the lights to appear overhead,
something else catches their attention.
- What is that? - Bobby records a cluster
of five bright white orbs twinkling in the distance.
- [Tony] And that's just the start.
As the night goes on,
Bobby takes several more videos
of strange light formations,
and he says the footage doesn't capture the half of it.
- I probably saw about 20 plus groups
of those orbs, and each group
had anywhere from, you know, two to three,
all the way up to 25 to 30 of them.
- [Tony] Bobby posts the video online
and even submits it to the local news,
where it draws thousands of eyes.
- I couldn't help but think, like,
maybe there's a link between what's going on
with the aurora borealis,
whatever energy comes into the atmosphere from that,
perhaps those little orbs use that energy to fly.
- It turns out the northern lights
have been especially active lately.
In 2024, they were even visible as far south as Florida.
Scientists say that's because the sun
is in its solar maximum, the peak of its 11-year cycle.
Can solar activity explain Bobby's unusual encounter,
or will our experts find another source for his sighting?
[tense music]
At times, the lights form a V-shape,
so we have to consider if they could just be
a V-shaped aircraft.
- There's a number of aircraft
that could match the V-shape that we see.
The B-2 bomber has a V-shape to it,
but what they don't have is independent lighting
that moves relative to the other lights on board.
These lights are actually moving independently,
so this is why I think there are five independent objects.
- [Tony] What are those five independent objects?
- The way these lights are moving,
it almost seems like a choreographed movement.
I think there is a high probability
that what we're looking at are drones.
This particular day was one
of the largest geomagnetic storms to ever hit the Earth.
We know that there are a lot of people with their eyes
on the sky, and given
that the aurora borealis hasn't started yet,
these drones could be the pre-show.
- But if this is a drone show,
it's not a particularly visible one.
- He had to zoom in to be able to show them better.
That's because they were at a relatively high altitude.
They might have been at 3,000 feet or 4,000 feet.
Drone shows don't occur high up in the sky.
They generally occur down low to the ground,
and we're not seeing that here.
- [Tony] Instead, like the aurora itself,
these flying objects may have a natural explanation.
- If you watch Canada Geese,
you'll see something really impressive.
You'll see that the leader is in front during the brunt
of the forces hitting him.
When the leader gets tired and drops back
into the V, another leader will emerge,
and we could be seeing these two coming up to the lead.
- [Tony] Now, we've seen reflective birds mistaken
for UFOs before.
However, those had
an obvious light source beneath them, a greenhouse.
But these don't.
- Birds don't produce their own light.
If we were looking at birds,
there would have to be some sort
of light hitting those birds and reflecting back
to the Earth.
We don't see that here.
- Our verdict? Unexplained objects.
Between our two experts,
we can't make a call one way or the other.
We'll have to wait and see if any more UFOs emerge
from this intense solar activity.

Key Vocabulary

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Vocabulary Meanings

aurora

/ɒˈrɔːrə/

C2
  • noun
  • - natural light display in the Earth's sky, typically seen in polar regions

lights

/laɪts/

A1
  • noun
  • - sources of illumination

bucket

/ˈbʌkɪt/

A2
  • noun
  • - a round container with a handle used for carrying liquids or other substances

family

/ˈfæmɪli/

A1
  • noun
  • - a group of related people, usually parents and children

glimpse

/ɡlɪmps/

B2
  • noun
  • - a brief or partial view
  • verb
  • - to see briefly or partially

natural

/ˈnætʃərəl/

B1
  • adjective
  • - existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humans

phenomenon

/fəˈnɒmɪnən/

C1
  • noun
  • - a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause is in question

energy

/ˈɛnərdʒi/

B1
  • noun
  • - the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity

interact

/ˌɪntərˈækt/

B2
  • verb
  • - to act in such a way as to have an effect on another; to communicate or work together

charged

/tʃɑːrdʒd/

B2
  • adjective
  • - having an electric charge

spectacular

/spekˈtækjʊlər/

B2
  • adjective
  • - impressive to look at, remarkable

bright

/braɪt/

B2
  • adjective
  • - giving off a lot of light

formation

/fɔːrˈmeɪʃən/

B2
  • noun
  • - an arrangement or shape of things or people

footage

/ˈfʊtɪdʒ/

C1
  • noun
  • - recorded film or video material

drone

/droʊn/

B2
  • noun
  • - an unmanned aircraft or flying device controlled remotely

geomagnetic

/ˌdʒiːoʊmægˈnɛtɪk/

C2
  • adjective
  • - relating to the magnetic properties and phenomena of the Earth

reflective

/rɪˈflɛktɪv/

C1
  • adjective
  • - capable of reflecting light or other radiation

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Key Grammar Structures

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