First Antares, now Virgin Galactic

Hi folks. It's been an eventful summer for me with a period of illness through the latter part of it, so I haven't been able to post for a while.

I was sad and bitterly disappointed to see the tragic events unfold in the recent Virgin Galactic test flight killing one of the pilots but with a miraculous escape for the other. An up to the minute (at time of posting) Guardian article reports that initial assessment of the incident by crash investigators suggests premature deployment of a 'feathering system' to create 'drag' for re-entry - which led to the craft's disintegration.

Coupled with the failure and (controlled) explosion of the unmanned joint NASA/Orbital Sciences Corp Antares rocket last week, this will clearly be another setback for the commercial space industry and the sector as a whole. Expect further delays to these and similar such projects, prolonging even more the time since men first landed on the moon. Given our technological advances in areas of computing, energy and propulsion since then who'd have thought we would still be struggling to extend our reach beyond our own planet 45 years later?

The 'Superman of Macclesfield' or 'human UFO'

There has been the usual spate of UFO sightings over the last three months, mostly from the U.S. (see the Southern Colorado sightings below), but the homegrown 'Superman of Macclesfield' is not a headline I'd have ever been able to predict as one associated with UFOs or UAP.

A320 and skydiver images from the Mirror Newpaper

In June (but reported in October) a human figure was seen to shoot past an Airbus 320 passenger plane at around 3,500 feet, startling the crew who were not clear what to report the incident in as. Although the event lasted only a matter of seconds, the crew (in clear skies) reported the human shape of the 'UFO' and the apparent absence of any canopy or parachute. Nothing was picked up by radar at local air traffic control.


Have a look at the Mirror's story for more details. From reading the various articles online, I think I would be more surprised if the mystery figure had flown horizontally and parallel with the plane for a few minutes or even seconds.  However, a figure falling through the sky will most likely turn out to be a thrill-seeking skydiver. Funnily enough, this is what has been suggested in the local Macclesfield Express in that the event could have been a practice run (or drop or flight?) by stuntman Gary Connery. Although he hasn't owned up to it being him so far, he did joke about how it might be him on Facebook after the official report on the event was made public.

The Southern Colorado UFOs

Meanwhile, the web's been buzzing with the reported sightings of strange luminescent discs or orbs hovering Southern Colorado for the last month. There are articles in The Huffington Post, The International Business Times and Open Minds to name but a few, about the more recent sightings and the general weirdness of past events in the area.

Witnesses still have no earthly explanation for the weird bright objects that have been appearing in the sky over this area since October but some claim that the San Luis Valley has for a long time been a UFO hotspot and therefore a popular destination for tourists and skywatchers who want to get a glimpse of UFOs or UAP.

The videos shown so far courtesy of the local 9News network - if genuine - certainly make for interesting viewing...

Here's one on YouTube courtesy of local Scott Stevens

Proof for a Moon Conspiracy?

I've been distracted by Government contract nonsense so apologies if it's been a while since my last post. Thankfully I've only got a few more days left to run on it before I get to enjoy what's left of the British Summer - which I hope will turn into an 'Indian Summer' too if you get my drift!

A faked image of a moon 'structure' from the web

Anyhow, in a slight departure from the usual UFO/UAP material, I notice that the Syfy channel are planning a special documentary about a Moon conspiracy theory that may (or may not) rattle a few cages if the evidence presented in it is compelling enough.

For further details have a look at the Open Minds article about this.

In short, proponents of this theory suggest that the Moon has been inhabited by extraterrestrials for a (very) long time and that these aliens have established 'bases' on the Moon, which continues to be used as a staging point for visits by ET to Earth.There is apparently photographic evidence of artificial constructs on the Moon (on it's far side of course, often incorrectly referred to as its 'dark side' - which we can't see from Earth) and testimony by some 'specialists' in the space industry which supports this.

