NAVIGATION
Case Files-Documents
|
UFO Magazine Issue # 325, Issue date, 09-22-08
|
Looking for New Evidence of Life Outside Earth
|
Lights in the Sky, Looking for New Evidence of Life Outside Earth
By LYNN LEVY and JOANNA WEINER
Lights in the Sky
More than a dozen people said they saw it -- the big bright lights in the January skies over Stephenville, Texas. It was unlike anything they'd seen before.
The lights reconfigured into different formations several times, he said.
"Then they burst into a flame, a very unusual bright white flame," he said. "Two or three seconds of that, and then it simply disappeared."
Former military air traffic controller Paul Colcleasure said he also saw something remarkable that night.
"I honestly don't know what to think it was. I know what it wasn't," he said. "I've seen pretty much every military aircraft you can think of in the dark, and these lights were -- just the scale of the lights, the size -- not anything I can conceptualize."
In the nine months since, those lights still have not been identified.
"Ninety percent of most UFO reports are individuals who think they saw something and it's really an explainable object," said Robert Powell, in investigator with the Mutual UFO Network, an organization that investigates thousands of UFO sightings each year. "What interests MUFON the most is those cases that are unusual and there's evidence to support it."
Documenting UFOs
Because nearly every cell phone now comes equipped with a camera and many people have video cameras at home, most who encounter something strange in the sky have the ability to document it.
But photos and videos taken by individuals are often dismissed as fake, doctored or too blurry to be recognizable. And while more than 80 million Americans believe that we have been visited by aliens from outer space, many feel their claims are not taken seriously.
From the famous incident at Roswell, N.M., to the Phoenix Lights, UFO sightings have often been the subject of mockery. James Carrion, international director of MUFON, said he believes that because of this, many sightings go unreported.
"It's a huge problem that most folks do not want to come forward out of fear of ridicule, concern for their job, family, how they are going to be perceived in their social setting," he said.
UFO investigators are not the only ones fascinated with the possibility of extraterrestrial life. While mainstream scientists might not agree that aliens are visiting us on Earth, they are actively investigating the possibility that life could exist on other planets.
This summer, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander proved conclusively that the ice on Mars is indeed frozen water, one of the key ingredients of life as we know it. Guided by NASA researchers, the robot removed a chunk of ice from Martian soil and heated it. The result was liquid water, exactly what the NASA team had hoped to find.
"We've developed a strategy for searching for life that starts with 'follow the water,'" said NASA scientist Chris McKay, who helped design the Phoenix mission. "All life on Earth needs water to grow or reproduce, so it makes sense that when we're going to other planets, we would go where we find evidence of water."
The Phoenix Lander will not be testing the soil for Martian microbes or other simple life forms -- that will be a task for future missions. But with such a promising beginning, scientists are optimistic about what they might find in the future.
"If we find that life started on Mars and on Earth, separately," McKay said, "then we know that we're not just some sort of cosmic fluke, that life is a naturally emerging phenomenon."
Peter Smith, lead scientist on the Phoenix Mars mission, agreed that the search has just begun.
"I think of Phoenix as a stepping stone, part of the long-term search for life outside the Earth," he said. "And I wish I could be a fly on the wall for the next 500 years and watch it unfold."
Leap of Faith
It's still quite a leap from believing that life exists somewhere in the universe to believing that intelligent life has visited us here on earth. But millions have already made that leap of faith. To them, the question is, when will everyone else follow?
Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku agrees that it is time for a real investigation.
"Even if there's a grain of truth, even if there's a slightest possibility that these sightings could lead to something greater, then let's look into it," Kaku said. "That's the spirit of science."
source & references:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5807004&page=1
|
|
Discovery to Air Documentary on Pennsylvania Sightings
|
By CHRISTOPHER RUVO
The Intelligencer
September 14, 2008 8:06 AM-A national organization that investigates alleged UFO sightings says it has collected titillating data during days of interviews with witnesses of supposed other-worldly aircraft over Bucks County.
While that may encourage true believers, a Franklin Institute astronomer cautioned that folks shouldn't jump to the conclusion that little green men are circling over Southeastern Pennsylvania just because unidentified objects have been glimpsed in the night skies.
