Hi readers
A burst of hot weather is about to descend upon Adelaide. 32 degrees C today and hotter over the next few days. Then, typical for Adelaide, a cold front will come through from the south-west and the temperatures will drop for a few more days.
In a previous post, (click here) I mentioned a new book by Mark Pilkington, titled "Mirage Men: A Journey in Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs."
I have been waiting to read an interview with Mark to learn more about his views on the UFO phenomenon. I just came across one interview at http://binnallofamerica.com/rr102210.html
I'll quote a few pieces which interest me.
"I'm not sceptical about UFOs themselves...what I am very sceptical of is the popular notion of ET visitation as presented in the UFO lore that has emerged since the late 1940's. This has developed out of a multi-directional feedback loop between UFO experiencers, UFO book authors, mainstream popular culture and those in the military and intelligence worlds who would exploit and shape these beliefs and ideas..."
"I'm just putting forward my take on a very complex story. I wrote Mirage men to be an outward-looking book that would interest people outside of the UFO community. I also wanted to present a reasonable and responsive critique of the mainstream ETH to those who are already well versed with the UFO lore."
Comment:
This view that the ETH is not the most likely explanation for the UFO phenomenon, is of course, unwelcome by many in the UFO research community.
"I'm fascinated by the 1980 Cash-Landrum incident for example. If even half of that incident was accurately reported by the witnesses then there are either some remarkably advanced toys in the human arsenal, or we really have been borrowing, or stealing them from someone else." (Click here for more information on this case.)
"Some of my friends have had some really spectacular and bizarre UFO sightings, but personally I just don't see the need to invoke the extraterrestrial hypothesis. As military analysts have pointed out since the late 1940's, the patterns of behaviour ascribed to UFOs make no sense as part of a surveillance or invasion plan."
"My own belief, and it's only a belief, is that some highly advanced experimental aircraft have been flown over the years perhaps much further back than we realise."
Comment:
An interesting observation. See a number of my previous posts about aerospace companies and UFOs.
Mark has his own website at http://miragemen.wordpress.com
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Cold UFO cases - stratospheric balloons Part 4
This post continues my examination of Australian UFO reports in the RAAF UFO files, which may be explainable in terms of stratospheric balloons.
30 Jul 1965 70miles West of Cook, South Australia 0835hrs 10mins duration
A gang of railway workers saw a UFO for ten minutes, to the South of the railway line. It appeared to be "hovering" and was silver in colour, reflecting the Sun's rays. It disappeared with a flash. There was no sound associated with the visual observation.
8 May 1966 Whittlesea, Victoria 1015hrs 10 minutes duration
A flying instructor saw an object at 30 degrees azimuth, 20 nautical miles at an estimated height of 8,000 feet. It was silver in colour. Through binoculars it seemed "...some sort of metallic substance..." In shape it was "Elliptical with dark core." There was no sound. It was initially stationary but descended to approximately 4,500 feet before being lost behind cloud.
17 May 1967 Thomastown, Victoria 1200hrs 60 minutes duration
A man reported using binoculars to watch a star-like flashing object high in the sky to the North West. It was in clear sky, had a round shape, and was noiseless. It seemed to be very high up in the sky. It was moving slowly to the South East, travelling in a straight line.
9 Sep 1967 Alice Springs, Northern Territory 1415hrs 5-10 minutes duration
Five nursing sisters, on a clear day, saw an object high up in the sky, slightly North West of overhead. Light glinted on the object. They questioned whether it was a balloon. It was silver in colour, had a round shape and was soundless. It seemed to be "hovering" then moved North North West. It was lost to view "...up into the stratosphere."
9 Feb 1969 Wulkuraka, near Ipswich, Queensland 1530hrs 180 minutes duration
A witness reported seeing a circular, shiny, white object. Initially it was observed due North moving South for 45 minutes, then moving West at very slow speed at high altitude. Total duration of the observation was three hours.