This theory is not new and most likely was first given life shortly after the original Moon landing in 1969. A key story that probably kick-started this is that of the interception of restricted radio transmissions between the Apollo Astronauts and Mission Control which suggested that the astronauts were not only being 'watched' but effectively 'warned off' by the intimidating presence of several very large 'spaceships' hovering near their landing site. Further material has since come to light including photographs and witness testimony - all of which is practically impossible to confirm as genuine.

Like the UFO phenomenon, this Moon theory has been dogged by ridicule and hoaxers over the years but - unlike supposedly Earth or sky-bound UFOs - it could be argued to be far harder to prove or debunk.  This is because history currently tells us that only 12 human beings have actually set foot on the Moon (out of a total of 24 involved in the missions). This is provided you assume that they did, given there are also conspiracy theorists who would debate this as well - but that's another story in itself!

And - given our current known level of technology, most of us are not going to be seeing the surface of the Moon for ourselves anytime soon, so the theory still sits in that grey area of being 'unproven'. However, I've listed a few key arguments for and against the theory below that might give those largely unfamiliar with the whole subject food for thought.

Arguments against

1. NASA who ran the Apollo program [sic] from 1961 to 1972, categorically deny ever having found any artifacts or evidence of an ET presence on the Moon.

2. None of the Apollo astronauts have gone on record as stating that they encountered any ET presence on the Moon.

3. All photos of the Moon released by NASA and other space missions show no evidence of any alien presence on the Moon. Also thanks to modern satellite imaging technology and NASA archived images, the whole of Moon's surface including the far side or 'dark side', has effectively been photographed and mapped and can be viewed by anyone online. No artificial structures or objects are visible on the Moon's surface, other than the remnants of the Apollo Moon landings themselves.

4. It's been 45 years since the first Moon landing and no hard evidence has come to light in all that time.


Arguments for

1. NASA may not in fact be revealing everything they discovered during the Moon landings. It certainly wouldn't be the first time in history a quasi-official agency had deliberately withheld what could be highly sensitive information from the public.

2. If the previous point is true then the Apollo astronauts themselves could be sworn to secrecy with severe penalties for going public with any sensitive information. It's been suggested that various 'clandestine agencies' other than NASA were also closely involved in some if not all the Apollo missions. Moreover, proponents of the theory have suggested that NASA and these 'other agencies' already had a good idea of what they'd find prior to the first mission.

3. Again if the previous two points are true then any 'controversial' photos of the Moon could have been re-touched or simply not released into the public domain. Additionally there could be a strict control or clearance on the release of any Moon imagery by NASA and the 'other agencies'. This however would suggest, to be in anyway effective, a monumental effort by NASA and the other agencies and a heavy reliance on international cooperation i.e. with China and Russia and other countries with space technology.

4. The 45 years since the first Moon landing could be a moot point if the previous three points are true and there has been a concerted effort to conceal certain evidence from the public because of it's extreme sensitivity and supposedly very high security classification. By way of a comparison, details of many highly classified secrets from the Second World War (e.g. the work of the Bletchley Park Enigma code-breakers and the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb) have only come to light in subsequent decades and in some cases are only just being revealed now.

As a footnote - it's probably worth being aware of the little known Clementine mission which took place in 1994 and was a joint operation between NASA and the military to take high definition images of the whole of the Moon's surface. The unmanned spacecraft was called 'Clementine' as it only carried enough fuel to complete its mission before being "lost and gone forever" as in the song "My darling Clementine". This mission supposedly took 1.8 million images of the Moon but - to date - apparently only 170,000 of these have been put in the public domain. This begs the question "why?" if there is nothing worth seeing in the mass of unreleased images.

The apparent official answer to date is that at least 1 million of these other images are just 'emission spectra' taken at wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the near infrared and wouldn't make particularly interesting viewing but are useful as raw data for scientists. That's an awful lot of merely raw scientific data...

'Alien Egg' that caused a scare at a school

On a separate note - and in keeping with my previous references to the slightly bizarre inclusion of 'UFO crash drills' at schools over the last few years - a recent project involving a giant 'alien egg' at the Holy Trinity Primary School in Halstead, Essex backfired a bit scaring some of the pupils.

