THE UFO CHRONICLES


nam et ipsa scientia potestas est
- Knowledge is Power -

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Labels: 3-4-1965, John Reeves, Robot, Saucer, UFO, West Central Florida

     Anyone who takes the topic seriously knows about what they call the "giggle factor."

So when Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was asked in a recent debate about his belief in unidentified flying objects, the North Texas members of Mutual UFO Network weren't surprised when it turned into a political punch line.

On the other hand, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has also addressed UFOs – seriously – on the campaign trail. And last month, a group of highly credentialed aviation experts from around the world called for more official investigations of UFOs.

Getting their cause into the news – and not just as a joke – is welcome to people who have felt pushed to the fringes for a long time.

"There is a growing awareness and willingness on the part of the public to take this seriously," said Ken Cherry, the Texas MUFON director.

Is the secret that the ufologists of MUFON have been chasing for decades about to come out?

"We don't think it's a secret. Just some people don't believe it," said Terry Groff, webmaster for the local MUFON group and a trained UFO investigator.

He was one of about two dozen members who assembled for a regular meeting this month at an Irving public library. Organizers say they've filled a hall with more than 100 people for meetings where a particularly popular speaker appears.

Outsiders often misunderstand the purpose of the organization, Mr. Cherry said.

"People want us to confirm their claims," he said. "That is not our job."

Most UFO sightings quickly become IFOs after a little investigation, he said. Airplanes, satellites, model rockets, helicopters – all of these can fool an untrained eye. But all of those valid explanations still leave a few unexplainables.

Those few are what the ufologists say make them think there's more to know – but they aren't necessarily sure what the "more" is.

"I really haven't made my mind up," said MUFON regional director James Shatley. "The preponderance of evidence is that either we have discovered incredible technology, or there are some other races that have conquered time and space and figured out how to get here."

For all the scientific aspirations of MUFON, it's a mash-up of a serious amateur investigation club and a support group for people who say there is Something – or Someone – Out There.

"We have had people come to our meetings who literally wear a protective hat to protect themselves from aliens invading their thoughts," Mr. Cherry said.

The members of his group try to be welcoming and not dismissive of them, he said. After all, they all know what it's like to be ridiculed for their ideas.

"I don't think we've ever had a bad experience where someone that everyone thought was off-the-wall came and they didn't go away feeling good," Mr. Cherry said.

On this afternoon, nobody was wearing an odd hat. After a bit of business, they settled in to watch a decade-old video of a speech made at a previous meeting. The speaker was Jim Marrs, the Texan author of Crossfire, a book Oliver Stone drew on for the conspiracy-filled plot of his movie JFK, and Alien Agenda, Mr. Marrs' account of a government suppression of information about UFOs.

It's safe to say that Mr. Marrs' views about UFOs are as accepted by most scientists as his ideas about the Kennedy assassination are by most historians. But this was his home crowd, and they listened attentively as he recounted tales of the supposed UFO crash at Roswell, N.M., the odd crop circles and other stories ufologists say have never been explained.

After the video, Mr. Marrs "appeared" live via a cellphone held up to a microphone and took questions.

"There may be more breathtaking discoveries coming out in the coming months," he said.

The recent mainstream news about UFOs did not seem likely to produce a new revelation anytime soon.

Mr. Kucinich said he saw a UFO 25 years ago while visiting Shirley MacLaine's home in Washington. Mr. Richardson pledged to reopen the famous case of aliens reportedly crashing at Roswell in 1947.

The aviation experts calling for more investigation included a deputy chief of staff from the Belgian Air Force, the retired chief of Accidents and Investigations for the Federal Aviation Administration, a pilot with the Chilean Aviation Army, an Air France captain, a general in the Iranian Air Force and a representative from the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense.

The group spoke in support of a petition that said, in part: "We maintain that a restive, concerned public has the right to be informed of the facts about UFO incidents that are well-documented and involve multiple witnesses."

Not all the MUFON members claim to have seen UFOs. But some do have their stories.

Lucy Jane Mock, whose husband was in the Air Force, believes she has seen several unexplainable things in the sky.

"I hope you get to see one," she told a visitor to the meeting. "Thrilling!"

Labels: Jim Marrs, MUFON, North Texas, Terry Groff, UFO

     Harry Hughes, of Grays Road, Mynydd Isa, was returning some extra chairs to the shed after enjoying Christmas dinner with his family at about 7.20pm.