29 Aug 1969 Amberley, Queensland 1335hrs
There were numerous reports of a "balloon-like" object to the South. A Canberra aircraft located a balloon over Milmerran at 6,000 feet. Later it was revealed by the Balloon Launching Project at Mildura that they had launched a balloon on 25 August which failed to self-destruct and which then floated over South East Queensland.
10 May 1988 Bandendone, Queensland 1325hrs 20 minutes duration
A witness was travelling by car, when they saw an object in the sky, reflecting "metal-like" in the sunlight. There was no sound. It appeared to be "hovering" before rising steadily as it travelled East. An Exite x-ray telescope was launched by balloon from Alice Springs on this day.
My comment:
There certainly would appear to be UFO reports in the RAAF UFO files which fit being observations of stratospheric balloons. Interestingly, I cannot recall reading anything about this possibility in the files of Australian UFO research groups.
I would imagine that a diligent search of the reports archives of Australian groups would reveal further observations whose origin lie with stratospheric balloons. Unlike Operation Crowflight aircraft producing some UFO reports in the period 1960-1966; stratospheric balloon launches continue in Australia today.
30 Jul 1965 70miles West of Cook, South Australia 0835hrs 10mins duration
A gang of railway workers saw a UFO for ten minutes, to the South of the railway line. It appeared to be "hovering" and was silver in colour, reflecting the Sun's rays. It disappeared with a flash. There was no sound associated with the visual observation.
8 May 1966 Whittlesea, Victoria 1015hrs 10 minutes duration
A flying instructor saw an object at 30 degrees azimuth, 20 nautical miles at an estimated height of 8,000 feet. It was silver in colour. Through binoculars it seemed "...some sort of metallic substance..." In shape it was "Elliptical with dark core." There was no sound. It was initially stationary but descended to approximately 4,500 feet before being lost behind cloud.
17 May 1967 Thomastown, Victoria 1200hrs 60 minutes duration
A man reported using binoculars to watch a star-like flashing object high in the sky to the North West. It was in clear sky, had a round shape, and was noiseless. It seemed to be very high up in the sky. It was moving slowly to the South East, travelling in a straight line.
9 Sep 1967 Alice Springs, Northern Territory 1415hrs 5-10 minutes duration
Five nursing sisters, on a clear day, saw an object high up in the sky, slightly North West of overhead. Light glinted on the object. They questioned whether it was a balloon. It was silver in colour, had a round shape and was soundless. It seemed to be "hovering" then moved North North West. It was lost to view "...up into the stratosphere."
9 Feb 1969 Wulkuraka, near Ipswich, Queensland 1530hrs 180 minutes duration
A witness reported seeing a circular, shiny, white object. Initially it was observed due North moving South for 45 minutes, then moving West at very slow speed at high altitude. Total duration of the observation was three hours.
29 Aug 1969 Amberley, Queensland 1335hrs
There were numerous reports of a "balloon-like" object to the South. A Canberra aircraft located a balloon over Milmerran at 6,000 feet. Later it was revealed by the Balloon Launching Project at Mildura that they had launched a balloon on 25 August which failed to self-destruct and which then floated over South East Queensland.
10 May 1988 Bandendone, Queensland 1325hrs 20 minutes duration
A witness was travelling by car, when they saw an object in the sky, reflecting "metal-like" in the sunlight. There was no sound. It appeared to be "hovering" before rising steadily as it travelled East. An Exite x-ray telescope was launched by balloon from Alice Springs on this day.
My comment:
There certainly would appear to be UFO reports in the RAAF UFO files which fit being observations of stratospheric balloons. Interestingly, I cannot recall reading anything about this possibility in the files of Australian UFO research groups.
I would imagine that a diligent search of the reports archives of Australian groups would reveal further observations whose origin lie with stratospheric balloons. Unlike Operation Crowflight aircraft producing some UFO reports in the period 1960-1966; stratospheric balloon launches continue in Australia today.
