UFO - The Blog

This is a test

2006-07-02T05:07:00.000-04:00

(The following is an e-mail from the past, composed on Saturday, July 2, 2005, and sent via FutureMe.org)

Dear FutureMe, This seems to have no link ability, Must handle like this: See

httP://cwbn.blogspot.com

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Witnesses stage reunion

2006-04-21T16:18:00.000-04:00

Witnesses of a 1966 sighting Australian at an Australian high school met on April 8. An estimated 30 witnesses of roughly 200 were expected to attend.

Details in this article. Australian UFO bloggers weigh in, too.

Mufon presents Hamilton allegations

2006-04-02T16:29:00.000-04:00

A MUFON chapter in California has sponsored a talk by Bill Hamilton in which he speaks of Area 51 research collaboration with aliens and hyperspace vortices. "Time travel is happening, not only now, but has happened in the past," Hamilton said.

Orange County sees UFO outburst

2006-04-02T16:25:00.000-04:00

Several Orange County, CA, residents have recently reported UFO sightings to the local sheriff's office.

The saucers are made in the garages of Gaylon Murphy and Steve Zingali, who get their kicks shocking people and hope to earn a few bucks hawking their remote-controlled saucers. After all, a few UFO sightings can only be good for business. "We fly them in formation. It's pretty funny," said Murphy, a cardiovascular surgeon. "People stop, people scream, one cabdriver ran his car up off the road."

This story does not say how the pranksters power their vehicles.

Witness sees lights near Wimbledon

2006-02-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

A witness identified as "Debbie from Mitcham" by the Wimbledon Guardian has reported seeing three lights near Wimbledon doing aerobatic stunts on Feb. 15. The paper reports that she made a phone-camera snapshot of the sighting.

West Kilbride as a UFO destination

2006-02-10T16:57:00.000-05:00

West Kilbride is coming to terms with its new reputation as Britain's UFO hotspot:

Last year reports released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed that West Kilbride had the highest number of recorded sightings of flying saucers in Britain during 2004. A total of 12 sightings were made in the village, which makes it Britain's closest rival to the UFO capital of Roswell, New Mexico. Reported sightings were consistent: yellow spheres, sometimes alone, sometimes flying in groups of up to 25, all hovering over the hills of West Kilbride.

Carter revisits his UFO sighting

2006-01-22T15:18:00.000-05:00

In an interview with GQ, former President Jimmy Carter has revisited his encounter with a UFO.

He recalled that it was a bright light that got "closer and closer to us," but then "changed color to blue," then to red, then back to white, and then "receded into the distance." However, he said, "I've never believed it came from Mars."

UFO sighting called "helium balloons"

2006-01-22T15:14:00.000-05:00

The report of an Australian woman who reported clumps of hovering gray and white aircraft in Warmabool on Monday, Jan. 16, is facing explanations that these were helium balloons. Details here.

South Cheshire reports another UFO

2006-01-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

Witnesses in South Cheshire have reported another UFO, this one a hovering "yellow flashing light". Details about the mid-January incident appear here.

October horse killings still baffle Colorado

2006-01-15T12:14:00.000-05:00

Results from autopsies of six horses and a burro killed mysteriously in Colorado in October have spurred memories of the wave of cattle mutilations of the 1970s. Veterenarian Dr. John Heikkila "concluded that an unusual toxin, delivered through a dart or pellet, caused the deaths." Altogether 16 horses were killed on Oct. 22; officials blame a lightning strike, according to this story.

Photographer discovers UFO in shoot

2006-01-15T12:09:00.000-05:00

The Manila Times reports that a man (not otherwise identified) photographing trash pickers near Zamboanga City in Lumbangan captured a UFO in one of the digital pictures. "He said the object resembled a dark metallic disc with what appeared to be a dome on its top and it emitted neither sounds nor smoke. It was unknown if there were other witnesses..." The photographer did not notice the craft until he downloaded his images to computer.

How to cruise Area 51

2006-01-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

This travel feature from the Boston Herald tells tourists how to cruise Area 51 in Nevada. The writer reports:

It was easy to spot Area 51. A bright light flooded the sky, blanking out the stars, illuminating the right side of my car and spooking a jackrabbit to run in front of it. I pulled over, climbed out of the car and watched as a few seconds later a bright orange glow emanated from ground silhouetting the mountain ridge, and a very intense whitish-yellow light hung in the sky and then slowly descended behind the ridge.

The event took me a little by surprise. I figured I was witnessing a parachute flare, but what caused the initial flash and orange glow remains a mystery to me.

Illinois UFO sightings compiled

2006-01-15T11:58:00.000-05:00

Phillip Dean, an Indiana UFO researcher, has compiled and released UFO reports from neighboring Illinois in magazine format. Dean researches cases through mail correspondence. Some of his stories are recapped in this news feature.

Explosions observed on moon

2006-01-03T22:57:00.000-05:00

A scientist testing a new telescope has videotaped explosions on the moon, which are "rare," this BBC story reports. The scientist attributes them to meteor impacts.

"People just do not look at the Moon anymore," he noted.

Dr Suggs used commercial software to study the video he took, and spotted a very bright flash. The burst of light diminished gradually over the course of five video frames, each 1/30th of a second in duration.

Woman captures UFO on video

2005-12-18T19:15:00.000-05:00

An woman residing in Crosland Moor, England, filmed a UFO last week and has asked for public help identifying the object: "Teresa Millward, 28, of Crosland Moor, said: 'It was very strange and slow-moving. It was shaped a bit like a triangle.' "

This local story contains a video link.

Kecksburg PA marks anniversary of sighting

2005-12-18T19:02:00.000-05:00

Locals remember the "acorn" over Kecksburg in 1965.