He said: "I looked up and saw what looked like five bright orangey-red fireballs flying through the sky, coming from the Bodfari direction.

"They were travelling quite fast, about 10-12 seconds apart and were revolving. They were travelling too fast to be aircraft and they were completely silent."

Harry called to his wife Pam to look at the strange objects before they disappeared and as she followed him out to the garden, they began to change direction.

Harry said: "They had been travelling west, but then they began to change direction one by one and started heading north. They were travelling at a high speed when they began to go north and were slanting upwards.

"My wife saw the last two and she looked at them through binoculars. The last one, which was bigger than all the rest, stopped momentarily then shot upwards, following the others north.

"The police helicopter travelled past our house about 10 minutes later. If it had been a bit earlier, then I'm sure police would have noticed these objects."

Harry's description of the mysterious fireballs matches that of Leigh and Lynn Williams, of Borras, Wrexham, who caught sight of several strange orange orbs in the sky in July, and he said he believed they were similar.

The couple also managed to take a video of the strange sighting, which was posted on the Evening Leader website and was the subject of much public debate.

Some posters, and UFO experts who spoke to the Leader, felt the incident merited further investigation, while others dismi
ssed the sighting as being the result of Chinese lanterns.

Speaking at the time, Lynn said: "There were seven lights flying fast over the house. Two of them were flying round each other. They were flying very close together, closer than planes. They were going so fast we couldn't focus on them.

Leigh added: "There was no noise whatsoever. Surely if they were aircraft there would have been lots of noise. My wife was panicking. We just want to know what it was. When they went over it happened so quick. They moved very smoothly and were glowing."

Harry said: "I have no idea what these lights were, but I am really glad that I have seen something like this and I am glad my wife is able to verify that they were totally unexplained. I'll be looking out for more over the next few days.

"I'm just sorry we weren't able to get a picture or a video of them, but there wasn't enough time."

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Labels: Air Force, Huge, James Stokes, UFO. Mystery. 11-5-1957

     UfocusNZ, featured by the Waikato Times in July, is an organisation which catalogues and researches UFO sightings.

Founder Suzanne Hansen of Tauranga and Hamilton air traffic controller Graeme Opie both spoke at the Future Perspectives conference, attended by about 200 delegates. They presented examples of their research including a new sighting at Waitetuna Valley, east of Raglan, on March 26.

A couple said they saw a UFO moving up a valley on their farm, at 8am on a fine morning. Interviewed separately, both described the craft as about 30m long, cylindrical with pointed ends, a bright metallic silver with evenly spaced oval shaped windows. The object had horizontal wings.

According to UfocusNZ's notes "they commented on how shiny it looked in the morning sun as it moved slowly and silently up the valley before disappearing behind hills".



The description was very similar to a report from three witnesses in Whitianga in 2003 and other sightings around the same time at Thames, Coroglen, Coromandel Peninsula and Mercury Bay.

Hansen says there were some brilliant speakers at the conference.

Most controversial was American podiatrist Roger Leir who claims to have removed alien implants from humans.

News media reports from Rotorua suggested some delegates were sceptical about the presentation, particularly a video which didn't show much detail.

Leir, who has written four books on alien implants and claims to have removed 13 extra-terrestrial implants from humans, refused to speak to the news media.

Hansen described the reporting as "negative" and says she warned Leir New Zealand audiences were very sceptical.

"He's a very genuine person and he's made a very big step to come out publicly."

Hansen says there is a New Zealand woman who believes she has a similar implant and may be flown to the US to see Leir.

Another speaker was Mary Rodwell, principal of the Australian Close Encounter Resource Network, who suggests humans are being genetically upgraded.

She has researched "star children" or "indigo kids" with extraordinary abilities. The suggestion is that aliens have manipulated their genes.

Another speaker, Nick Begich, talked of a joint US Navy and Airforce project in Alaska to manipulate weather patterns for military purposes.

Hansen says as a result of the conference, reputable international organisations will link in more with UfocusNZ.

The organisation now has more awareness overseas and an interview she recently gave for an international UFO research website received 480,000 internet hits.

Hansen says the organisation wants to visit the South Island to spread word about its work.

She says there is far less reporting of UFO research in the New Zealand news media than overseas.

"I don't know why we don't see more of this in the news media. This is something that concerns us all. If there's something in the sky, shouldn't we be looking at who it is?