John Ventre was in Bucks County this summer with a film crew from the Discovery Channel interviewing residents after a rash of UFO sightings in the area were reported to the Mutual UFO Network, a Colorado-based nonprofit that investigates sightings around the country.
Ventre, MUFON's Pennsylvania coordinator, said much of what he learned in interviews was compelling. He spoke with those who reported the approximately 45 sightings in the Bucks County area during the past three months.
“The bottom line is that something happened here,” said Ventre, whose findings here will be featured in a show scheduled to air on the Discovery Channel in December.
According to Ventre, a woman in the Levittown area claimed to see a strange craft five times. On two occasions, she claimed to see the object release a glittering metallic substance and then suck it back up as if drawing it in with a magnet.
Ventre took samples of trees and bushes where the strange substance had purportedly fallen and sent it to a lab in Michigan. He wouldn't send the lab's report to the newspaper, but claimed it revealed the leaves had been exposed to radiation or high heat.
Another interesting story came from a local retiree, Ventre said. The man claimed to see a six-sided shape in the sky on two occasions, once in June and in July.
The second time he saw it there was a thunderstorm. The lightning illuminated a peculiar sight.
“He could see six triangular shaped UFOs docked together,” Ventre said. And when the shape moved, it appeared to do so erratically, like film frames that skip in old movies, he said.
A Plumstead woman contacted police after she saw a low-flying triangular-shaped object with bright white lights and dimmer red lights above her development in July. The woman told the paper at the time that she does not believe in extraterrestrials or flying saucers, but “saw something I couldn't identify and I felt that I should report it.”
There were other sightings over the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown in June and a Mexican restaurant in Falls in January. Often the craft have been described as either a high-flying “star-like” object that zips across the sky or a low-flying six-sided or boomerang-shaped aircraft with multi-colored lights.
What does it all mean?
Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, isn't sure.
“The night sky is full of possibilities,” he said. “More than likely the objects are identifiable. However it's very possible we'll see objects we can't identify. But that does not automatically make them flying saucers.”
While it's not news that airplanes and satellites can be mistaken for UFOs in a confusing night sky, Pitts said there are often explanations for the strangest things people see, if studied “extremely rationally.”
For example, bright stars that sit down close to the horizon will often twinkle in a way that gives off multi-colored patterns, a phenomenon that occurs because of atmospheric conditions on the horizon, he said.
Sometimes people see large dots of lights moving across the sky. They appear to jump and skip about. Often these turn out to be spotlights that have been turned up at the sky, Pitts said.
Recently, the astronomer was at the Franklin Institute looking eastward, studying the sky. His curiosity was roused by a series of flashing lights that moved below the clouds.
He couldn't come up with a quick explanation. But soon after a drive near the Benjamin Franklin Bridge provided him with an answer. He saw a train going across the bridge, tripping switches that flip lights in a way that caused them to illuminate the underside of clouds off and on.
Sometimes, Pitts said, a supposed sighting can be explained simply as imagination.
“The human mind is very creative,” he said. “Our minds can create anything. And to that person, the experience they believe they've had is completely true.”
Ventre's not really buying that.
With MUFON fielding nearly 120 reported sightings in Pennsylvania in three months, mostly in the southern half between Bucks County and Pittsburgh, he believes there's got to be more than imagination or a trick of light at work.
Said Ventre, “It could be the military testing out the next generation of aircraft. But if it's not military, then it's some sort of extraterrestrial. I know the people I've talked to are convinced these crafts are not ours.”
Christopher Ruvo can be reached at 215-345-3147 or cruvo@phillyburbs.com.
source & references:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-09142008-1590562.html
|
|
UFO Sightings Connected to Large Hadron Collider Experiment?
|
Published Date: 15 September 2008
By Gemma Gadd
Monday 2.50pm - MORE responses to sightings of 'orange lights' UFOs near Louth have been pouring into the Leader – with some wondering if recent UFO activity is connected to the Large Hadron Collider experiment in Geneva.
A man called Anthony from Wales emailed a similar account of what he saw: "I was having a cigarette outside my front door on Saturday at around 9pm and I looked over the roof tops and saw two orange-red glowing lights coming from over the hill where I live.