According to this story, "hundreds" converged from as far away as Boston to hear speakers, including witness Bill Weaver, at the local fire hall.

(Weaver, photo above at left, stands next to a replica of the UFO. Photo from the Daily Courier.)

Scrapyard's "space shuttle" goes missing

2005-12-18T18:57:00.000-05:00

Scrapman Pete Bielecki's 400-lb space shuttle has been stolen for a second, probably final, time.

Reporter to "jumpstart" lawsuit vs. NASA

2005-12-18T18:40:00.000-05:00

Leslie Kean (right), a reporter associated with the Sci Fi cable channel, is filing new papers to "jumpstart" the stalled process of obtaining information from NASA related to a 1965 incident in Pennsylvania, local sources report.

Kean wants files on what happened December 9 1965, in the unincorporated hamlet of Kecksburg, about 48km southeast of Pittsburgh.

Witnesses described a "fireball" in the evening sky, and a metallic, acorn-shaped object about 4-4.5m high and 2-4m in diameter that landed gently in the woods, according to media accounts at the time.

Data was sought two years ago under the Freedom of Information Act but has produced nothing so far.

NASA is the object of sought information, in part, because it examined debris associated with the sighting.

Chinese get UFO funding for center

2005-12-18T18:30:00.000-05:00

Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, has received the equivalent of $20 million (USD) to set up a research center to study a series of 1994 incidents that some believe were caused by UFO activity.

Local authorities, not otherwise identified, made the announcement, China Daily reports.

The donor was not identified either, except as a "Taiwan-based company."

UFO over Shanghai

2005-12-02T16:01:00.000-05:00

The Shanghai Daily reports that a UFO was spotted over the city Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 30. Citing a number of witnesses, the story said that the object appeared "cubic," "oblong," "oval," and "dish-like."

New UFO report near Bracknell, UK

2005-10-23T13:36:00.000-04:00

The IC Berkshire website has reported another UFO sighting in the Bracknell area earlier this month:

A NOISY UFO woke Birch Hill residents in the early hours of Monday morning when it zoomed over the sleeping suburb.

The craft spent half-an-hour hovering above houses in Jevington before zipping towards South Hill Park, according to witnesses.

Details include "It looked like a pile of scaffolding with lights, red, blue and orange ones."

The website tallied Bracknell News sighting stories this summer: "at the Coppid Beech Hotel (July 7), Birch Hill (July 14), Crown Wood (July 19), Binfield and College Town (July 28) and another in Binfield (August 30)."

Alien believers gather in Peru

2005-10-14T18:33:00.000-04:00

UFOlogists believeing in alien visitation gathered in Lima, Peru, last week for an international conclave on extraterrestrials. "This ... congress has been organized by the Alfa y Omega group, which believes that a fleet of UFOs will fly to Earth at the end of the world and that Jesus Christ could use one for his second coming," according to a feature story on MSNBC's website.

Australian academic studies 1966 event

2005-10-14T18:30:00.000-04:00

Shane Ryan, an English lecturer with the University of Canberra has been collecting witness stories about the Westall object observations of 1966, according to a feature article in The Age.

Mr Ryan has interviewed about 30 witnesses, mostly former staff and students from the Westall secondary and primary schools. He has tried obtaining police and RAAF reports, but so far with little luck. The story was covered then by Channel Nine, The Age and local newspapers.

Ryan plans a book to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the sighting.

The object was in view for up to 20 minutes, and many saw it descend. Most agree it landed behind pine trees at the Grange Reserve. Dozens of students ran across what was then an open paddock to the reserve to investigate, but the object had lifted off and vanished.

UK residents report light to paper

2005-10-03T18:20:00.000-04:00

UK residents of Hainault reported lights in the sky to their local newspaper The Recorder late last month. "Residents and partygoers in Hainault were mesmerised by the unexplained lights that emerged as clear bright circles." Story summary here.

Filmmaker revisits Phoenix, 1997

2005-10-03T18:13:00.000-04:00

Film director Steve Lantz (right) is making waves with his documentary about UFO sightings over Phoenix in 1997:

The movie played at the New York International Film and Video Festival where Steve was named Best Director and is also an official selection of the upcoming Los Angeles International Film and Video Festival.

The film was self-financed:

What really convinced Lantz about the Phoenix Lights, however, was meeting Dr. Lynne Kitei. She saw the lights, then photographed and videotaped them. "She got a real close look at them and she said even after they disappeared she still had a sense that there was something there, watching."

Lantz and Kitei decided this was a story that, although covered extensively by the media, had only been explored in a superficial way. They wanted the opportunity to delve deeper into the mystery. That was the genesis of their documentary film "The
Phoenix Lights." Kitei wrote the script and interviewed the witnesses, while, working with practically no budget, Lantz shot the movie, edited it, did the special effects work, and even composed and played the music. "She and I paid for this out of our pockets because we felt it was just too important," said Lantz.

Aliens are coming, mayor and entertainer agree

2005-10-03T18:04:00.000-04:00

UK singer Robbie Williams says that the increased intensity of his UFO-related dreams indicates that an alien encounter is coming: "I think they are definitely on there way, seriously. Mark my words."

In a related development, the hamlet of Lajas, Puerto Rico, is building a UFO landing space:

Lajas Mayor Marcos Irizarry's support for the idea has provoked outrage among islanders who complained it would be a waste of money at a time when the government is encouraging thousands of employees to shorten their work week to cope with a staggering fiscal deficit.

Floridians report fireball

2005-09-21T15:52:00.000-04:00

Local television on Florida's "space coast" reports that "Dozens of people from Jacksonville to Ft. Pierce flooded the U.S. Coast Guard late Tuesday with calls about a mysterious ball of fire seen flying in the sky..."