Friday, November 19, 2010
New book alert - Vallee
Dear readers
Well, it is the end of the working week! Adelaide's maximum temperature today was a delicious 24 degrees Centigrade; beautiful and sunny, with the deep blue skies we get in Australia.
I tried to get a look at this year's Leonid meteor shower which peaked in the last few days. The first day, I was up at 4am but it was totally cloudy. The second day I left it until 5am but by then it was already too light and only the brighter stars were visible in the skies. Oh, well, there is always next year.
On to the post. Regular readers will know that I am a follower of all things Jacques Vallee. Well there is a new book out co-authored by Vallee and Chris Aubeck. Its title is "Wonders in the Sky: Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times." ISBN 9781 5854 2829 5. Published by Penguin. 2010. 528pages.
It includes a catalogue of 500 observations starting in ancient Egypt, which the authors argue show that the UFO phenomenon had always been with us, and did not simply start in 1947 in the USA. This is in line with Vallee's long time argument that the UFO phenomenon has a very long history and that it should be studied in that context.
Well, it is the end of the working week! Adelaide's maximum temperature today was a delicious 24 degrees Centigrade; beautiful and sunny, with the deep blue skies we get in Australia.
I tried to get a look at this year's Leonid meteor shower which peaked in the last few days. The first day, I was up at 4am but it was totally cloudy. The second day I left it until 5am but by then it was already too light and only the brighter stars were visible in the skies. Oh, well, there is always next year.
On to the post. Regular readers will know that I am a follower of all things Jacques Vallee. Well there is a new book out co-authored by Vallee and Chris Aubeck. Its title is "Wonders in the Sky: Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times." ISBN 9781 5854 2829 5. Published by Penguin. 2010. 528pages.
It includes a catalogue of 500 observations starting in ancient Egypt, which the authors argue show that the UFO phenomenon had always been with us, and did not simply start in 1947 in the USA. This is in line with Vallee's long time argument that the UFO phenomenon has a very long history and that it should be studied in that context.
Cold UFO cases - stratospheric balloons Part 3
Hi
This post continues my look at the possibility that some Australian UFO reports were due to stratospheric balloon launches.
In viewing digitised images of UFO reports made to the RAAF in 1961, I came across two reports which came from the same area of North Queensland only two days apart.
The first was made on 5 June 1961 at a place called Millaa Millaa, on the Atherton Tablelands, some 70kms South of Cairns. Senior Constable W Anderson was one of a number of people in the area who reported seeing an object in the day time sky. He stated that the object appeared as a dull star to the naked eye, but that through binoculars it was "... a cone shape with half of its surface coloured red..."
He first saw it at 12.55pm. In the cloudless sky he first saw it as a silver sphere which turned slowly to show a cone shape. It finally moved to the West and was lost to sight in the haze on the western horizon at 2.50pm.
My comment:
From the data on the RAAF file, the object described by Senior Constable Anderson and others, could have been a balloon. It travelled some 45 degrees across the sky in 2 hours; was spherical to cone shaped (a cone being a perfect description for a large high altitude balloon); and appeared to be high up in the atmosphere. The RAAF sent up an aircraft which orbited the area between 4.20 and 4.35pm but found nothing to account for the sightings.
The second sighting came from the Cairns area on 7 June 1961. Many people sighted an object in the sky which was described as "...an oval shaped body glowing bright red, with three shining white triangular fins..." There was some talk of it possibly being a daytime observation of the planet Venus (it is possible to see Venus in broad daylight.) However, this was dismissed when a local photographer photographed both the planet Venus and and a separate object in the one shot.
My comment:
Again, this second set of sightings could have been the same balloon.
This post continues my look at the possibility that some Australian UFO reports were due to stratospheric balloon launches.
In viewing digitised images of UFO reports made to the RAAF in 1961, I came across two reports which came from the same area of North Queensland only two days apart.
