SUBJECT: GEORGIA MUFON NEWSLETTER, 1990 FILE: UFO1597
GEORGIA SKYWATCH
GEORGIA MUFON October-December 1990 Newsletter 90-2
THE UFO FORUM
Atlanta, GA - Tricia McCannon, representing the New Age
Information Network (NAIN) and Nedd Mockler, representing the
Mutual UFO Network, have joined forces to start a new lecture
series - The UFO Forum. "Both groups are intensely interested in
UFOs and despite our differences we do have a lot in common." said
Tricia McCannon. "There are a lot of people in and around Georgia
that want to know more about UFO's. We think a lecture series like
The UFO Forum can meet that need."
"Both groups (MUFON and NAIN) offer knowledge, skills and
experiences that can be helpful in acquiring a deeper understanding
about this important subject. Our alliance to produce a UFO
Awareness Lecture Series recognizes that both MUFON and NAIN are
composed of people seriously interested in studying and researching
all phenomena associated with unidentified flying objects. MUFON's
role in this alliance will be to emphasize the need for
objectivity, evidence gathering and appropriate scientific study in
the search for answers to the UFO enigma," said Nedd Mockler,
Assistant State Director for the MUFON organization in Georgia.
The purpose of The UFO Forum is to present speakers and topics of
public interest concerning UFOs and related phenomena. In
addition, The UFO Forum will promote membership in the MUFON
organization and to recruit interested individuals to the MUFON
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"Georgia MUFON Membership Contest!"
P R I Z E S
See Inside For Details!
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OUR NEXT MEETING IS DECEMBER 3, 1990 - INNER SPACE
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The Georgia Mutual UFO Network (GEORGIA MUFON) is a part of the
Mutual UFO Network, Inc. (MUFON), an international scientific
organization of volunteers interested in studying the phenomenon of
unidentified flying objects (UFOs), with headquarters at 103
Oldtowne Road, Seguin, Texas 78155. The contents of this
newsletter are determined by the editor and do not necessarilty
reflect the official position of MUFON or GA MUFON. This
newsletter is published as required by GA MUFON activities and is
distributed to GA MUFON members, certain university and law
enforcement officials, and non-GA MUFON members who have
contributed a minimum of $10 per year to GEORGIA MUFON. N. D.
Mockler, Editor. 243 Jeweler's Ridge, Lilburn, GA 30247.
Field Investigations Unit in Georgia, known as "Georgia SkyWatch."
Another purpose of the Forum will be to establish a UFO' Awareness
Lending Library (U'ALL) -- comprised of video and text materials
for use by individuals and organizations interested in the study of
UFO phenomena. Attendees to The UFO Forum make a contribution to
help pay for speakers, meeting facilities, audio/visual equipment
and library materials.
The UFO Forum is the brainchild of Tricia and Nedd; and they are
responsible for planning, directing and managing all Forum program
presentations. A group of advisors serve as consultants and
support staff. The advisory group includes: Jim Edwards, Delores
Haake, John Heck, Mark Jaeger, Jan Lamb, Dan Lapour, Mark Losner,
Charlie Pilcher, Robin Quale, and Will Southerland.
Tricia and Nedd met at the WATL Channel 36 live filming of "Earth
Mysteries - Alien Life Forms" featuring Linda Moulton Howe.
Ms. Howe, considered to be the world authority on animal
mutilations, filmed the Earth Mysteries pilot in Atlanta on August
22, 1990. The UFO Forum has already had two successful meetings.
Video tapes of these meetings are available. $25.
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UFO FORUM PROGRAM
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10/15/90 UFOs: Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the
Scientific Mind. For over 45 years rumors of UFOs have
persisted all over the world. In the Soviet Union as
well as other countries they are front page news. What
is the real story? What are people saying about UFOs?
Join us for the 1st MUFON and NAIN sponsored meeting
about this electrifying subject. Featured speaker:
Regression hypnotist, Robin Quail. Also, Brian O'Leary
on tape. Location: Inner Space, 310 Hammond Drive,
Sandy Springs. October 15, 1990. 7:30 - 10:30 pm. $5.
Attended by 80 people.