"I think New Zealanders seem to feel quite threatened by it. But when you do a bit of digging you find an enormous amount of people who want to talk to you quietly about it." Geoff Taylor

Labels: Farm, UFO, Waikato

FW: On behalf of our regular readers Suzanne, as well as the newcomers, I'd like to thank you for participating in the latest edition to the "Knowledge is Power" web-site i.e., the "interview section."

That said, let's begin with the "basics"; give us some background on yourself . . . who is Suzanne Ramsey?

SR: Thank you, it is a pleasure to be able to participate with you and the "Knowledge is Power" Project.

Let's see, both sides of my family were from and I was born in Chicago, IL. Both of my parents having grown up in the city wanted what they felt was a quieter, better setting to raise a family so they headed West to South Dakota. My Dad was and still is a small town doctor who was dedicated to his patients.

I one time asked him how it was that he was able to listen every day to patients that never came by just to say "hi", but by the nature of the business, came by only when they had a problem. He said that he was always inspired by the International Research group and continuing education studies he did (often 8-10 times as much as was required) and that he always felt like there were so many answers out there to help people.

My younger sister and brother along w/ our parents spent Holidays (by train or plane)traveling back to Chicago. Summer vacations were spent in the family station wagon exploring National Parks, zoos, museums, historical locations and tours of business and industry production areas throughout the U.S. and Canada.

My Mom is a wonderful cook and being from a multi-cultural heritage, Polish, Greek, Irish, English and Cherokee, we enjoyed a wide palette of foods and cuisines.

Educational focus has been multi-media communications,public relations/promotions, business and languages (French, German, Japanese,and Sign Language).

As an adult I have lived throughout the United States. Worked in promotions and event planning for events from 10 - 35,000 people in 49 of the 50 states (often traveling 20 - 28 days per month). Written for newspapers, worked in television, owned a business for 10 years, was a district criminal court mediator, director of a community college School to Work Program and had an interview radio program. (Some occurred simultaneously).

After having lived a lengthy time in the Four Corners of New Mexico and being single to that point in my life, have married my best friend and love of my life Scott Ramsey and moved to North Carolina.

FW: How interesting; you certainly have a "diversified" background. Are you fluent in the a fore mentioned languages?

SR: At one time I was comfortable enough with the Sign Language, French and German that I regularly dreamt in them. But I don't really have an opportunity to speak or read them on a regular basis, so I am not currently fluent.

The Japanese language is very unique, like Russian or Navajo, there are stages to learning them especially if English is your foundation. I am a novice!

FW: I admire your tenacity in regards to learning not one, but several different languages; although I am "semi-fluent" in Spanish, I am interested in other languages, and how different cultures communicate with each other; learning another's language allows a better perspective of an individual, as well as a "people." Not to get ahead of myself here, but I'm curious to know if you made Scotty (Littleton) aware that you are familiar with Japanese (he having spent a lot of time there) at last years "Aztec UFO Symposium?"

Separately, in mentioning your mom and her "cooking skills," you also included Cherokee" in that sentence; is this to say that your mother cooked "Cherokee" dishes?

SR: Scotty and I briefly touched on several of our areas of similar interests, but it was not limited only to his study of the Japanese Culture.

He has really focused on portions of history that give us a PURE sense of the past and present. Scotty has seen the world through the eyes, walked the paths, and tasted the wine of several cultures.

I recall at first thinking, "hmmm what is the correlation between between Indo-European Mythology and Japanese Religion and the evolution of the Alien/UFO experience. Thankfully I thought it and didn't say it....Wow!

His research takes a look at who mankind is...a course of study and how everything and everyone we have come in contact with has effected us.

Overlooked by some folks I would guess, mythology or folklore is sometimes considered to be fable like or created to teach a lesson.

Or may have been diluted by time and poor memories.

Scotty Littleton is a fascinating man. Getting a glimpse into some of his research, soooo many things make sense...and yet, it opens up so many more questions...

Okay...what was the question??????????? Oh yes, my Mom has made one time or another made something from just about every culture known to man. (And probably made up a few of her own.)

FW: I certainly share your opinion of Scotty; he's a good friend and colleague as well! Also, the culinary talents of your mother is making me hungry!

Changing gears (again); with your diverse background, and employment history, which portion of that was accomplished in the Four Corners area?

SR: SIDEBAR:

Frank, thought a little info. might be helpful. Ended up in Aztec/Farmington due to the fact that as a child I remember my Mom reading a book about the Aztec Crash.