"I called my wife and daughter to come and have a look, then a third light followed the other two. My wife phoned her father who lives not far away and he saw them too. I then went to get my camera but by the time I got it out the lights just vanished. Not knowing what they were I decided to search the net to see if any one has seen the same as us and I came across your picture which is exactly what we saw.
"We live in a little village in Swansea and after 47 years of looking up at night this is the first UFO I have ever seen."
He added: "Could it be something to do with that experiment they are doing under ground in Geneva letting out pockets of energy or something?"
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, intended to smash protons together in the hope of learning more about the Big Bang theory. It was turned on to much international press interest last week despite some scientists calling for the experiment to be stopped, in fear it could lead to the formation of mini black holes, which could expand and swallow the Earth.
Rachel Rijsdijk emailing from The Netherlands said she also saw similar orange lights last Saturday: "On Saturday night a week ago I was driving on the highway, past a city called Eindhoven, and I saw three orange round lights high in the sky. They were not moving, but hanging in a triangle form."
Reg Lambert from Rugby emailed to tell us about his own recent experience: "I and three others saw an orange light travelling south-west to north-east over Rugby at about 8pm.
"It was travelling quite fast and was above the height of a few clouds around at an estimated height of 5000ft. A few minutes after disappearing from view it reappeared travelling in the opposite direction."
He added: "There was no flicker or variation, or colour change, and it was in a straight line."
* Have you seen any UFOs in the Louth or Mablethorpe areas? Email gemma.gadd@jpress.co.uk
See complete article listings of the 2008 British Wave
source & references:
http://www.louthleader.co.uk/news/UFO-sightings-connected-to-Large.4492819.jp
|
|
Unknown Object Photographed near Plane in UK
|
Please see the attached picture, taken over Thelmere, Chesterfield, UK at approximately 11 AM, by Tom Best whilst on holiday.
Photo was taken on 09-10-08 with a Panasonic, DMC-FX33.
The photographer related the following information to me via email:
"It's Tommy here, the person who took the photo. I was out cycling and taking photos around Thelmere Lake on Wednesday, September 10, at approximately 11:00 AM, when I heard a jet approaching. I pointed the camera in the direction of the noise and took 2 photos, I did not even see the jet as it happened so fast. Later, when I looked at the photos I noticed there was somthing else near the jet which did not appear to be any plane that I am aware off."
Submitted by Dave Truman
See complete article listings of the 2008 British Wave
source and references:
Submitted to UFO Casebook
|
|
ABC & UFO’S… My Story!
|
September 19, 2008
When I was around 12 years old I was involved in the boy scouts. I loved scouting, as it taught me lots about the outdoors, camping and wildlife. During the fall, my troop was at a weekend camp out, at Camp Horseshoe, in Rising Sun Maryland. One afternoon myself and three other boys were headed back for lunch. We took a shortcut and headed up a dry creek bed that was in a small ravine. As we climbed, from one rock to another the lead boy yelled, “Wow, what’s that?”
The other boys looked where he had pointed and they too began to exclaim, “Wow, what is that?” I shouted, “Where?”
The boy next to me pointed to the sky and yelled, “Right there!”
I looked where he was pointing and there, in a clear blue sky, was a metallic disk. It was motionless as it hovered above us. The sun's rays glinted off its surface. We looked at it, mesmerized, for perhaps 15 to 25 seconds, and then it shot straight up into the air. It moved so fast that my eyes could barely follow it.
The disk just vanished somewhere high above where we were standing.
“Wow, we saw a flying saucer!”
One of the boys shouted in his excitement. “Wait ’till we tell everybody back at camp,” another said.
And with that being said, we sprinted up the trail and made our way back to camp. We burst into the center and shouted as one voice, “We saw a flying saucer!”
The other boys and several of the scoutmasters gathered around as we told our tale. We were, for the moment, the center of attention.
We went to the dining hall and ate lunch. Here’s the part of the story that in some ways has had a greater impact on me than seeing the UFO in the first place. By dinner that night the other three boys denied that they had ever seen anything. They recanted their story. Why?