Incidents were reported last night after 7:00 PM EST. "In fact, the Coast Guard station in Port Canaveral got more than two dozen reports of people seeing a bright light in the sky over the ocean."

This additional story speculates about space debris falling to earth.

Here is a video report (the link did not work for me, however).

Shropshire UFO called "meteor"

2005-09-18T13:38:00.000-04:00

A UFO reporter in Shropshire, England, now says that he believes what he witnessed and reported to have been a meteor. According to the Shropshire Star,

He [Steve Powell, 49] described the object as being a big round orange ball, about the size of a full moon in the sky. After Steve and his wife Cynthia watched the object for nearly a minute it dimmed and eventually faded away. Steve is now wondering why no one else witnessed the phenomenon, which he believes was a meteor crashing to earth.

UK UFO sky watch organized for October

2005-09-18T13:34:00.000-04:00

Leeds Today reports that "The first British UFO hunters' skywatch will take place late in the evening of Saturday October 1." The news service reports that it is being organized to coincide with the Great British UFO Show at Headingley Stadium. Organizer Russell Kellett says:

You do not have to leave your home to take part, you can do so from your own back garden, in a park or out on the moors. It's entirely up to each individual and you do not even have to be a member of the British UFO hunters to take part in the skywatch. But we want anybody who sees anything to report their sightings.

Sightings can be emailed to Russell Kellett at www.ufo-paranormal.co.uk or called in to 01723 514700.

Canadian minister explains UFO beliefs

2005-09-14T17:25:00.000-04:00

Former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer, slated to speak to a UFO conference in Toronto, has gone on the record with some of his beliefs and conclusions. According to a new article on the CP wire, Hellyer has come to his UFO beliefs through reading, not through service in the national government.

"I believe that UFOs are real," he said in a recent interview. "I'll talk about that a little bit and a bit about the fantastic coverup of the United States government and also a little bit of the fallout from the wreckage, by that I mean the material discoveries we have made and how they've been applied to our technology."

UFO sighting in Louth, UK

2005-09-14T17:20:00.000-04:00

Louth Today reports that UFOs have been spotted and reported over this seaside town on Sunday and two weeks previously:

The balls of multi-coloured light were seen by residents in St Bernard's Avenue around 10pm last Sunday.Two weeks ago three similar sightings off the coast of Trusthorpe were explained as being made by afterburners from military aircraft on exercise.But RAF bosses said this time there had been no fighter jets around the Louth area at that time last Sunday. [...] Steve Whittleton, 34, from St Bernard's Avenue, said: "I saw two UFOs - I'm certain of that. "There were two massive orange balls right above me, moving slowly. "I wanted to rub my eyes but I did not want to miss them. I told my wife, but she thought I was bonkers but I know what I saw."

UFO meeting gathers in China

2005-09-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

China's People's Daily notes that the total of ufologists "now exceeds half of the world's total number of intellectuals."

The remark appeared in this article, noting the 2005 World UFO conference gathering in Dalien. Explaining ufologists to its readers, the Daily says, "Most of them believed that extraterrestrials do exist and that they are more intelligent than us human beings."

There were no specific conference stories or events reported in the article.

NH paper remembers "incident at Exeter"

2005-09-12T12:30:00.000-04:00

New Hampshire's Portsmouth Herald remembers the "incident at Exeter" in 1965:

"There was this huge, dark object as big as that barn over there with red flashing lights on it," Bertrand later told an investigator. "It barely cleared that tree right there, and it was moving back and forth. … It seemed to tilt and come right at us. Norman told me later that I was yelling, ‘I’ll shoot it! I’ll shoot it!’ I did drop on one knee and drew my service revolver, but I didn’t shoot."

The piece appears to be a 40-year anniversary lookback with no new reporting.

Canadian defense minister to address UFO meeting

2005-09-07T12:30:00.000-04:00

Paul Hellyer, a former Canadian defense minister, will address the Exopolitics Toronto Symposium on UFO Disclosure and Planetary Directions at the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall Sunday Sept. 25.

Hellyer is slated to discuss the Canadian government's interest in these phenomena after WWII.

Wakamaru robot debuts in Sept.

2005-08-29T14:06:00.000-04:00

Mitsubishi will begin taking orders for its Wakamaru robot on Sept. 16, the company has announced.

"This is the opening of an era in which human beings and robots can coexist," it said. Mitsubishi-Heavy said it will start taking orders for "Wakamaru" from Sept. 16, and plans to sell 100 of the one meter- (3.3 feet-) tall, 30 kilogram (66 pound) robots at about 1.58 million yen (US$14,300; euro11,619) for residents in central Tokyo.

According to this report, "Wakamaru is a "child-shaped humanoid robot that can recognize about 10,000 words and work as a house sitter ..."

The "Wakamaru" robot can recognize the faces of up to 10 people and talk to them. When linked to mobile phones, it can also work as a monitor to check situations at home, such as a burglary or someone falling ill.

Man claims to have found UFO freeway

2005-08-29T13:45:00.000-04:00

Ted Anderson, a Washington state resident, says he has identified a "UFO freeway" in then skies near the Big Dipper constellation, about 50 miles into space. According to this news report, "You can see ... ships any night of the week with your own eyes." Anderson says

"if you get out of the city and gaze up south of the Big Dipper, you can see the ahips for yourself with the naked eye. "These red ships, they're there constantly."

Anderson invites email contact, according to the report. "He says he'll email you all the information if you write to him at fantasiapro@fidalgo.net."

(Graphic by Komo 1000 News.)