When it came time for them to look for a location that had a little tamer climate, they looked towards the SW. They ended up in Aztec around 1980 or 81. Although she was not familiar with nor was there much active research being done at the time, she always felt drawn to the area and had an interest in the Incident.

Wrote for several newspapers, owned a business, director of SJC Program, had a radio interview program.

FW: I'm looking forward to hearing about your time as a "radio host," the various guests you had on, particularly those involved in Ufology, as well as how you met your husband, Scott and finally your involvement with the "Aztec UFO Symposium"; that said, I think this is the opportune spot to conclude "part I" of our interview.

end part I

Labels: 1948, Aztec Incident, Crash, Farmington, Interview, New Mexico, Radio, scott Ramsey, Suzanne Ramsey, Symposium

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Labels: 10-12-1947, Flaming Mystery, Flying Saucer, Juarez, Maj. Gen John L. Homer, Samalayuca, Texas, UFO, V-2 Rocket

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Labels: 10-31-1953, Lambeth, Oscar Plewes, UFO, V-Shape

     Finding extra-solar planets and solar systems has become commonplace, but finding Earth-like planets that might support our version of humanity hasn't done so well. Of the 240-plus planets found outside our own system in the past twenty years, zero can be considered "Class M," as Mr. Spock would say. The solution to finding planets that could support Earth-like life forms? Ask what our friend ET would see if he happened to glimpse the Earth through telescopes of similar or slightly better design than ones currently fielded by earthlings.

A paper published by astronomers from the University of Florida, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Instituto de Astrofisca de Canarias in Spain gives us a little insight as to what we might need to look for in that single pixel the Earth would realize in a current-tech image. If observed over a period of months, the paper explains, enough data could be collected to infer the presence of not only water, but a dynamic atmosphere and stable land masses.

The basis of this is that though Earth's weather systems seem chaotic, over a period of time quantifiable observations can be made due to what we know about how weather systems normally work. For example, there is most often cloud cover over rain forests while arid areas, like deserts, are typically devoid thereof. If a pattern of brightness, probably created by liquids in one state or another, can be observed for long enough, earthlings or ET could very well establish the rotational period of an extra-solar Earth-like planet.

As most of the time, liquids are much more reflective than your average handful of dirt, rock or tree, it would be a more stable marker in such uses. The variable brightness in other areas would suggest cloud cover of some sort, and thus a working climatic system. Where you have a working climate and liquid water, it's quite possible for you to have life, or at least sustain it if none already exists.

To this effect, work is underway for a new 10-meter telescope in the Canary Islands as a joint effort between the University of Florida and he Instituto de Astrofisca de Canarias. The facility is scheduled to start operations in 2008. Eric Ford, UF assistant professor and one of the five co-authors of the paper says that zeroing in on Earth-like planets at even the closest stars would require a telescope at least twice the size of the Hubble Space Telescope.

We pause to consider the ramifications of such extra-solar planets being found. Even at our current level of technology, ion drives and all, the trip would probably take at least a lifetime to accomplish. This is probably a small price to pay for something like colonization. But examining other scenarios like the Doomed Earth Evacuation and the Earth First (we can strip mine the other planets later) corporate outlook are also interesting to theorize about.

Sci-fi has been doing it for decades, but breakthroughs in astronomy and space travel could make it more of a reality inside of this century. There is no doubt that we'll be touching down on Mars in the next 100 years, barring silliness like world-destroying wars. It's not hard to fathom sending out at least unmanned expeditions to newly discovered habitable planets.
Aliens Approaching Earth

Labels: Earth-Like, ET, Extra-Solar Planets, University of Florida

     In the eternity of space, the chance of a meeting between two free-floating objects would probably not produce odds you'd want to bet on.

But in the ever-more-crowded arena of low-Earth orbit, the area up to about 1,200 miles above the surface, those odds might be improving.

An unknown object apparently collided with a satellite with NASA Langley Research Center connections in November, sending several broken pieces flying into orbit.

The satellite was decommissioned in December 2005, but was one of NASA's largest and brightest in low-Earth orbit, and popular among amateur sky watchers. Called UARS, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, it was launched in 1991 and carried a NASA Langley instrument called HALOE that captured data about the chemistry of the atmosphere.