Because of the ridicule from the other boys and our leaders. I, however, knew what I had seen and refused to back down from what I knew was the truth. I was called all sorts of names and was teased relentlessly, for the rest of the weekend. It was my first lesson in what I came to call, ‘herd mentality.’
Simply explained, this is when people will change their point of view and what they believe in, in order to stay part of the herd, or group, or club, or whatever organization you want to pencil in.
In the ABC program, "Seeing Is Believing," there was a segment about how supposedly our government had set about to ridicule anyone who came out saying they had seen a UFO. This was the case when Edgar Mitchell recently spoke out, saying that UFOs were, in fact, real, and that their existence had been covered up by our government.
Mitchell got lots of ridicule and bluster for his statement, but there were many who listened and believed him. At least ABC’s show explored the UFO phenomena and, in my opinion, wasn’t skewed or bias in its presentation.
The phenomena is not going away. In fact, it is burgeoning. There are more sightings in a single month then there were in a year during the 1940’s & 50’s. BRAVO ABC! for your courage and forthrightness regarding UFOs. Have a great weekend everyone.
source & references:
http://lamarzulli.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/abc-ufos-my-story/
|
|
Incident at A5 Road, November 8, 1966
|
Military Documents Verify Amazing UFO Encounter
Over the course of the last few weeks, I have posted to the
Phenomena website a whole range of reports, interviews and
official documents that I collected during my years as a UFO
investigator in the UK and that I had not previously highlighted
or published. I recently received an email from a guy who had
read the material on the site and he asked me what I considered
to be the strangest official UFO related document that I had
ever found in the British Government's archives. I really didn't
have to give this much thought: I knew instantly what my answer
would be.
Without doubt the most unusual report (in my opinion, at least)
I ever came across at the National Archive (formerly the Public
Record Office) at Kew, England, surfaced in 1999. It concerns an
incident that dated from 1966 and that originated with the
British Royal Air Force's Provost and Security Services – an
elite arm of the RAF that until 1998 had its headquarters at a
British RAF base named Rudloe Manor, and that has for many years
been the alleged central hub for classified, official UFO
investigations.
In a painstakingly-detailed report, one Corporal R.A. Rickwood
of the P&SS Special Investigation Section, related to his
superiors the facts:
"On 10th November 1966 a telephone message was received from
Flight Lieutenant Williams, RAF Shawbury, reporting that a Mrs.
Foulkes of [Address of the witness] Shrewsbury, had complained
that his daughter had been frightened by an object in the sky
whilst she had been driving along the A5 road near Great Ness at
2355 hours on 8th November 1966. This object had emitted
brilliant lights and radiation beams. On arriving home her
daughter had been in a distressed condition and she had
discovered marks on the car, which she considered were burn
marks.
"On 14th November 1966, Miss Diane Foulkes, aged 22 years, a
typist employed in Shrewsbury was seen at her home in the
presence of her parents. She stated that she had received a
letter dated 11th November 1966 from RAF Shawbury signed by a
Flight Lieutenant Penny informing her that no service aircraft
had been flying in that area at the time of the incident. She
was now satisfied that the incident was in no way connected with
the Royal Air Force or the Armed Forces. She then went on to
relate her experiences connected with this enquiry. There had
been two similar incidents. The first occurred two years ago in
November 1964, when she had been driving from Shrewsbury to her
home along the A5 road. This was at about 0200 hours as she
neared the Montford Bridge over the River Severn. Approximately
midway between Shrewsbury and Great Ness a brightly lit circular
object appeared in the sky above her car. She had been
frightened and had accelerated along the road. The object had
kept pace with her remaining at the same height until she
arrived home. She had told her mother and father who also
watched the object. She described the object as an especially
bright light in the sky which remained stationary due west from
their home for about half an hour. It had then rapidly
diminished in size and they assumed it had accelerated away from
them. No sound was heard from the object. The light was yellow
in colour and became red as it diminished.