Britons believe in aliens

2005-08-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

A new study released by the Science Museum in London shows that 8 in 10 Britons believe in aliens and that one in 15 has seen a UFO. The study ties in with an Alien Life exhibition; the museum is also staging a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Exhibition.

Coloradians abduct alien

2005-08-29T13:36:00.000-04:00

An metal art alien has been abducted from a sign in Hooper, CO. The UFO Watchtower organization is offering a reward.

SpaceDev sees growing revenues

2005-08-26T11:36:00.000-04:00

The private space development company Spacedev says it has reported revenue growth for the last 10 consecutove quarters. In this new interview, founder Jim Benson says, "We believe pretty strongly that if we want to go to space to stay, space has to pay. That's the bottom line."

A door suitable for spacecraft

2005-08-26T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Tanaka company of Japan has invented a door that goes one better than the portals on Star Trek: it opens a silhouette for you to walk through.

The Auto Door consists of individual slats that slide open and closed from the side of the door. Each slat is half the width of the door; each slat has a sensor. If you stand in front of the door, the sensors determine how much of the door needs to open to allow you to enter. [This] minimizes the amount of heating or air conditioning let out of a building, as well as minimizing the entry of pollen or other pollutants from the outside.

Texan catches chupacabra?

2005-08-26T11:19:00.000-04:00

A Texas farmer has caught something that was terrorizing his chickens and has sent the creature off for examination:

What he found in his trap was a mix between a hairless dog, a rat and a kangaroo. The mystery animal has been sent to Texas Parks and Wildlife in hopes of determining what it is.

The article linked above refers to the find as a chupacabra, an unknown animal occasionally linked to UFOs.

(Via Fortean Times.)

False memories, UFOs and police work

2005-08-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

Live Science has an interesting article on the phenomena of false confessions made to police.

Lack of sleep and isolation contribute to false confessions, the scientists say in the new study, announced today. A suspect's mental status and lack of education play roles. [...] A University of Michigan study last year reached the same conclusion in analyzing 328 cases since 1989 in which DNA exoneration defendants convicted of rape, murder and other serious crimes.

The piece has implications for UFO abduction memories. Consider this finding: some "people under interrogation ... become convinced they did it [the crime]."

Fawcett, Davenport speak at festival

2005-08-24T14:11:00.000-04:00

George D. Fawcett (right) and Peter Davenport were slated to speak at the Little Green Men Festival in Kentucky this weekend. According to this article,

The festival is based on a August 21, 1955 incident involving an eleven member farm family that encountered a UFO landing and its six to eight “Little Green Men”. The “green” label was actually given by the media, not the family.

Fawcett ... will present a slide show of dozens of key cases he has investigated worldwide. He will also have numerous UFO exhibits and will participate in autograph sessions of his latest book, titled, What We Have Learned from UFO Repetitions and Human Reactions to UFOs and UFOnauts Worldwide. Both books were published in 2005.

Peter Davenport, who runs the National UFO Reporting Center, notes in this story, "I have not just a mountain of data, perhaps a mountain range of data. " Davenport was slated to review some of his more fascinating cases with conference attendees.

NM couple report "rotating lights"

2005-08-24T14:01:00.000-04:00

A couple from Crownpoint, NM, reported UFO sightings last week for two days in a row, according to this news story in the Gallup Independent. Stephanie Jeff, who spotted the anomalies, called her brother who confirmed seeing them also.

"It wasn't a star, because it just came right out of the sky. It rotated, and was very bright when it was pointed at us," Jeff said. "And we know what an airplane looks like, we know the difference between the lights on a plane."

NASA wants flying cars

2005-08-19T13:31:00.000-04:00

NASA is funding is a contest called the "Personal Air Vehicle Challenge," one in which the winner will take a $150,000 prize for developing

a flying car with two to six seats that has a 300-mile range and decent fuel economy.

The announcement comes on the eve of the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture Cup Race in Ohio, a contest that attracts scores of experimental home-made aircraft every year.

Activist goads NASA towards Mars

2005-08-19T13:15:00.000-04:00

Martian activist Robert Zubrin (right) says time's a-wasting if NASA wants to land men on Mars.

"This thing has got to get underway," Zubrin said while pointing out that the next U.S. President will not have the same ownership of the space exploration initiative given the White House leadership change in January 2009. "If we don't do that, this program stands every possibility of being cancelled circa 2009," Zubrin warned.

Meanwhile, a NASA official says that the agency

will soon publicly reveal its "Apollo-like" space exploration architecture. It will be derived from using space shuttle hardware, sans the orbiter – the crew-carrying space plane. Part of the plan ... is developing a 100 metric ton "Big Daddy" super-lift booster. "That development won't start until after 2010."

One major scheduling issue may be plotting the longer space missions against the solar storm cycles, as space radiation constitutes a major threat to the lives of spacemen.

Cumbrian plans local book on UFOs

2005-08-18T13:31:00.000-04:00

The co-ordinator for British UFO Hunters is writing a book about Cumbria sightings to try to arouse some local sky watching, this news story reports. Chris Parr says his book will also expose "the bizarre adventures of British UFOlogists," the report notes.

The point of it all

2005-08-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

A Newhouse News Service feature dated yesterday recall the days "When the USAF Was in the UFO Business."

The wistful writer wonders about the first two decades of the UFO phenomenon "What was it, really? We are left to wonder."

UK MoD issues new denials

2005-08-16T10:57:00.000-04:00

In an article recapping year one of the Freedom of Information Act, the Scotsman happens to ask Britain's Ministry of Defense about UFOs:

"The Ministry of Defence does not have any expertise or role in respect of 'UFO/ flying saucer' matters or to the question of the existence or otherwise of extraterrestrial life forms, about which it remains totally open-minded," said its published reply.

