SUNlite Shedding some light on and UFOs

Volume 2 Number 1 January-February 2010 UFOs on vacation, Socorro, This issue is a bit lean on stories be- cause of the holidays and other per- and ET commissions sonal business. I also noticed there was little news in the UFO commu- It seems like there are always lots of UFO ballot. Apparently, Peckman tried nity. I apologize but I can promise reports each month. However, with the this once before with some sort of “peace you there a several stories in the arrival of the holiday’s it seems that UFO initiative” (Probably to push his metatron works from a few authors. In order news eased off a bit around Thanksgiv- peace program scam). It failed at the to make sure their work is complete, ing and early December. It is probably ballot box and I hope that this waste of due to the cooler weather/holidays that time and resources will also fail. Don’t I chose not to rush them along. keep people from looking up and seeing let Peckman fool you. He claims that no UFOs. The Bluebook statistics (as well money will be spent by the government TABLE OF CONTENTS as those presented by Hendry) indicate but, by just putting it on the ballot, it has this is normal. I wonder if any Christmas already cost the taxpayers money. By eve UFOs can be classified as probably being a government related entity, the Who’s Blogging UFOs ...... 2-4 Santa? members of this board will not be able to The Roswell corner...... 4 do or say whatever they wish. There will Elsewhere, I have been monitoring most have to be somebody playing “watch- OK astronomer UFO update ...... 5 of what has been happening in UFO land dog”, which means resources will have to MOD shuts down UFO hotline...... 5 and it seems that quite a few people be expended by the government. were stuck on Socorro for the first part of Old UFO reports still make headlines.....5 November. Bragalia’s articles on the sub- This is all about Peckman finding a way Don’t set the snooze alarm for the Kecks- ject created a firestorm across the web to cash in on publicity and elevating his burg crash by Robert Young...... 6 and prompted numerous rebuttals and position in the UFO community. I in- Cautionary tales: Just how bad might a UFO proclamations. After the dust settled, vited Skeptic Bryan Bonner (co-host of observation be? by Matthew Graeber...7-8 everyone was back at square one on all Warning radio and the Rocky Mountain of this. The case will remain unresolved, Paranormal Research Society) to provide Almiro Barauna’s many hoaxes by Ken- which is exactly how UFOlogists want it. a piece about the commission. You will taro Mori...... 9-10 Mr. Bragalia will probably still proclaim find his piece about Stan Romanek very What about the Photos?...... 10 it was a hoax with very little to support revealing. this claim. I commend him for his tenac- Look up in the sky!: The Stan Romanek saga ity but I want to see something more In closing, it is interesting to note that, by Baxter and the Rocky Mountain Para- substantial. Without the names of the despite bold proclamations all year long, normal Research Society...... 11-22 hoaxers and methodology, the present that no UFO “disclosure” happened. This UFOs on the tube...... 23 hoax scenario has very little, if anything, is the same promise that has been made Buy it, borrow it, bin it...... 23 to support it. for the past fifty years! With that track re- cord, what do you think the odds will be Probably the biggest news item was Jeff that 2010 will be the year for “disclosure”? Peckman’s ET initiative is now on the I would not bet any money on it. 1 Kevin Randle spent a lot of time re- that showed two shapes behind a tree. hasing the old Socorro case. This was Who’s blogging MUFON investigated and determined “inspired” by Anthony Bragalia’s recent them to be balloons. This brought out story about a student hoax. He brought UFOs? some cat calls on the blog. Apparently, up some pertinent points and recounted some people are not interested in any most of the stories about the case. He explanation that does not involve alien bascially concluded the event is consid- Hot topics and varied opinions spaceships. ered unsolved. The comments on his blog was full of the usual heated back and The final series of reports that caught forth between the sides. The my eye from MUFON had multiple comments were pretty to do with alien spaceships much made by the same read- landing in Texas on two oc- ers. I have been down this road cassions. Alien beings ap- long ago in various venues. It parently decided to get out accomplishes so little. I made and take a stroll on good old my opinion on the case known Earth. Alas, no evidence has last issue. I would love to call it been provided to confirm solved but nothing so far has these stories. My guess is done this to my satisfaction. that some people are playing a joke or have vivid imagina- Frank Warren implied that tions. When MUFON pres- Stephenville must be active ents some real evidence to again. Apparently, the resi- support these stories, I will dents formed some sort of alert change that opinion. network. They reported a lot of recent jet activity in the area. Skeptic Karen Stollznow of This is not surprising since there is an Mili- Australia made some good comments tary Operating Area just to the southwest with potential solutions: about the ET commission initiative by of town. Warren listed a log from “pilot” Jeff Peckman. Her commentary is well Steve Allen, who was a principle witness One involved witnesses describing see- worth the read and spares no punches. to the 2008 event. He gave an account of ing UFOs regularly but they looked like Peckman deserves the criticism. His ET jet’s “scrambling” and “two whole squad- stars with the naked eye. When viewed commission is a scam (just like