The first was made on 5 June 1961 at a place called Millaa Millaa, on the Atherton Tablelands, some 70kms South of Cairns. Senior Constable W Anderson was one of a number of people in the area who reported seeing an object in the day time sky. He stated that the object appeared as a dull star to the naked eye, but that through binoculars it was "... a cone shape with half of its surface coloured red..."
He first saw it at 12.55pm. In the cloudless sky he first saw it as a silver sphere which turned slowly to show a cone shape. It finally moved to the West and was lost to sight in the haze on the western horizon at 2.50pm.
My comment:
From the data on the RAAF file, the object described by Senior Constable Anderson and others, could have been a balloon. It travelled some 45 degrees across the sky in 2 hours; was spherical to cone shaped (a cone being a perfect description for a large high altitude balloon); and appeared to be high up in the atmosphere. The RAAF sent up an aircraft which orbited the area between 4.20 and 4.35pm but found nothing to account for the sightings.
The second sighting came from the Cairns area on 7 June 1961. Many people sighted an object in the sky which was described as "...an oval shaped body glowing bright red, with three shining white triangular fins..." There was some talk of it possibly being a daytime observation of the planet Venus (it is possible to see Venus in broad daylight.) However, this was dismissed when a local photographer photographed both the planet Venus and and a separate object in the one shot.
My comment:
Again, this second set of sightings could have been the same balloon.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Cold UFO cases - Stratospheric balloons Part 2
In the introduction to part one I posed the question "Could some Australian UFO cases be caused by stratospheric balloons?"
In looking at the RAAF's UFO files, as listed by the Disclosure Australia Project, I located 20 potential cases where such balloons may have been involved. I then used the digitised UFO files from the National Archives of Australia to view the actual RAAF UFO report forms for these cases. My final conclusion is that I think that 11 of these cases may relate to balloons. In this and following posts I will provide details of these cases.
1. 15 November 1960
Ironically, an Operation Crowflight aircraft crew reported a UFO sighting! (See previous posts about Operation Crowflight.)
RAAF file 580/1/1 Part 2 pp44-45 in the National Archives tells the story. It involved the crew of a JB-57 aircraft operating out of RAAF East Sale. The pilot's report reads:
"On Tuesday morning, 15 November 1960, approximately 1040LCL, while flying on a mission track , 15 miles north of Launceston, my navigator, Captain Douglas G Ludlam, USAF called out an aircraft approaching to our left, and slightly low. Our altitude at the time was 40,000 feet, TAS of 350 knots and heading of 340 degrees. I spotted the object and immediately commented to Captain Ludlam that it wasn't an aircraft but looked more like a balloon.
"We judged its altitude to be approximately 35,000 feet, heading 140 degrees, and its speed extremely high. From previous experience I would say the closing rate to be in excess of 800 knots.
"We observed this object for 5-7 seconds before it disappeared under the left wing. Since it was unusual in appearance I immediately banked to the left for another look, but neither of us could locate it.
"The color of the object was rather translucent, somewhat like that of a "poached egg." There was no sharp edges but rather fuzzy and undefined. The size was approximately 70 feet in diameter, and it did not appear to have any depth."
The report was made by Douglas G Ludlam, Captain USAF and Joseph W Ivins, Jnr, Captain USAF.
My comment:
All but one of the pieces of data suggests to me that the object was a partly deflated balloon. It was translucent. It had no sharp edges. Was fuzzy and undefined. The size would be consistent. In addition, Captain Ludlam stated that the object "...looked more like a balloon..." Balloons of this size were being flown out of Mildura, Victoria in 1960 by the US Atomic Energy Commission. Against the balloon hypothesis is the estimated closing speed of 800 knots. If this piece of data is incorrect (perhaps an overestimate due to the large size of the ballloon), then the balloon hypothesis fits the observation.