11/17/90 The UFO Forum Presents Cary Baker - Strange
Lights in the Night Sky. Cary, Editor-In-Chief of two
Alabama newspapers, will speak on the UFO sightings in
Fyffe, Alabama. Strange lights have been occurring in
the night sky for decades and repeat with frequency every
13-14 years. The latest rash of sightings began in
February 1989. Location: Inner Space, 310 Hammond Drive,
Sandy Springs. November 17, 1990. 7:30 - 10:30 pm.
Contribution: $8. Attended by 40 people.
12/3/90 The UFO Forum Presents Etel DeLoach - Sky People.
Join us for a look at Etel DeLoach's "Sky People." An
alternative healing therapist Etel has had close and
compelling encounters with UFO's and extra-terrestrial
intelligences. Her friendships with people whose first-
hand knowledge have contributed to the lore of UFOlogy
make a unique and interesting story. Don't miss this
third in a series of MUFON/NAIN presentations. Location:
Inner Space, 310 Hammond Drive, Sandy Springs. December
3, 1990. 7:30 - 10:30 pm. Contribution: $8. Come
early. Seating is limited to 80 people.
1/12/91 The UFO Forum Presents Ed and Francis Walters -
The Gulf Breeze Sightings. Fact or fiction? Was this a
hoax? Were some of the widely publicized photographs
faked? If so, how do you explain the UFOs witnessed by
dozens of other Gulf Breeze residents? The official
MUFON position on the Gulf Breeze Sightings: "Its real
and the photographs are authentic." Ed and Francis have
agreed to give us a firsthand account of their story.
Location and contribution to be announced. January 12,
1991. [Ed Note: See "The Florida Scene" elsewhere in
this newsletter for an update on the Gulf Breeze
situation.]
2/18/91 The UFO Forum Presents Don Ware - Eastern Region
MUFON Director. What is happening in MUFON today? Is
MUFON contributing to man's understanding of UFOs? Are
we being visited by people from outer space? If so why
are they here? What does their presence mean for us here
on earth? Location and contribution to be announced.
February 18, 1991.
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RUMORS - EARTHQUAKE? DECEMBER 3RD?
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Did you watch "LA - The Big One" on national TV? A lot of reports
are now circulating about a major earthquake expected along the
line of the Madrid fault which runs through Kentucky and Tennessee.
The prediction is that The South will experience a major earthquake
on or about December 3rd.
Nedd and Barbara Mockler experienced "The Great Alaskan Earthquake"
while living in Anchorage, Alaska, in March of 1964. That quake
measured 8.6 on the Richter Scale. The ground moved in an arc of
eight inches, several vibrations a second and lasted for five and
a half minutes. One hundred and twenty five people lost their
lives and property damage ran in the millions. We don't believe in
sensationalism. On the other hand our experience in Alaska has
taught us that it never hurt to be prepared.
What can you do to prepare for a major earthquake? Do you have a
plan? Does your family know what to do in the event they are
separated from you when an earthquake occurs? In a major
earthquake roads and major lifelines may be unusable for several
days...even weeks. Call the local chapter of the American Red
Cross and ask for a copy of their suggestions for earthquake
planning. An ounce of prevention....
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THE GEORGIA SCENE
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Atlanta - Our sources continue to tell us to be alert to strange
lights in the night sky along the Atlanta to Macon corridor. Alert
your contacts. Watch and listen. Contact Georgia SkyWatch, if you
hear or see anything unusual. Day or night: 1-1-404-923-0739. If
we don't respond within four hours, call the National UFO Reporting
Center: 1-206-722-3000.
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THE FLORIDA SCENE
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Gulf Breeze - Rex and Carol Salisberry, the original MUFON
investigators of the Gulf Breeze sightings recently provided
information to the news media that at least one of the Ed Walters
photographs (#19) had been faked. MUFON has been involved in a
continuing effort to study the Gulf Breeze material and had asked
the Salisberrys to undertake some additional investigative work.
In a totally unprecedented action and before their work and
conclusions could be evaluated by senior MUFON investigators and
scientists the Salisberrys shotgunned their findings to the news
media. Coincidentally, this rush to the media occurred one week
prior to the elections. Ed Walters, who had been running for a
council seat, lost.
According to Don Ware, Eastern Director for MUFON, "It is MUFON's
view that the photograph in question and others are authentic. A
major assumption upon which the Salisberrys' conclusion was based
is in error. This error would have been identified had the
investigators followed proper procedure before releasing any
information to the media."