Have a look at the Daily Mail article for details. I couldn't help a smile at the name of the fictitious National Museum of Strange Objects representative - Dr Violet Strangeways....

UFO near miss with Aussie plane - a case of the Oz factor?

In a case that bears some similarity to one I referred to in my article at the start of the year - New Year, New Close Encounters? - in March an Australian plane en route to Perth Airport apparently narrowly avoided a collision with a UFO. This incident has only just started getting net coverage given that the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) released a report this week on the investigation into the incident which, thus far, has not identified the object in question.

The West Australian newspaper briefly summarises this incident but the Open Minds article expands on this a little more, in particular on the point that if what the plane encountered was an 'unmanned aerial vehicle' or UAV (in other words a drone - either military or recreational) then it was operating in restricted airspace without the apparent knowledge of either civil or military aviation authorities.

Now I couldn't resist the use of the pun in the title of this post but there's a point to be made here in the context of Ufology in general. For those unfamiliar with the expression, the 'Oz factor' was first coined by our very own (by which I mean the UK's) Jenny Randles formerly of BUFORA.

The Wikipedia entry for Ms. Randles refers to the 'Oz factor' as:-

"...a term invented by Randles in 1983 to describe the strange, seemingly altered state of consciousness commonly claimed by some witnesses of unidentified flying objects and other similar paranormal events. Randles has noted the strange calmness and lack of panic described by the witnesses, relative to the bizarre circumstances that they described and says that they described and defined the Oz factor as "the sensation of being isolated, or transported from the real world into a different environmental framework...where reality is but slightly different, [as in] the fairy tale land of Oz." She has further noted that "the Oz factor certainly points to consciousness as the focal point of the UFO encounter..."

Now it would be supremely arrogant to say that all currently inexplicable UFO encounters might have a psychological explanation or be put down to an altered state of consciousness on the part of an observer or observers. In fact it would be quite a disturbing stretch to state this was the case for any given aerial encounter - as that would suggest psychological issues on the part of aviation personnel involved - including the pilots.

It could however be one explanation for some ground based 'abduction' or 'contact' cases allegedly involving extraterrestrials - a facet of the UFO subject I am still completely circumspect about.

Triangle UFO blasts Taliban?

My contract's been extended (they seem to like my work) which has meant l've been short on spare time to write. Thankfully I've now got some leave for a short while.

Whilst commuting I've still managed to find time to read Richard Dolan's excellent "The Cover-Up Exposed, 1973-1991" the 2nd volume in his planned 3 volume series, "UFOs and the National Security State," covering developments in the UFO phenomenon from the 1940s to the present day. Whilst the first book covered the post-war period - and arguably the start of the modern phenomenon - the second looks at the UFO events, politics, and research that occurred during the last two decades of the cold war.

I plan to review this and his previous book, as well as Nick Redfern's On the Trail of the Saucer Spies soon.

Triangle 'UFO' bombs Taliban

Meanwhile, a video has hit the net in the last few days, supposedly filmed by U.S. Marines and showing a triangular UFO attacking a Taliban camp. Personally I think it's nothing more than a half-decent CGI fake intended to go viral so - it wouldn't surprise me if there's some original footage of the explosion(s) shown around somewhere - minus the UFO.

Here's the video in question on YouTube

Another strange triangle UFO

More compelling is the imagery of the triangular 'aircraft' with a contrail, captured by an amateur wildlife photographer. What's particularly interesting is that the witness claims that, as well as making unusual 180 degree manoeuvres, the aircraft was 'absolutely silent'. KSN - which filmed this article - also spoke with nearby McConnell Air Force Base. Assuming they were being truthful, McConnell state that they were also unable to identify the craft. They suggested it may be a B-2 bomber ( i.e. the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit or 'Stealth Bomber'), however, they could not confirm it and added that if it is a B-2, it is not one of theirs. So if it was a B-2 whose was it? If it wasn't a B-2 what was it?