On Nov. 10, something apparently hit the school bus-sized orbiter. It could have been one of the many pieces in a growing field of "space junk." It could have been a meteoroid. Space debris often leaves pings and dents in satellites and even the space shuttle, and aging satellites decay over time. But a collision that actually creates new pieces of debris is more rare.

"When I heard this, I was shocked," said Jim Russell, a Hampton University professor who was the project lead for HALOE. "This is very unexpected. That's not normal decay."

Nicholas L. Johnson, chief scientist for NASA's Orbital Debris Program, said it remains unclear what happened to UARS. Four pieces bigger than 4 inches in diameter — roughly the size of a trackable piece of space junk — were sent into orbit, but it is unclear how large those pieces are.

A collision from a meteoroid or another piece of debris is the best hypothesis, Johnson said. The core of the spacecraft appears to still be intact.

"Unfortunately, we might not ever learn what caused the event," Johnson said.

Mark Matney, who works with Johnson in the Orbital Debris Program, said satellites with still-functioning pressurized systems sometimes eject new debris if a tank explodes. But UARS had no such systems, so a collision is the best explanation.

Only three known collisions between two satellites have ever occurred, Matney said. But these "anomalous" events, where it's not clear what one of the colliding objects was, do happen occasionally, he said.

"It's very hard to determine," what might have hit UARS, Matney said.

Decommissioned satellites typically continue to orbit for years before losing energy and falling toward Earth, usually to burn up. UARS was expected to fall out of orbit around 2011, Russell said.

UARS weighed about 13,000 pounds and measured 35 feet long and 15 feet wide, perhaps making it a better target than most.

The U.S. Space Surveillance Network, run by the Air Force, estimates there are about 10,000 objects in low-Earth orbit that are larger than 4 inches. The network's sensitive ground-based instruments can track those objects. The objects range from communication satellites to the International Space Station to junk — pieces of decaying satellites and the remnants of rocket boosters.

The field of debris has become an increasing concern as the number of pieces continues to increase. The debris field was also significantly expanded in January of this year, when China angered the U.S. and other nations by testing an anti-satellite missile. The Chinese destroyed their FY-1C satellite, an aging weather observer.

The missile test exploded the satellite into more than 1,000 pieces of debris, and U.S. intelligence and defense analysts almost immediately deduced what had happened, before the Chinese government admitted it a few weeks later.

The UARS collision created only a handful of new pieces of debris, but still, "You hope it's not anything sinister," said Ellis Remsberg, a Langley scientist who worked on HALOE with Russell.

Two of the "large" pieces that broke off UARS have apparently already burned up in the atmosphere, Johnson said. The other two pieces will likely do the same.

What remains of the craft's core will continue to orbit for some time — barring another collision.

"It was a bright object in the sky," said Russell. "You could see it over the Peninsula every 33 days."

Labels: Collision, Langley, NASA, Orbital Debris Program, Satellite, UARS, UFO

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Labels: 4-30-1950, Crash, Flying Saucer, Ham Radio, Hawaii, Henry Chrun, UFO

     SISTERS, Ore. (AP) — Could it have been Rudolph's nose, gleaming brightly? Or maybe just a meteorite in the making?

All across Central Oregon Monday night, there were reports of a fireball seen streaking to the ground.

Keith Clinton, who lives east of Bend, reported to KTVZ-TV that he saw a "large, bright green fireball descend out of the cloudless sky east of Bend."

Clinton said the fireball turned yellow and exploded about 10 degrees above the horizon, breaking into several pieces as it did.

Meanwhile, near Redmond, Spencer Krueger said his wife had seen a "fist-sized flaming orange ball with a tail."

And someone near Prineville called the Crook County Sheriff's Office to report a meteorite that had come crashing to the ground.

Authorities checked with the Redmond Airport to see if any small planes had gone off radar screens or gone missing, but nothing of the sort was reported.

A report of a possible meteor was also phoned into the Washoe County, Nev., sheriff's department Monday night. Sgt. Harry Dixon told the Reno Gazette-Journal that a caller reported seeing a bright red, blue and yellow light falling from the sky.

Dixon said off-duty search and rescue people saw the same thing and started to search. "They immediately said it was a meteor," he said.

Labels: Central Oregon, Fireball, Green, Meteor, UFO

Labels: North Pole, Santa, UFO

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Labels: 3-21-1966, Air Force, Ann Arbor, Flying Saucer, Frank Manner, Landing, Swamp Gas, UFO