"Furthermore," Ware noted, "...the mission of MUFON is to learn the
truth. Our purpose is NOT to punish or to discourage people from
coming forward with reports of their UFO experiences. If we
discover a hoax, we simply close the case...we don't take it to the
media. I believe Ed and Francis Walters are basically honorable
people, who have attempted to tell of their experiences as perceive
them to the best of their ability."
Few of us are in a position to judge the Ed and Francis Walters
story. There is more to their story than any of us know and a lot
yet to be reported.
As MUFON investigators the Salisberrys' job was to complete their
investigation and forward their report through well-defined
channels. That review process is how MUFON checks the work of
their investigators and maintains quality control throughout the
investigative process. For MUFON investigators to act otherwise is
neither professional nor ethical.
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UFO'S - ILLUSION OR REALITY ?
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Scientists find ready explanations for most UFO incidents in terms
of known physical phenomena, such as celestial bodies, electrical
occurrences in the atmosphere, the warping of light rays, and
weather balloons. But in the meantime the complexity of the UFO
phenomena has provoked a relatively new approach to the whole
question of their reality.
Could it be that accounts of UFO's are related to the many psychic
and paranormal experiences recounted by human beings throughout
history? Certainly the reports of these strange objects, and their
odd occupants who sometimes convey social messages to humans, have
a mythical and often visionary quality.
In his book Passport to Magonia, Jacque Vallee, a computer
scientist and student of UFOlogy, traces the many parallels between
the ancient myths of all cultures and today's stories of UFO's. He
goes on to propose that UFO experiences are paranormal in nature
and are the space-age equivalent of a phenomenon that assumes
different guises in different historical contexts. Vallee suggests
that human life is controlled by imagination and myth and that
paranormal experiences are the means by which man's ideas about
himself and his universe are constantly shaped. Such experiences,
he adds, become especially important in times of social stress. In
his view the UFO phenomenon is the present-day "tool" in this
control system. The great mystery is whether this control is part
of man's genetic makeup or whether it is imposed upon him from
without -- through alien intervention.
Psychiatrist Carl G. Jung, who is widely known for his theories
concerning the human psyche, also proposed a "supernormal"
explanation for UFO's. In a book published in 1958, Flying
Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, Jung suggested
that the UFO phenomenon is a manifestation of man's "collective
unconscious," a repository of archetypal images and impressions
that surface in symbols, dreams, and myths and predispose man to
produce very similar ideas, regardless of time or place. He
pointed out the parallels between the ancient religious symbol he
called the mandala -- a circular pattern representing "the idea of
the universal" -- and the round shape of most UFO's. Jung regarded
UFO's as a psychological projection of man's hopes and fears in an
uncertain world. Thus he deprived them of physical reality.
Vallee's ideas are similar to Jung's in many respects; but he
differs by accepting the reality of UFO's, in the sense that UFO
witnesses have been exposed to a real event. In the February 1978
issue of Fate, he suggests that what they experienced is some sort
of change in electromagnetic energy in their immediate vicinity.
This change in energy may be produced by the witness himself,
internally and spontaneously, or by some external agency. In any
case, says Vallee: "What they [the witnesses] tell us is that
they've seen a flying saucer [or had an encounter with aliens].
Now they may have seen that or ... the image of a flying saucer or
they may have hallucinated it under the influence of microwave
radiation, or any of a number of things may have happened. The
fact is that the witnesses were exposed to an event and as a result
they experienced a highly complex alteration of perception which
caused them to describe the object or objects that figure in their
testimony."
Jung's and Vallee's theories seem supported by an analysis of the
stories told by UFO "abductees." (Under hypnosis, those who
experienced "time loss" are able to "remember" all the details of
their sojourn aboard an alien vessel.) Although their accounts
vary greatly in detail, they describe a similar chain of events:
the person sees a shining light, is guided to the vessel, often in
a semiconscious, almost "out-of-body" state, is physically
examined, enters into telepathic communication with the "alien,"
and finally returns home.
What is truly fascinating is that the same sequence of events is
described by hypnotized subjects who have never had the experience
of a UFO encounter but have simply been told to imagine one. This
in no way denies the validity of the testimony of the "real"
witnesses -- rather it suggests that the human mind is "programmed"
to think in a certain way in response to certain stimuli.