The full video article is on the Open Minds website

Flight MH370 - 5 days on and still a mystery...

Update 15 March 2014

An image of a Malaysia Airlines 777

This is looking more and more like a hijack/terrorist scenario given that communications on the plane may have been deliberately disabled and that the authorities are now looking at the crew/passenger manifest in more detail.

BBC Breakfast interviewed an 'expert' in the last hour who referred to the 'point of maximum confusion' during the plane's journey.

This would be the point at which communications with the plane would be handed over from one country or region's airspace control to another and during which a hostile takeover might possibly have taken place.

This may offer the hope (however faint) that the passengers and crew are still alive and that they - and the aircraft itself - are being held for a ransom at a secret location...

Main article

By now you may have heard about the 'disappearance' of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 five days ago.

Rather than repeat the story here, this BBC article covers developments so far in full.

The BBC have also posted an article about other mysterious airline incidents - some not resolved until many years later.

It remains to be seen what category of incident flight MH370 falls into. It would clearly be premature to even speculate at this stage about what might have happened but, of course, conspiracy theories - including those relating to UFOs - are already viral on the net.

What this most likely tragic story highlights however, is how the world's air travel infrastructure is still vulnerable in the 21st century, nearly a hundred years after the start of the first 'fixed wing' airline. It also shows that, despite all our modern technology which includes radar and satellite tracking systems, finding a large passenger aircraft (or potential wreckage thereof) with 239 people on board, in a search area recently expanded to 92,000 sq km, is an extremely challenging task.

Assuming the plane never made it to dry land, the ocean is a very big and very deep place to be looking through.

My thoughts go out to those relatives of the people on flight MH370 waiting for any news at this time.

A UFO flying across Kent’s skies?

Update 

This story also features in Newsshopper as well as Open Minds.

Main article

An article in the Kent News today features a UFO sighting by father and son - Les Burlington, 68 and son Andrew 38 - in the area of South London/Kent. This article also refers to the website UFO World sightings which they originally reported their sighting to.

Unfortunately, the picture in the article (also shown here) is only apparently a computer generated image created by son Andrew of what they believe the unidentified 'craft' looked like - a classic triangular UFO.

Nonetheless the description of their sighting is interesting. They rule out both the sceptics' recurring choice of Chinese lanterns and helicopters as an explanation.

'Digital representation' of the UFO in Kent News

I know exactly what they're talking about with their reference to helicopter sightings, as I regularly see police helicopters circling in the South London/Kent area. You always know they're around as they're very noisy - unlike the 'craft' in this apparent sighting. And if what they witnessed was at relatively close range - to prevent too much sound distortion - then one could also rule out a VTOL (vertical take off and landing) or vector thrust aircraft given the noise that is made by such vehicles.

I have seen Chinese lanterns in this area too. Whilst these are silent, they're readily easy to identify (at close range - less so at a distance) and rarely last for any significant duration.

If the timing of the sighting was at 8:45pm as suggested, then this also rules out
sun-dogs - and whilst most familiar celestial bodies slowly move across the sky (no idea whether it was a clear sky or not that night) - what they claimed to witness apparently 'circled' as well...

It is conceivable however, that what they saw might possibly have been an airship or blimp, or a remote-controlled drone/aircraft.

Message to Les/Andrew

 

If you're reading this post - especially given that this has apparently taken place not far from where I live - I would very much like you to get in touch about your sighting.

You can reach me at ufoscrutiny@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Jonathan aka MIB.

The (Hoax) Alien Invasion is coming...

Ok Folks,

I admit I've been a bit remiss with my postings again - especially as my last post has been out of date for some time (as the Open Minds website is now up and running fine again).
My apologies - it was down to another run of (tiring and tedious) Govt contract work which finishes at the end of March and which has been taking up quite a bit of my time.

So this post offers three relatively hot news items for one. Enjoy.