In looking at the RAAF's UFO files, as listed by the Disclosure Australia Project, I located 20 potential cases where such balloons may have been involved. I then used the digitised UFO files from the National Archives of Australia to view the actual RAAF UFO report forms for these cases. My final conclusion is that I think that 11 of these cases may relate to balloons. In this and following posts I will provide details of these cases.
1. 15 November 1960
Ironically, an Operation Crowflight aircraft crew reported a UFO sighting! (See previous posts about Operation Crowflight.)
RAAF file 580/1/1 Part 2 pp44-45 in the National Archives tells the story. It involved the crew of a JB-57 aircraft operating out of RAAF East Sale. The pilot's report reads:
"On Tuesday morning, 15 November 1960, approximately 1040LCL, while flying on a mission track , 15 miles north of Launceston, my navigator, Captain Douglas G Ludlam, USAF called out an aircraft approaching to our left, and slightly low. Our altitude at the time was 40,000 feet, TAS of 350 knots and heading of 340 degrees. I spotted the object and immediately commented to Captain Ludlam that it wasn't an aircraft but looked more like a balloon.
"We judged its altitude to be approximately 35,000 feet, heading 140 degrees, and its speed extremely high. From previous experience I would say the closing rate to be in excess of 800 knots.
"We observed this object for 5-7 seconds before it disappeared under the left wing. Since it was unusual in appearance I immediately banked to the left for another look, but neither of us could locate it.
"The color of the object was rather translucent, somewhat like that of a "poached egg." There was no sharp edges but rather fuzzy and undefined. The size was approximately 70 feet in diameter, and it did not appear to have any depth."
The report was made by Douglas G Ludlam, Captain USAF and Joseph W Ivins, Jnr, Captain USAF.
My comment:
All but one of the pieces of data suggests to me that the object was a partly deflated balloon. It was translucent. It had no sharp edges. Was fuzzy and undefined. The size would be consistent. In addition, Captain Ludlam stated that the object "...looked more like a balloon..." Balloons of this size were being flown out of Mildura, Victoria in 1960 by the US Atomic Energy Commission. Against the balloon hypothesis is the estimated closing speed of 800 knots. If this piece of data is incorrect (perhaps an overestimate due to the large size of the ballloon), then the balloon hypothesis fits the observation.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
UFO conference in the Northern Territory in 2011
Hi readers
A warm 30 degrees C in Adelaide today, ahead of a cooler change coming through late tomorrow.
Just a short post about a UFO conference to be held in the Northern Territory in 2011. Click here for details
A warm 30 degrees C in Adelaide today, ahead of a cooler change coming through late tomorrow.
Just a short post about a UFO conference to be held in the Northern Territory in 2011. Click here for details
Cold UFO cases - stratospheric balloons? Part 1
Introduction:
I mentioned in my post dated 28 October 2010, that I came across an astronomy article describing stratospheric balloon research in Australia. The article, in part, stated that "...nearly 800 balloon flights have taken place in Australia since 1960 with over 100 being conducted from Alice Springs."
The article also revealed that as early as 1960, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was in Australia using stratospheric balloons (in a parallel mission to the USAF Operation Crowflight) to sample the air at high altitudes for evidence from nuclear test fallout.
Crowflight:
In fact, the National Archives of Australia website digitised files on Operation Crowflight, mention that in 1960 the U.S. and Australian Governments were discussing the use of a balloon program to check on radioactive fallout.
Balloon website:
I located an excellent website at http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/balloons-australia.htm which indicated that there had been three main locations from which stratospheric balloons have been launched in Australia, namely Mildura in Victoria; Charleville in Queensland and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
Mildura (Latitude 34deg 11min South, Longitude 142 deg 10min East)
Mildura was selected by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1960 as a balloon launching station as part of the global HIBAL program. This was a program aimed at collecting dust samples from between 40,000 and 135,000 feet with 20 minutes to four hours of levelled flight. 600 flights were made between 1960 and 1966. HIBAL was then extended to 1969.