Apparently any number of stimuli can produce the particular state
of consciousness susceptible to UFO-like experiences. Such stimuli
might be mind-altering drugs, a brush with death, perhaps the
physical charge of ball lightning, or -- an actual physical
encounter with a flying saucer.
The events described by people who have returned to a normal state
of consciousness -- whether from death's door or from a
hallucinatory or hypnotic state or a religious trance -- are
amazingly similar, incorporating the light, the "guide" or
"abductor," the examination, the messages, and so forth.
All this suggests the likelihood of some common matrix in the mind
that can be triggered to allow paranormal experiences of the kind
involving UFO's. To what degree such experiences can be called
real becomes a questions of semantics. However, the "paranormal"
theory offers a new look at what remains an inexplicable
phenomenon.
We encourage the submission of copy ready articles from members and
friends of Georgia SkyWatch and Georgia MUFON.
UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS
Feature Article
Millions of people have seen objects in the sky that they could not
identify, and many thousands have taken the time and trouble to
submit written reports about them. The vast majority of these
sightings could well be of such things as meteors, planets, stars,
weather balloons, swamp gas, and atmospheric disturbances. There
remains however, a significant body of experiences that are truly
inexplicable.
There is no doubt that disk-shaped objects have been seen by a
great many honest, sober, and mystified men and women. The objects
have been tracked by ground-based and airborne radar and have been
photographed by still and movie cameras in black and white and
color. The craft have been observed to hover, move straight up or
down, and accelerate and maneuver at speeds far beyond the
capability of any known airplane.
The following is a three part report about phenomena that
challenge the preconceptions we have about the
universe and the laws of physics we accept as the basis by which it
exists. The first part is a chronological review of UFO reports
recorded before 1800.
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UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS
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PART I
UFO REPORTS BEFORE 1800
The sighting of strange objects in the sky may actually predate the
emergence of modern man. Perhaps the earliest depiction of
cylindrical objects resembling spacecraft, with what might be their
extraterrestrial occupants, are those carved on a granite mountain
and on rocks on an island in Hunan province, China. They have been
assigned a tentative age of 47,000 years, which puts them within
the time-span of Neanderthal man, predating modern Homo sapiens.
(Jacque Vallee, UFO' s in Space: Anatomy of a Phenomenon. p.1.)
One of the first written accounts of a UFO sighting -- a fleet of
flying saucers, perhaps -- is the following excerpt from an
Egyptian papyrus -- part of the annals of Thutmose III, who reigned
around 1504-1450 B.C.:
In the year 22 of the 3rd month of winter, sixth hour of the
day...the scribes of the House of Life found it was a circle of
fire that was coming in the sky... It had no head, the breath of
its mouth had a foul odor. Its body one rod long and one rod wide.
It had no voice. Their hearts became confused through it; then
they laid themselves on their bellies... They went to the
Pharaoh... to report it. His Majesty ordered... [an examination of]
all which is written in the papyrus rolls of the House of Life.
His Majesty was meditating upon what happened. Now after some days
had passed, these things became more numerous in the skies than
ever. They shone more in the sky than the brightness of the sun,
and extended to the limits of the four supports of the heavens...
Powerful was the position of the fire circles. The army of the
Pharaoh looked on with him in their midst. It was after supper.
Thereupon, these fire circles ascended higher in the sky towards
the south... The Pharaoh caused incense to be brought to make peace
on the hearth... And what happened was ordered by the Pharaoh to be
written in the annals of the House of Life... so that it be
remembered for ever." [Brinsley Le Poer Trench, The Flying Saucer
Story, pp.81-82.]
The prophet Ezekiel's "vision," recorded in the Bible, is thought
by some to be a UFO sighting. His description is of a strange
"vehicle" coming from the sky and landing near the Chebar River (or
Canal) in Chaldea (now Iraq) in the fifth year of the Judean
captivity (592 B.C.) under Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon:
What kind of "machine" was this? Ezekiel continues:
And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living
creatures.
And this was their appearance: they had the form of men, but each
had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were
straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a
calf's foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their
wings on their four sides they had human hands... each had the face
of a man in front; the four had the face of a lion on the right
side... the face of an ox on the left side, and... the face of an
eagle at the back... And their wings were spread out above; each
creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another,
while two covered their bodies. And each [creature] went straight
forward... without turning as they went... And the living creatures
darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning.