At least one British subject has used the act to "request ... [a] Royal Navy recipe for sauteed kidneys and curried meatballs." The story did not say whether this particular request received a published reply.

Another debunker dies

2005-08-16T10:39:00.000-04:00

Robert Baker, a psychologist who argued that UFO sightings were a psychological phenomenon, has died at 84.

Baker was foremost a skeptic, believing that one could not assume from the start that unusual phenomena - ghosts, UFO abductions, lake monsters, remembrances of past lives - were real. In books and scholarly articles, he argued that they could be explained as mental states, that abductions by aliens, for example, were hallucinations, or "waking dreams," that occur in the twilight zone between fully awake and fully asleep.

UFO spotted over Manitoba

2005-08-12T10:32:00.000-04:00

CTV reports that "southern Manitobans witnessed a strange sight in the sky over the weekend.

Three residents of Piney claim they saw a shiny object three times the size of a jetliner, with a pointed end and no wings." A UFO-watch group leader, Chris Rutkowski (right), shared details with Canada AM. "It was silvery, tubular-shaped, with some odd protrusions on either side, and it flew overhead very silently."

The object was flying low and was observed in the middle of the day, Rutkowski said.
(Photo via CTV)

Yorkshire has a "Filey triangle"

2005-08-12T10:29:00.000-04:00

"Legions of UFO enthusiasts from across the UK have descended on what has become the nation's prime location to witness strange and other-worldly shapes in the skies between Scarborough and Filey," according to this new story in Britain's Yorkshire Poat. "They recorded at least 50 sightings of unidentified flying objects last year between the two seaside resorts, which now appear to have an increasing allure for extra-terrestrial visitors," the paper says.

He's serious about UFO back cure

2005-08-12T10:26:00.000-04:00

A Mr. terry Walters, 62, has told a Berkshire (UK) newspaper that his back was operated on after a UFO visit and that no hospital will take the credit for this mysterious surgery.

He faced a trip to the doctors and possible confinement to a wheelchair. But as he laid in bed that night, someone entered his room and told him to follow them. When he awoke his back had been cured, so he went to Heatherwood Hospital to ask for the surgeon who operated on him. But staff denied any knowledge of it. Further tests showed he had undergone then-impossible back surgery.

Details here.

Make your own ball lightning?

2005-08-12T10:24:00.000-04:00

This newspaper answer man tells readers how to make their own ball lightning in a microwave oven. He urges caution, however.

Indiana man makes Raelian film

2005-08-12T10:22:00.000-04:00

A young Indiana filmmaker is producing a documentary about the Raelians. Abdullah Hashem "hopes to discredit the group and ultimately cause it to disband," according to this story.

UFO debunker Klass dies

2005-08-12T10:20:00.000-04:00

Aviation journalist and UFO debunker Philip J. Klass has died at age 85.

Canadian sightings down, buff says

2005-08-10T11:22:00.000-04:00

A Winnipeg-based UFO watcher, Chris Rutkowski, says sightings are down across Canada, according to this story appearing today on Canada.com.

But he says three people in southeast Manitoba reported seeing a very large cylindrical object with no wings and a somewhat pointed end on Sunday afternoon. Rutkowski says there was also a report last Friday of a mysterious light over Lake Winnipeg.

This CP agency story originally appeared on August 2nd - in that version, Rutkowski said sightings had dropped since April after a lot of reports in the first part of the year.

Rendlesham Forest to get UFO trail

2005-08-10T11:16:00.000-04:00

BBC news reports that "The Forestry Commission and Friends of the Sandlings Forest trail is [constructing a trail] in Rendlesham Forest where there was a famous reported UFO sighting." Starting August 18,

To mark the opening, the Forestry Commission is staging two guided walks which will be led by a retired forester, Vince Thirkettle. He will retell the intriguing tale of the supposed UFOs on the trek round and even visit where the sightings took place.

(Photo via BBC.)

Mall chief claims UFO visit

2005-08-10T11:12:00.000-04:00

The Paisley Daily Express (UK), in a story datelined yesterday, reports that Paisley mall manager Andrew MacKinnon is blaming strange shopping center roof markings on visiting UFOs. A

bizarre circle, measuring six metres across, appeared on the flat roof area of The Paisley Centre following a series of strange goings-on at the popular mall. [...] He said: “This is not a joke. I believe it was a UFO. I believe aliens are trying to get in contact with us.”

Space Adventures to handle moon trips

2005-08-10T10:59:00.000-04:00

Russia recently declared its intention to orbit tourists around the moon; now its long-time US marketing partner, Space Adventures, will be providing the customers according to an announcement to be released sometime today.

Responding to "comfort" concerns on the $100 million flight, Space Adventures noted that the Soyuz orbiting craft has the interior room of an SUV.

Faking photos

2005-08-09T16:47:00.000-04:00

Fortean Times has run an article on faking UFO photos modeling some Billy Meier snaps. The results are interesting:

My whole interest in recreating these pictures is not to launch any kind of attack on Meier's credibility, rather to try to get to the bottom of the serious question of why a group of professional sceptics, equipped with considerable financial and technical resources, have seemingly been unable to knock out a couple of half-way decent flying saucers – which, to my mind, is just not that hard to do.

(Faked photo by Alan Friswell. Registration required to view article.)

Triangles - plans point to government projects?

2005-08-09T16:41:00.000-04:00

Rich Reynolds has linked to a paper that "provides the design of triangular craft for use in military experiments." He adds, "We’ll also be providing documentation, upcoming, of experiments that took place and are taking place which will take triangular sightings out of the UFO panoply."