"The second incident occurred on the 8th November 1966 at 2355
hours and again whilst she was returning from Shrewsbury on the
same road. The object had again appeared at Montford Bridge but
this time it was much lower in the sky and on the north side of
the road. On this occasion she could see rays of light shooting
from the object which had again appeared to keep station with
her car until she arrived home. At one time during the journey
the object travelled near her and the rays seemed to come
towards the right hand side of her car. She felt a bump against
that side as if they had struck it. At this moment she felt as
if she had received an electric shock and had felt a severe pain
in her neck. The left-hand side headlight of the car also went
out. This made her extremely frightened. When she got home she
felt very ill and had complained to her parents. The object
again remained stationary in the sky north of her home and had
not been seen by her parents. They had noticed it for a short
time before going inside her home. There had been no sign of the
object on the following morning.
"Miss Foulkes' parents confirmed seeing an object in the sky on
both occasions as described by their daughter and agreed with
her descriptions of these.
"Miss Foulkes further stated that she believed that the objects
could be associated with a Mr Griffin who lived in the area and
who is reputed to have made contact with these objects and
actually entered one and met one of the occupants. He is also
alleged to make his contacts with them at Montford Bridge.
"The local civil police had no information or reports of
sightings of objects in the sky. There is no evidence to
associate the incidents complained of with the Royal Air Force
and the complainant Miss Foulkes is now satisfied that the
incidents are unexplainable and are in no way connected with the
Armed Forces."
In essence, that is the file. It is clear from examining its
contents that the witness had reported some stunning
experiences: "the rays of shooting light" that enveloped her
car; the electric shock-like pain that surged through her neck
as the vehicle was bathed in the beam of light; the loss of
power from the car's headlights (something that is reported time
and again in UFO encounters); and the potentially-worrying fact
that the experience had left the witness "very ill."
Perhaps the most significant factor, however, was the reference
of the Provost and Security Services to a man in the near
vicinity that had reputedly "made contact with these objects and
actually entered one and met the occupants." Prior to the 1970s,
very little exposure was given to so-called alien abduction
incidents; however, many of the factors present in the P&SS
report lead me to believe that something very strange indeed had
taken place in the Great Ness area of Shrewsbury in 1966, and
that that "something" was very possibly connected with
abduction-like encounters.
Oddly, despite the fact that the official file on this case was
declassified more than half a decade ago -and the document at
issue has been examined by a number of UFO researchers - it
seems that little or no attempt has been made to resolve the
case. Perhaps now with its contents highlighted here, someone
will take a fresh look at the case and attempt to resolve the
question of what really happened nearly 40 years ago at Montford
Bridge.
By: Nick Redfern
Phenomena US Editor in Chief
source:
Phenomena Magazine
http://www.phenomenamagazine.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Area+51&action=page&obj_id=2142
REF: National Archive File Reference: AIR 2/17984.
Crown copyright exists.
|
(last update, 09-19-08)
|
Illinois-Teardrop-Shaped Object
|
09-18-08-I was stopped for red light on Cicero and Flossmoor road. It was about 8.00 AM.
What I saw looked liked a large blue teardrop-shaped object descend from the
sky to the ground and dissipate into the ground. It was difficult to tell the distance from me.
It was a clear day no rain, visibility was good.
When it came down, the distance seemed no more than 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. There was a semi stopped at the next stop light ahead of me, and we were both headed south toward Matteson. I tried to catch the semi in front of me because he had to have seen it too, but the traffic lights prevented me from catching him. Before visiting this site I had never heard of a UFO described this way (teardrop). I felt relieved because that was the best way for me to describe it a large beautiful blue teardrop fall, descend from the sky and melt into the ground, horizon. source: www.mufon.com
|
|
Massachusetts-Sleek, Black Object
|
09-15-08-I was on a bus on Long Pond Road, sitting in the front. At this point in the road there are almost all trees on both sides and hardly many houses. The bus took a left turn and I went to open a window. After I sat down I looked up into the front window and a sleek, black shape caught the corner of my eye. I thought it might be an F14 or F15 jet from Ottis Air Force Base, which would have been cool, but it stopped and changed its ascending angle much higher, and actually went through the cloud.