Who were these humanoid "occupants"? Space-helmeted, space-suited
astronauts with a strapped-on flying device? Or, perhaps,
extraterrestrial flying robots? The account continues:
Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel upon the
earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of
them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction:
their appearance was like the gleaming of a chrysolite... being as
it were a wheel within a wheel... The four wheels had rims and they
had spokes; and their rims were full of eyes round about. And when
the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when
the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.
Were these humanoids going back and forth into a green-glowing
spacecraft surrounded by a ring of portholes? But there is more:
..there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire;
and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were
of a human form. And upward from... his loins I saw as it were
gleaming bronze... and there was brightness... Like the appearance
of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the
appearance of the brightness round about... And when I saw it... I
heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel is told that the Israelites have transgressed and are to be
punished unless they obey the Lord's commandments. Ezekiel is
selected as the messenger to his people and is taken on board ("the
Spirit lifted me up"). The spacecraft takes off ("I heard... the
sound of the wheels... that sounded like a great earthquake"), and
Ezekiel is carried to Tel-abib where his fellow exiles are and
where he sits "overwhelmed among them seven days," traumatized by
his experience. (Ezekiel 1-3) (As we can see from contemporary UFO
encounters, this could be interpreted as an almost classic report
of the abduction and return of humans.)
The Roman author Julius Obsequens, believed to have lived in the
fourth century A.D., drew on Livy as well as other sources of his
time to compile his book Prodigorium liber, which describes many
peculiar phenomena, some of which could be interpreted as UFO
sightings. Here are just a few examples:
[216 B.C.] Things like ships were seen in the sky over Italy... At
Arpi (180 Roman miles, east of Rome, in Apulia) a round shield was
seen in the sky... At Capua, the sky was all on fire, and one saw
figures like ships... [99 B.C.] When C. Murius and L. Valerius were
consuls, in Tarquinia, there fell in different places... a thing
like a flaming torch, and it came suddenly from the sky. Towards
sunset, a round object like a globe, or round or circular shield
took its path in the sky, from west to east. [90 B.C.] In the
territory of Spoletium (65 Roman miles north of Rome, in Umbria) a
globe of fire, of golden colour, fell to the earth, gyrating. It
then seemed to increase in size, rose from the earth, and ascended
into the sky, where it obscured the disc of the sun, with its
brilliance. It revolved towards the eastern quadrant of the sky.
[Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the Attack, pp.164-69]
A later chronicler of inexplicable phenomena, one Conrad Wolffhart
(a professor of grammar and dialectics who under the pen name of
Lycosthenes wrote the compendium Prodigiorum ac Ostentorum
Chronicon, published in 1567), mentions the following events:
[A.D. 393] Strange lights were seen in the sky in the days of the
Emperor Theodosius. On a sudden, a bright globe appeared at
midnight. It shone brilliantly near the day star (planet, Venus),
about the circle of the zodiac. This globe shone little less
brilliantly than the planet, and little by little, a great number
of other glowing orbs drew near the first globe. The spectacle was
like a swarm of bees flying round the bee-keeper, and the light of
these orbs was as if they were dashing violently against each
other. Soon, they blended together into one awful flame, and
bodied forth to the eye as a horrible two- edged sword. The
strange globe which was first seen now appeared like the pommel to
a handle, and all the little orbs, fused with the first, shone as
brilliantly as the first globe. [This report is similar to modern
accounts of UFO formations.] [Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on
the Attack, pp.174, 177]
A rare typeset book from 1493, now preserved in a museum at Verdun,
France, contains what may be the earliest pictorial representation
of a UFO in Europe. Hartmann Schedel, author of the book Liber
Chronicarum, describes a strange firey sphere -- seen in 1034 --
soaring through the sky in a straight course from south to east and
then veering toward the setting sun. The illustration accompanying
the account shows a cigar-shaped form haloed by flames, sailing
through a blue sky over a green, rolling countryside. (Jacque
Vallee, UFO's in Space: Anatomy of a Phenomenon, p.9)
A term equivalent to our "flying saucer" was actually used by the
Japanese approximately 700 years before it came into use in the
West. Ancient documents describe an unusual shining object seen
the night of October 27, 1180, as a flying "earthenware vessel."