Korean photos surface

2005-08-09T16:27:00.000-04:00

The Korean UFO photos alluded to in an earlier posting on this blog have surfaced care at UFODimensionsNews. They are ambiguous, unfortunately. (Hat tip to Fortean Times.)

Private company tested spaceship today

2005-08-09T14:58:00.000-04:00

The firm Transformational Space ("t/Space") today tested its crew transfer vehicle over the Pacific Ocean and Physorg.com carries a Business Wire press release declaring the tests a success.

Today's test focused on a proposed Crew Transfer Vehicle (CXV) to ferry astronauts to the Space Station at lower cost and risk than the Space Shuttle. [...] NASA plans a competition this fall to select a new vehicle to carry crew to the Space Station. t/Space will offer its four-person CXV. NASA also is moving forward with a separate effort to create a new Crew Exploration Vehicle for Moon and Mars Exploration.

The crew transfer vehicle is a bomb- or missile-shaped vehicle that is launched from high altitudes by a specially designed space plane (photo, right).

North Jersey UFO sightings remembered

2005-08-08T17:35:00.000-04:00

UFO sightings in and around Bergen County, N.J. are recapped in this long article datelined today on JerseyCityReporter.com following an A&E special on the phenomena. North Bergen's police chief notes,

No one has ever received a call reporting a UFO to the Police Department. It is a mind boggling number to think so many have been reported them here. But as far as I know, I don't remember anyone calling the police with these cases.

British UFOligist may auction video footage

2005-08-08T17:29:00.000-04:00

British UFOligist Russell Kellett says he is thinking of auctioning on eBay his "huge video collection of UFO sightings." Leeds Today reports "Anyone who wishes to make an early bid can contact him on 01723 514700."Kellett is a member of the the British UFO Hunters group.

He most recently obtained footage showing something changing from a "castle into tank and then a shamrock and finally into a saucer over two minutes."

B.U.H. on the ropes?

2005-08-08T17:17:00.000-04:00

In a short article datelined today, Britain's North-West Evening Mail reports Chris Parr saying that his group, British UFO Hunters, may have to close its doors due to a lack of sightings.

However, in an entry on its website, apparently dated January 2005, the group had called for an emergency meeting "owing to the high volume of reported UFO sightings reported in the town of Filey, North Yorkshire."

MUFON leader sees "red flag" in Exeter

2005-08-08T17:11:00.000-04:00

The head of the local MUFON chapter says that the Exter (NH) Navy retiree at the center of the recent UFO observation has denied him permission to visit for an "on-site investigation."

"That to me raises a red flag," said Geremia, who, along with Kathleen Marden of Stratham, appeared on an Aug. 1 History Channel show on UFO investigation. Marden is the N.H. director of field investigator training for the Mutual UFO Network in New Hampshire.

Cases from 1965 resurface

2005-08-04T12:22:00.000-04:00

Two UFO reports from 1965 have resurfaced in this week's media.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reviews one of its reporters stories from that year, an incident involving "a spectacular, middle-of-the night encounter with an unidentified flying object while driving north on K-15 highway, about 25 miles south of Abilene." The incident left the reporter a believer. (Link requires registration.)

Meanwhile, in Phenomena magazine, UFO author Nick Redfern interviews the witness of a 1965 flying triangles incident. (Item via Kyle King.)

NASA releases moon, Mars plans

2005-08-03T12:11:00.000-04:00

NASA has released some information about its plans for returning astronauts to space (instead of low orbit) over this and the next decade, with a moon landing projected for 2018.

This news story by the Orlando Sentinel contains an overview of the project. It is based on a NASA document called the "Exploration Systems Architecture Study" which has not yet been released.

Meanwhile, a new article in Astrobiology wonders if the recent water discovery opens up the possibility of terraforming Mars.

"Officials" deny space weapon deployment

2005-08-03T11:58:00.000-04:00

Voice of America reports:

U.S. officials say they are a long way from developing any such [space] weapon, and efforts in other countries even to develop an anti-satellite weapon have failed.

VOA quotes vice commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command, Lieutenant General Daniel Leaf, as saying that he prefers "temporary" and "reversible" means of neutralizing enemy satellites to any sort of orbiting weapons platform.

July sightings reported in Korea

2005-08-03T11:50:00.000-04:00

A number of UFO sightings by South Korean tourists in North Korea have surfaced in today's Korea Herald. These are attributed to Lee Man-wook; the wife of Yoon Tae-woong; Choi Jong-yeon; and an unidetified Chinese man mentioned in a Yonhap News story.

Some photos are posted to this site, although we have been unable to locate them.

Informant experiences MIB effects

2005-08-02T18:07:00.000-04:00

A terror informant who saw men handling what looked like shoulder-fired missiles outside of Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma has experienced Men In Black after effects, according to the Northeast Intelligence Network website.

In a piece datelined August 2nd (no permalink available) "The Incident Near Tinker Air Force Base – My Conversation With The Eyewitness," Network Director Douglas Hagmann notes that

After providing all the facts to the proper authorities, the federal authorities began to interview him [the witness]. Then the interviews graduated to interrogations, and from there, outright harassment. Not only harassment of him, but of his family, friends and business associates. The federal authorities told him that he ”did not see what he witnessed”

The website links to a report of the incident here.

Blog: Ufology is off-track

2005-08-02T14:51:00.000-04:00

Christopher Jay/Rich Reynolds ask "Can saner heads prevail, and get the logical back in ufological? [...] Let’s hope that the “new beginning” (for ufology) will start pretty soon."