I then realized it didn't look like a jet as well, even from as far away as I was. It was shaped like a diamond that has been squished down pretty flat. I think but am not netirely sure it made a small hole in the cloud. I did not hear any sound, and I believe that I would have with a jet, even a few miles away, but I'm no jet expert. All this happened in seconds. During it, I was excited because I thought it was a jet until it changed direction and I became nervous about it. This was the first time I have ever seen an Unidentified Flying Object. source: www.mufon.com
|
|
North Carolina-Orbs in Home
|
09-16-08-My name is M. K. This story is not a joke, and I would not insult you by sending you one. I'm looking for an answer to a mystery. I'm 53 years old, and live in New Bern, NC. This is my story.
A few months ago, I was sleeping on the couch in my living room. I woke up about 2:00 AM. Looking into the entrance of the hallway, I saw a bright light which seemed to fill the entire hallway. I could see many small spheres inside of the bright light. I could see many different colors making up these spheres. The event went on for a period of time. No sound was heard.
I thought possibly I was imagining this, but my Labrador got up off the couch, and advanced toward the spheres. The hair on his back was raised like a dog sensing something he could understand. He stopped before he got to the hallway.
When this ended, I checked the hallway, and all of the doors to the other rooms were shut. No other lights were one, and the dog returned to normal behavior. What I witnessed has not occurred again, but I feel this was not a natural event. Do you have any answer to what I might have seen? source: www.ufocasebook.com
|
|
Germany-Bright, Orange Light
|
08-01-08-I live in Limburg, Germany. I'd like to report a sighting similar to that of Mr. Ing in Bradford City, UK. On the evening of August 1st, 2008, I was sitting on the terrace of our house together with my sister-in-law and her husband from Denmark who had come to visit us that day. It was shortly after 10.00 PM, already quite dark because of a quite dense cloud ceiling. I noticed a bright, orange light coming from the west. It had the brilliance of the landing light of an approaching airplane, but no blinking position lights, nor any shape around the light could be seen.
It was flying underneath the clouds, approaching us with the speed of a slowly flying helicopter or motorized paraglider. After 20 seconds or so, it disappeared behind the roof of our house. I had pointed it out to our visitors while it was still visible to us, and while we were still discussing the fact that absolutely no noise of this craft could be heard, about half a minute after the first light had disappeared behind the house, I noticed a second, identical bright orange light coming with approximately the same speed and brilliance from the same direction.
Again, no engine noise could be heard (our area is 65 km from Frankfurt airport and it is flown over quite frequently by high flying commercial aircraft, as well as by low flying private aircraft, during daylight even sometimes by ultra light aircraft and motorized paragliders which can all be easily heard).
So we went deeper into our garden in order to be able to watch this craft when it was behind our and the neighboring houses. Unfortunately, I had no camera on hand. The craft flew in a straight line from west to east and when it was apparently a few kilometers east of us, it seemed to climb towards the clouds and disappeared from sight. While passing behind our house, the brilliance of the light did not change, as the lights of a passing aircraft would have done. The whole event lasted 4 - 5 minutes. All three of us were amazed by these sightings and had never seen anything like this before, although I for my part, have been working in the airline industry for more than three decades and have seen a lot of different aircraft of all kinds. I had also faxed a report of these sightings to MUFON-CES in Germany. sent by Lothar Flathmann, source: www.ufocasebook.com
|
|
United Kingdom-Multiple Lights Seen
|
09-13-08-On September 13, at around 9:20 PM, while letting the dog out into the yard, I noticed a long line of lights in the sky. I was looking toward the Fouldbridge area, Colne, Lancashire, England. My friend came out to take a look, and said that they might be Chinese lanterns.
There were really a lot of lights, and I took several photos of them on my mobile phone, but none of them showed anything. I called my aunt and grandma, who could both see the lights. My uncle took some pictures also, but again, nothing showed. He thought this was very strange. As my aunt watched the lights, they eventually began to disappear. Immediately thereafter, the sky was full of airplanes. My mum does not drink, and she could not believe what she had seen. sent by A B, source: www.ufocasebook.com
|
THE UFO CASEBOOK Domain
is owned and operated by Casebook Productions.
Legal: The names, UFO Casebook, UFO Casebook Productions, and the UFO Casebook logo are registered with the proper agencies of the United States patent, and copyright offices. Any use of these names or logo without the expressed written consent of owner B J Booth is prohibited by American and International law.
Editor B. J. Booth is a member of MUFON.
|