After a while the object, which had been heading northeast from a
mountain in Kii province, changed its direction and vanished below
the horizon, leaving a luminous trail. (Jacques Valley, Passport
to Magonia, pp.4-5)
Here is a classical description from William of Newburgh's
Chronicle of a flying saucer seen in England toward the end of the
12th century:
At Byland, or Begeland Abbey (the largest Cistercian abbey in
England), in the North Yorkshire Riding, while the abbot and monks
were in the refectorium, a flat, round, shining, silvery object
["discus" is the word used in the Latin account] flew over the
abbey and caused the utmost terror. [Harold T. Wilkins, Flying
Saucers on the Attack, p.185]
The first official investigation of a UFO sighting occurred in
Japan in 1235. During the night of September 24, while General
Yoritsume and his army were encamped, they observed mysterious
lights in the heavens. The lights were seen in the southwest for
many hours, swinging, circling, and moving in loops. The general
ordered a "full-scale scientific investigation" of these strange
events. The report finally submitted to him as the "soothing" ring
of many contemporary explanations offered for UFO phenomena. In
essence it read: "the whole thing is completely natural, General.
It is... only the wind making the stars sway." (Jacques Vallee,
Passport to Magonia, p.5)
Many unusual celestial events were recorded in Japanese chronicles
during the Middle Ages. As in Western society, such occurrences
were usually considered "portents," often resulting in panics and
other social disturbances. Here are some examples:
..on September 12, 1271, the famous priest Nichiren was about to
be beheaded at Tatsunokuchi, Kamakura, when there appeared in the
sky an object like a full moon, shiny and bright. Needless to say,
the officials panicked and the execution was not carried out.
In 1361, a flying object described as being "shaped like a drum,
about twenty feet in diameter" emerged from the inland sea off
western Japan....
..on March 8, 1468, a dark object, which made a "sound like a
wheel," flew from Mt. Kasuga toward the west at midnight. {Jacques
Vallee, Passport to Magonia, pp.5-6]
The European record of possible UFO sightings continued through the
14th and 15th centuries:
[A.D. 1322] In the first hour of the night of Novr. 4... there was
seen in the sky over Uxbridge, England, a pile (pillar) of fire the
size of a small boat, pallid and livid in colour. It rose from the
south, crossed the sky with a slow and grave motion and went north.
Out of the front of the pile, a fervent red flame burst forth with
great beams of light. Its speed increased, and it flew thro' the
air....
[A.D. 1387] In Novr. and Decr. of this year, a fire in the sky,
like a burning and revolving wheel, or round barrel of flame,
emitting fire from above, and others in the shape of a long fiery
beam, were seen through a great deal of the winter, in the county
of Leicester, Eng., and in Northamptonshire.
[A.D. 1461] On November 1, a fiery thing like an iron rod of good
length and as large as one half of the moon was seen in the sky,
over... Arras, France for less than a quarter of an hour. This
object was also described as being "shaped like a ship, from which
fire was seen flowing." [Jacques Vallee, UFO's in Space: Anatomy of
a Phenomenon, p.9; Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the Attack,
pp.187, 188]
From 1733 another classic account of one of those gleaming, silvery
bodies today referred to as flying saucers:
Something in the sky which appeared in the north, but vanished from
my sight, as it was intercepted by trees, from my vision. I was
standing in a valley. The weather was warm, the sun shone
brightly. On a sudden it re-appeared, darting in and out of my
sight with an amazing coruscation. The colour of this phenomenon
was like burnished, or new washed silver. It shot with speed like
a star falling in the night. But it has a body much larger and a
train longer than any shooting star
I have seen.... Next day, Mr. Edgecombe informed me that he and
another gentleman had seen this strange phenomenon at the same time
as I had. It was about 15 miles from where I saw it, and steering
a course from E. to N.
The witness of this event was a Mr. Cracker of Fleet, a small
township in Dorset, England. Mr. Cracker said that he saw his
"flying saucer" in broad daylight on December 8, 1733. (Fate, April
1951, p.24)
A fellow of the Royal Society in London was about to cross St.
James's Park on his way home from a meeting on December 16, 1742,
when he was startled by the appearance of a remarkable celestial
object:
..a light arose from behind the trees and houses, to the south and
west, which at first I thought was a rocket, of large size. But
when it rose 20 degrees, it moved parallel to the horizon, and
waved like this -- he draws an undulating line -- and went on in
the direction of north by east. It seemed very near, Its motion
was very slow.I had it for about half a mile in view. A light
flame was turned backward by the resistance the air made to it.