Honda cloning androids

2005-08-02T12:29:00.000-04:00

It appears that a second Honda android has been placed on world tour following the permanent resettlement of Asimo in Disneyland in June 2005. "Asimo" (same name) has been slated to visit Vietnam this month, Honda not distinguishing between these two machines.

Asimo made its appearance at the NY Stock Exchange in 2002 and was upgraded in a new product release in 2004. Asimo starred in some plays, viewable here, during RoboDex 2003.

Honda's focus in developing this machine, currently boasting one hour of run time, seems to be on naturalizing machine motion.

New report backs Navy man's UFO claim

2005-08-02T12:06:00.000-04:00

A new statement by a witness in East Kingston, near Exeter, NH, backs a retired Navy man's claim that he saw a cigar-shaped UFO. A witness identified by papers as "Lucienne" - a homemaker - reported

about noon on Monday, July 25. Lucienne said she was standing in a meadow behind her house on North Road when she saw the long object in the sky. She described it as a pill shape, because it had rounded ends and was longer than it was wide. Dark spots lined the object, which she said appeared to be windows.

Lucienne said the incident lasted about 30 seconds, and she didn’t have time to run into her house to get binoculars. When she saw the object she yelled for her husband, but he was too far away to hear.

(Yesterday's story here.)

(Image sketched from earlier sighting by Angela Gram.)

Canadian UFO sightings are down

2005-08-02T12:03:00.000-04:00

This news radio web site says that a survey of Canadian UFO cases shows

During the first half of 2005, only 274 UFO sightings have been filed through public, private or official agencies in Canada, compared with 431 during the same period in 2004.

Exeter man faces skeptics alone

2005-08-01T11:44:00.000-04:00

The unidentified Navy veteran "David," who recently reported seeing a UFO over Exeter, NH, remains the sole witness of this UFO event, according to a new story in the Seacoast papers.

He reported what he saw to Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center in Seattle. Davenport took his account very seriously because of David’s military history and the details of his account.

Davenport said he was a little disappointed no others have come forward with similar accounts since the object was so large. He was also concerned because David could not be contacted for days afterward. He, and other UFO experts, began to wonder if this was a hoax.

Additional sighting details and drawings appear here.

(An artist's rendering of the reported UFO sighting in Exeter, above right. Image courtesy of Angela Gram.)

Dugway in land dispute

2005-08-01T11:38:00.000-04:00

Dugway Proving Grounds, a Utah military facility which has attracted UFO watchers for some time, is at the center of a landholdings dispute within the federal government. According to the Deseret News, the Army Audit Agency has found wide discrepancies between base sizes and base land claims.

... aides to Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, previously said the Army had told the congressman, who is looking at legislation to expand the base, that officials were worried about people [UFO buffs] watching the base from nearby mountains.

(Deseret Morning News graphic)

"Orange ball" over Australian desert

2005-08-01T11:34:00.000-04:00

From Australia in a story datelined today:

The Northern Territory News understands a group of people who live at Ali Curung, an Aboriginal community not far from well-known UFO haunt Wycliffe Well, had seen the strange phenomenon from their front porch at about 4am on Saturday. Several of the group watched as a huge orange ball hovered for an estimated 20 minutes before being chased by what appeared to be four fighter aircraft.

Mantell remembered

2005-08-01T11:33:00.000-04:00

Thomas F. Mantell Jr., the combat veteran who died chasing a UFO, is remembered by the Associated Press in this new article.

Museum takes a tour

2005-08-01T11:18:00.000-04:00

Bob White, proprietor of the Museum of the Unexplained in Reeds Spring, AR, has taken his holdings on the road in a travelling show. The collection features

an odd chunk of metal he says came from a brilliantly glowing, astonishingly fast "unidentified flying object." [...] White has submitted the strange souvenir for analysis at eight laboratories, and he's passed two lie-detector tests.

Meanwhile, White is featured in an upcoming History Channel program "The UFO Files."

New crop circle spotted

2005-07-28T13:49:00.000-04:00

Sooner or later, it had to happen. You have too much time on your hands, you live in the countryside, and you feel creative.

Hat tip to Lucy Pringle.

New UFO sighting reports from Bracknell UK

2005-07-28T11:20:00.000-04:00

The IC Berkshire website today contains two new accounts of recent UFO sightings in and around Bracknell; these accounts seem to be derived from calls to the affiliated newspapers' UFO hotline.

Space rescue mooted by NASA

2005-07-27T15:01:00.000-04:00

NASA is exploring space rescue contingencies for the crew of the damaged Shuttle, according to the French news agency AFP. One contingency involves the crew transferring to the International Space Station to await another shuttle from earth.

Cloud discussions continue in Texas

2005-07-27T14:56:00.000-04:00

Yet another meteorologist has weighed in with an explanation for the strange cloud and light phenomenon observed over Fort Worth (recapped here last week).

Les Cowley, of Atmospheric Optics, identified the phenomenon that appeared last Thursday. "The colors are fragments of an ice halo called a circumhorizon arc," Cowley wrote.

Details here.

Russians to sell moon orbit to tourists

2005-07-27T14:12:00.000-04:00

Russia has leaked word of a new space tourism program that will let paying visitors orbit the moon after a trip to the International Space Station, the Guardian reports. Fee: $100 million.

(Hat tip to Slashdot.)

Tampa TV profiles local abductees

2005-07-27T11:46:00.000-04:00

Tampa's television's Ten News Extra has interviewed local abductees about their experiences. Video available here: part one, part two.

Hoping for an open McKinnon trial

2005-07-26T12:39:00.000-04:00

In a piece appearing in Florida's Press-Journal, commentator Dom Armentano speculates that Gary McKinnon's UFO-inspired hacking into Defense computers may have turned up material to corroborate the idea that Defense started taking UFOs seriously in the 1940s.