Hoax 'Alien Invasion'

A typical camera drone

Anyway, be warned that according to these OpenMinds and Yahoo News articles there is a hoax 'alien invasion' on the horizon.

No it's nothing to do with the laughable 'Project Blue Beam', this appears to be a planned large-scale prank orchestrated by supposed UFO fans who will fly large numbers of remote controlled drones, complete with eerie flashing lights, into the skies on 5th April. Apparently 1st April would be too obvious a date hence the 5th to catch the uninformed unawares.

It will be interesting to see whether this generates any flurry of activity on the web or whether - given some the event's thunder might have been stolen by these articles and others - it just ends up being another '...and finally' item on local news networks. All a bit of fun I guess. And who knows? Maybe the news of the 'fake invasion' is itself just as fake - a social experiment in media manipulation. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Are We Alone? - This coming week

It's good to see some elements of the mainstream media giving some extended and sober coverage to one of the great mysteries as the American Science Channel launches it's Are We Alone themed week from tomorrow. Full details on the Science Channel Website

Bruce Dickinson and the 'flying bum'!

Now what have the former Iron Maiden front-man and a 'flying bum' got in common?

Daily Mail picture of the Hybrid Air Vehicle

Well the recent BBC News article and other articles such as this one in the Daily Mail will show you.

Bruce Dickinson - now a successful businessman and pilot, has - along with other investors - re-acquired (from the US military) an advanced 'airship' designed in Britain which, according to the Daily Mail resembles nothing less than a 'flying bum'.

It's a rather crass description for a huge and elegant piece of British hybrid airplane/airship engineering called the HAV (Hybrid Air Vehicle) 304, which I'm sure might get mistaken by some unobservant people for a 'UFO'. Anyway check out the articles for more details.

Open Minds TV site down again?

Okay so for a few days I have been unable to access the Open Minds TV website. Apparently 'the server where this site is located isn't responding.'

Whether I use Firefox or Safari the browser just freezes up on this site only. Other sites no problem.

Disabling internet security has no effect. Perhaps this is just something affecting those of us on this side of the the pond.

I can see search engine results still showing live/recent news articles - and I'd expect a holding page to at least be accessible if the site was down for some new year maintenance.

Is anyone else having the same issue accessing this site?

New Year, New Close Encounters?

Hello Folks,

A Happy New Year to you and I hope you all enjoyed the festive break.

For me the run up and the main event was quite busy hence my absence from posting since November.

Anyhow, the year has started with two interesting UK cases which have apparently only just hit the press, although technically the timing of the events seem to have been July and December of 2013 respectively.

The first (this event appears to have been July 2013 but has only been reported in the Sunday Telegraph on 5 January) was a dramatic near miss between a passenger plane and a 'rugby ball shaped' UFO near Heathrow Airport. The jury's still out on what the object was but the UK's Aviation Airprox investigations unit has been looking into the incident which has been reported by an (understandably) unnamed pilot for an unnamed airline. The Full Telegraph article can be found here.

The Wakefield Express reports a resident in Ossett (a market town within the metropolitan district of the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire) having filmed a rectangular-shaped UFO hovering over the area on 29 December 2013. Have a look at the brief Express article.

Elsewhere, there has been an intriguing report of a UFO tracked on radar as well as seen by witnesses, which disrupted traffic at Bremen Airport in Germany - a country out of which - interestingly in itself - few UFO reports tend to emanate. See the Huffington Post's article here. According to accounts by air traffic control and local eyewitnesses, the UFO's description includes the apparent airframe and navigation lights of an plane. However, the aerial object in question was seemingly operating without authorisation in German airspace.

Could the mystery 'plane' in fact be:-

a) a huge oversight on the part of Bremen air traffic control (unlikely in my view);

b) evidence of a secret military/intelligence operation for example the continuing practice of extraordinary rendition (more likely although the timing and frequency of the event seems strange for this explanation to hold weight); or

c) something far stranger?