From, one end, it emitted a bright glare and fire like that of a
burning charcoal. That end was a frame like bars of iron, and
quite opaque to my sight. At one point, on the longitudinal frame,
or cylinder, issued a train in the shape of a tail of light more
bright at one point on the rod or cylinder, and growing
gradually fainter at the end of the rod or cylinder; so that it was
transparent for more than half of its length. The head of this
strange object seemed about half a degree in diameter, and the tail
near three degrees in length.
The observer signed himself "C.M.," probably preferring to remain
anonymous to avoid the expected skepticism and scoffing of his
fellow members. (Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the Attack,
p.206)
First UFO photograph and a most unusual sighting was reported by
Monsieur de Rostan, an amateur astronomer and member of the
Medicophysical Society of Basel, Switzerland. On August 9, 1762,
at Lausanne, Switzerland, he observed through a telescope a
spindle-shaped object crossing and eclipsing the sun. Monsieur de
Rostan was able to observe this object almost daily for close to a
month. He also managed to trace its outline with a camera obscura
and sent the picture to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris.
Unfortunately, this image -- probably the first one ever obtained
of a UFO -- no longer exists.
A friend of Monsieur de Rostan, living at Sole near Basel, also
observed the spindle-shaped object against the sun, but it seemed
to present more of an edge and was not quite as broad. Oddly
enough, the UFO was not visible to a third astronomer, a Monsieur
Messier who studied the sun, during the same time, from Paris -- an
indication that the object was not a sunspot, since it was visible
only from certain angles. (Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the
Attack, pp.211-212)
The last year of the 18th century had its share of celestial
phenomena. An issue of Gentleman's Magazine contained the
following story:
On Sep. 19 [1799], all England saw, at 8:30 p.m., a beautiful ball
blazing with white light, and which passed from N.W. to S.E. It
moved rapidly with a gentle tremulous motion, and noiselessly. The
light cast by it was very vivid, and few red sparks detached
themselves from it.... On Nov. 12, something like a large red
pillar of fire passed north to south over Hereford, and alarmed
people in the Forest of Dean, some miles away. Flashes of
extremely vivid electrical sort preceded its appearance, and at
intervals of half an hour, several hours before. This was at 5:45
a.m.... On this night the moon shone with uncommon vividness, when
between 5 and 6 a.m., bright lights in the sky became stationary.
They then burst with no perceptible report, and passed north
leaving behind them beautiful trains of floating fire. Some were
pointed, some radiated. Some sparkled and some had large
columns.... Nov. 19, at 6.a.m., folk of Huncoates, Lincolnshire,
were alarmed by vivid flashes lasting 30 seconds, from a ball of
fire passing in the sky. [Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the
Attack, p.211]
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The purpose of the Georgia SkyWatch Newsletter is to stimulate the
public's interest in and awareness of the UFO phenomena.
================================================================= ================================================================
INVESTIGATING UFO's
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The history of the official documentation of UFO's began in 1948
when the U.S. Air Force created Project Sign. The following year
this was reorganized in to Project Grudge, and then into Project
Blue Book.
The purpose of Project Blue Book was to investigate and evaluate
UFO reports within the United States and at its stations and
properties in other countries with regard to any potential threat
to national security, whether from foreign powers or from outer
space. Critics claimed that the project lacked a scientifically
qualified staff and that it was simply a "cover-up" operation meant
to reassure an alarmed public.
Project Blue Book proved to be quite effective, however. During
its 18 years of activity it accumulated more than 12,600 reported
cases in its files, almost all of which were eventually explained
as mistaken natural phenomena or as known aircraft. But 701
sightings remained classified as "unidentified."
In 1966 the U.S. Air Force sponsored an independent, stepped-up
investigation of UFO's by a team of scientists from the University
of Colorado under the direction of Dr. Edward U. Condon, a
prominent physicist and former head of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. Of the 59 cases they selected for
serious investigation during the next two years, 23 eluded
explanation. In his final report, in 1969, Condon nevertheless
concluded that a total of 21 years of UFO study had added nothing
to scientific knowledge and that "further extensive study" probably
was not warranted. He also stated that "it is safe to assume that
no ILE [intelligent life elsewhere] outside of our solar system has
any possibility of visiting Earth in the next 10,000 years." To
date, no one has determined the basis for Condon's estimate.