This idea was developed in detail in Richard Dolan's book UFOs and the National Security State, Armentano notes. He says that an open trial of McKinnon could move the public UFO debate forward to at least Dolan's level. Link here (onerous registration required. Dolan pictured, right.)

Introducing the "Norfolk Triangle"

2005-07-26T12:31:00.000-04:00

The Rev Lionel Fanthorpe, who writes for Sky Travel, has compiled a paranormal incident table for Britain, one showing a "Norfolk Triangle" he notes:

"The term Bermuda Triangle doesn't relate to disappearing boats in this instance but more a triangular area where there is a concentration of mysteries."

Details here. An additional story on the Fanthorpe project is here.

Navy pilot sees giant UFO in Exeter

2005-07-26T12:22:00.000-04:00

A retired US Navy flight engineer has reported seeing a UFO gigger than an aircraft carrier near Exeter, NH. The retiree, not identified by name in this story, said he saw the thing on Wednesday. He called it cigar-shaped and "said it was about the size of two USS Nimitz aircraft carriers."

The object began changing colors from a bright silver to an orange-ish red. A strange cloud of red and orange flames began surrounding the object, and before he knew it the object stretched out like a rubber band. It grew to about twice its original size, and then it was gone. The entire incident lasted about 10 minutes, he recalled Monday morning, but he is unaware of the specific time because, "it felt like time stopped."

NASA to abandon Pioneer data

2005-07-25T11:56:00.000-04:00

According to this posting in Slashdot, NASA is set to decommission the last computer capable of reading data from its Pioneer spacecraft (right). At stake are the first 15 years of transmissions.

This additional and thus far unexamined data (the data after 1988 is available and has already been examined) may hold the key to solving what is considered one of the top problems in physics today, the so called Pioneer anomaly, where the observed trajectory of these spacecraft (and a couple others) deviates noticeably from our very precise expectation.

Pioneer 10 launched in early 1972 and contact was last made in 2002. NASA has no plans to make further contact with the craft. The Pioneer site says:

Pioneer 10 will continue to coast silently as a ghost ship through deep space into interstellar space, heading generally for the red star Aldebaran, which forms the eye of Taurus (The Bull). Aldebaran is about 68 light years away and it will take Pioneer over 2 million years to reach it.

... thus becoming an earth-originated UFO, one with (at that point) an unrecoverable history.

Australian TV profiles ufologist

2005-07-25T11:47:00.000-04:00

The Australian new magazine Today Tonight has broadcast a feature segment on the work of Australian ufologist Dominic MacNamara (right) and files he has obtained through freedom of information applications.

He spent several years unlocking hundreds of restricted files from the government's top secret national archives, detailing UFO sightings from outback drunks to military personnel.According to the unlocked files, Woomera, in outback South Australia, had the highest rate of UFO sightings of anywhere in the world.

(Organization linked here.)

More on McKinnon

2005-07-25T11:35:00.000-04:00

UFOlogist and hacker Gary McKinnon says in this article that

... part of the reason the US government is pursuing his case – despite its potential to reveal embarrassing laxity of security – is because of the secrets he has witnessed. “ They know what I’ve seen, which is more than is in the papers.”

(The quote comes from what appears to be a rewrite of meterial that has appeared in the press previously.)

Meanwhile, a BBC interview with McKinnon has become available (but can only be played in Real media). Hat tip to Slashdot.

Forbidden Knowledge - the Conference

2005-07-25T11:30:00.000-04:00

Philip Gardiner (right), author of the The Serpent Grail, is organizing a Forbidden Knowledge Conference (FKCUK) for July of next year in Stoke-on-Trent. According to this press release, "The goal of the event is to discuss the latest researches in the various fields and to promote truth without the constraints of bigotry."

Fort Worth baffled by cloud formation

2005-07-22T10:46:00.000-04:00

Fort Worth residents were baffled on Thursday by a "weird-looking cloud sporting the colors of the rainbow" yesterday afternoon. One meteorologist suggested an aircraft releasing fuel might have caused the effect.

(Photo taken by Jim Kersey)

Paper reports on Paranormal Research Forum

2005-07-22T10:35:00.000-04:00

The Denver-area Paranormal Research Forum held its annual UFO Trip recently, and Mile High Newspapers sent a reporter to learn more. A group member notes that "This is ground zero in America for activity ... You are more likely to see a UFO in these five counties than anywhere else in the country." The field trip actually produced a UFO sighting for 20 of 35 members, the paper reports.

There is a follow-up story here.

(Photo by JUSTIN SAGARSEE)

FOO Fighters

2005-07-22T09:23:00.000-04:00

The Drexel Universuity student newspaper has published an article debunking the Foo Fighters of WWII as alien craft. However, the author of the piece, Aaron Sakulich, does not propose an explanation for the phenomena.

NASA has sent bacteria to Mars - report

2005-07-21T13:16:00.000-04:00

A new report says:

The US space agency [NASA] believes the two rover spacecraft scuttling across the red planet are carrying bacteria from Earth ... The craft, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on Mars last year. One key task was to look for signs of life: now it seems that if there are any organisms, it is man who has put them there. If proved, the contamination would raise concerns at possible breaches of a UN treaty to stop other planets being polluted from Earth.

Hat tip to PhysOrg.

"Scotty" dies: ashes headed into space

2005-07-21T13:01:00.000-04:00

Canadian Star Trek actor James ("beam me up Scotty") Doohan has died and his ashes will be taken into space, according to his wishes.

Space Services Inc., a Houston-based company specializing in space memorials, is set to send a few grams of Doohan's ashes into space aboard a rocket later this year.