Between 1967 and 1980 150 other flights were launched for astronomical purposes. Apart from Mildura, other launch sites were Longreach, Queensland; Broken Hill, New South Wales, and Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
Charleville
Only two balloon launches were made to study supernova 1987-A on 29 Oct and 25 Nov 1988.
Alice Springs
The balloon launch program was established in 1975 and about 150 balloon launches have been undertaken since then. The stratocat website provides a partial list of dates for some of these balloon launches.
UFO/balloon characteristics:
What characteristics would I expect a stratospheric balloon observation to have?
1. Daylight observation.
2. Sunlight reflecting off an object.
3. Travelling in a constant direction, subject to wind direction at various altitudes.
4. Moving very slowly across the sky -hence maybe a long duration observation.
5. Object might appear as more than a point source due to the size of the balloon.
6. Seemingly very high up in the sky.
7. Location - anywhere in Australia.
8. Seen by single person or a group.
9. Silver/white in colour.
10. No sound.
UFO reports:
I started off by looking at the Disclosure Australia project archive at http://disclosureaustralia.freewebpages.org and their listing of RAAF UFO reports.
My initial examination comparing UFO reports with my list of expected characteristics of balloon observations gave me a list of over 20 potential balloon sightings. I then went to the National Archives of Australia website to examine the actual report form on their digital files.
More in my next post.
I mentioned in my post dated 28 October 2010, that I came across an astronomy article describing stratospheric balloon research in Australia. The article, in part, stated that "...nearly 800 balloon flights have taken place in Australia since 1960 with over 100 being conducted from Alice Springs."
The article also revealed that as early as 1960, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was in Australia using stratospheric balloons (in a parallel mission to the USAF Operation Crowflight) to sample the air at high altitudes for evidence from nuclear test fallout.
Crowflight:
In fact, the National Archives of Australia website digitised files on Operation Crowflight, mention that in 1960 the U.S. and Australian Governments were discussing the use of a balloon program to check on radioactive fallout.
Balloon website:
I located an excellent website at http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/balloons-australia.htm which indicated that there had been three main locations from which stratospheric balloons have been launched in Australia, namely Mildura in Victoria; Charleville in Queensland and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
Mildura (Latitude 34deg 11min South, Longitude 142 deg 10min East)
Mildura was selected by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1960 as a balloon launching station as part of the global HIBAL program. This was a program aimed at collecting dust samples from between 40,000 and 135,000 feet with 20 minutes to four hours of levelled flight. 600 flights were made between 1960 and 1966. HIBAL was then extended to 1969.
Between 1967 and 1980 150 other flights were launched for astronomical purposes. Apart from Mildura, other launch sites were Longreach, Queensland; Broken Hill, New South Wales, and Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
Charleville
Only two balloon launches were made to study supernova 1987-A on 29 Oct and 25 Nov 1988.
Alice Springs
The balloon launch program was established in 1975 and about 150 balloon launches have been undertaken since then. The stratocat website provides a partial list of dates for some of these balloon launches.
UFO/balloon characteristics:
What characteristics would I expect a stratospheric balloon observation to have?
1. Daylight observation.
2. Sunlight reflecting off an object.
3. Travelling in a constant direction, subject to wind direction at various altitudes.
4. Moving very slowly across the sky -hence maybe a long duration observation.
5. Object might appear as more than a point source due to the size of the balloon.
6. Seemingly very high up in the sky.
7. Location - anywhere in Australia.
8. Seen by single person or a group.
9. Silver/white in colour.
10. No sound.
UFO reports:
I started off by looking at the Disclosure Australia project archive at http://disclosureaustralia.freewebpages.org and their listing of RAAF UFO reports.
My initial examination comparing UFO reports with my list of expected characteristics of balloon observations gave me a list of over 20 potential balloon sightings. I then went to the National Archives of Australia website to examine the actual report form on their digital files.
More in my next post.
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