Following publication of the Condon report, the U.S. Air Force
agreed that UFO's posed no threat to national security and that
there was no evidence the sighted objects were of extraterrestrial
origin. Project Blue Book was then terminated, and all of its
files were declassified. But the fact that some other documents on
UFO's remained classified prompted a few private UFO investigative
groups to press for their release on the ground that the public is
entitled to know all.
Even today many UFO buffs believe that the real investigation of
UFO's was -- and is -- being secretly conducted by high-level
government personnel. But at this time only private organizations
are involved in serious UFO research. Among the membership groups
the best known are the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), founded in 1969;
the National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP),
founded in 1956 in Washington, D.C.; and the Aerial Phenomena
Research Organization (APRO), founded in 1952 by Jim and Coral
Lorenzen. A highly regarded nonmembership organization is the
Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), founded in 1973 by astronomer Dr.
J. Allen Hynek, who for years was scientific consultant to Project
Blue Book. By 1982 CUFOS had amassed a computerized list of 70,000
reported sightings from all over the world. It was found that
about 80 percent of these were easily explained and dismissed; the
other 20 percent remain subject to further investigation.
Other countries, notably France, Britain, and Australia, also have
civilian organizations that collect and seriously investigate UFO
reports. although awareness of the phenomenon is kept alive solely
by private enterprise, reports of unidentified flying objects from
all over the world continue to accumulate and further compound the
most elusive mystery of our time.
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FROM THE FIELD INVESTIGATOR'S NOTEBOOK
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The next time you have one of those UFO sightings...in addition to
looking at the UFO...note the time...direction...and stick your arm
out straight toward the object with hand up fingers apart palm
outward. Those aliens will think you are waving to them. In
reality you will be comparing the size of the craft to the size of
your finger nails and determining the azimuth of the craft by
seeing how many outstretched hands you can put between the horizon
and the craft.
Your little finger nail is about the size of an aspirin...and when
aimed at the moon will just about cover it. The size of your thumb
nail is twice that size. By knowing the distance from your eyes to
your outstretched hand (take a yard stick and measure it)...and
estimating the distance between you and the object...and using a
little trigonometry, it is possible for you to determine the size
of the object. Knowing the size of the object can be very helpful
in the field investigation to follow.
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FIELD INVESTIGATOR TRAINING
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Future issues of Georgia SkyWatch will include Field Investigator
Training information. Individuals interested in receiving formal
Field Investigator training should contact Nedd Mockler, 923-0739.
=================================================================
RUMORS - BY 1992 ???
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This report is given without evaluation..."Various people involved
with channeling are reporting that... by 1992 certain events will
take place that will make it very hard for anyone to deny the
existence of alien visitation."
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GEORGIA MUFON MEMBERSHIP CONTEST
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MUFON of Georgia is actively seeking new MUFON members. Georgia
SKYWATCH is offering a prize to the two MUFON of Georgia members
who recruit the most new members by December 31, 1990. If you are
one of the two to qualify, you will win a brand new $120 NSA
counter-top water system.
Contest Rules
To be eligible to participate you must:
1. Be a registered member of MUFON, Inc. New members
are eligible to participate. Join now and compete.
2. Recruit no less than ten new MUFON members between
now and December 25, 1990. The two members who recruit
the most new members over ten will win!
3. Each new member must complete an Application for
Membership to the Mutual UFO Network, Inc.
4. The completed application and a check for $25 made
out to MUFON, Inc., must be sent to the Mutual UFO
Network, Inc., 103 Oldtowne Road, Seguin, Texas 78155.
5. The words, "RECRUITED BY: (Name of Recruiter)," must
be printed in the upper, right hand corner of the MUFON
application.
6. A copy of the application should be sent to Georgia
SKYWATCH, 243 Jeweler's Ridge, Lilburn, Georgia 30247.
The price of MUFON membership is $25.00 per year and includes a
subscription to the MUFON JOURNAL. An Application for Membership
form is attached to this Newsletter. You may reproduce it and any
other materials included herein to assist you with your recruitment
campaign.
**********************************************
* THE U.F.O. BBS -
http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo *
**********************************************