his little rons” being in the air. I think his use of in binoculars, one could see the under- program that enhances peace through these words indicate he really does not sides of the UFOs “spinning”. These UFOs your computer). I hope the voters of know much about military operations. A were seen regularly for three months. Denver learn this and vote it down. squadron of planes involves about 18-24 Why didn’t MUFON come by with gear to aircraft and a “scramble” involves the rapid record them if they were so predictable? Michael Cohen still keeps presenting takeoff of jets from an airbase. Since Ste- It does not sound like much of an inves- all sorts of wild stories and videos. His phenville is not near Carswell, it is unlikely tigation if you ask me. They sound like latest came from China where a UFO sup- he saw them “scrambling” and I doubt he scintillating stars if you ask me. posedly landed and “light beings” were saw some thirty aircraft in operation over seen. If you watch the clip, it looks a lot Stephenville. It is more likely there were The other case was in Arizona, where a like somebody was shining a bright flash- two or three groups of aircraft conduct- witness saw a bright light in the south- light against the wall/fence. Cohen really ing an exercise. I am curious why nobody west sky at 10PM. It seems that the wit- needs to show some sense of skepticism. has bothered to record this activty with ness may have been viewing flare activ- This is just silly. video cameras from various locations. ity over the Barry Goldwater test range, One would think MUFON would set up which was in this direction. There is no Cohen did not stop there. According to a surveillance network in a UFO hotbed mention of any effort to see if military ac- him scientists at JPL are looking at a pho- like Stephenville. Sigh....another lost op- tivity was happening on the range that tograph taken by the Spirit rover that portunity for MUFON. night. It was labeled “unknown - UAV”. shows “possible UFO wreckage”. I wonder if Cohen could actually name a non-UFO The UFO examiner described nineteen The remaining “unknown” cases were in- scientist that thinks these pictures really cases that have been investigated by triguing but, like these two cases, really show alien spaceship debris. their STAR teams. I was not overly im- were vague about details. In one case, pressed with the cases. They revolved police officers apparently investigated, Cohen just keeps saying silly things and arounded single witness or groups of saw the UFO, and determined that there in a subsequent blog posting, he stated witnesses that were not independent of was not much to the event. I wonder that many scientists have CORRECTLY each other. There were some solutions why they would think that? determined that the pyramids were built offerred on a few but many were listed as with the help of alien technology. I am “unknown”. Two of them caught my eye Another UFO video was posted by Marsh not sure what scientists he is discussing 2 sition against the constellations, the Who’s blogging UFOs? (Cont’d) way one would plot a meteor or sat- ellite. Not only can the azimuth and but very few believe this. Those that do, site I was made aware of, was the The Un- elevation angles be computed more tend to sell books instead of actually per- identified Aerospace Phenomena (UAP) accurately (assuming the date and form archelogical research. It is another Observations 2009 reporting scheme. It is time are correct) but it will give a cue wildly false claim made by Cohen. the idea of Philippe Ailleris, who has an in- on the level of expertise of the ob- terest in astronomy as well as UFOs. I think server. Experienced observers would The final thing Cohen posted that “busted the title needs to be fixed as the use of the have no difficulty with this task. A my gut” was a video from Japan. Cohen re- word “scheme” seems to have some sinis- novice or casual sky watcher would fers to it as an “emerald UFO”. If you ask me ter interpretation (like the infamous “trick” probably be unable to do this. it looks like somebody recorded a scintil- memo by Dr. Low in the Condon study). It lating star. There is absolutely nothing in is probably something lost in translation 3. When describing the “physical char- this video that indicates otherwise. as Phillipe appears to be French. Also, acteristics”, it asks for “apparent size” Phillipe seems to have changed NAR- and not “angular size”. Apparent A great UFO case appeared in many CAP’s definition of UAP. UAP is defined by size is just as poor an estimate as blogs on December 9th. When I first saw NARCAP as “aerial phenomena” but Phil- distance. Angular size is actual data the video, I recognized it from several you- lipe refers to it as “aerospace phenoman”. that can be evaluated. It also asks tube videos of a “wormhole” UFO taken I guess using the word “space” gives the to estimate speed of the object (en- from Russia in 2006. The December 9th indicator of something “extraterrestrial”. ticing an earthly measurement). He UFO was recorded and seen from Norway. should ask for “angular speed”. It had all the indications of a Russian rock- Mr. Ailleris decided to piggyback his idea et launch. Joel Carpenter had e-mailed with the International Year of Astronomy. 4. Probably the biggest red flag I saw a group of people about the video and His goal appears to be to inspire astrono- was when the form asks the observ- one of the responses included a Notice to mers to make UFO reports to his website. er to assess the sighting and assign Mariners message warning about a Rus- I find it odd that his report form is not to- probabilites of what it could have sian submarine launch of a Bulava missile. tally geared towards astronomers. Some been. One of these includes “Some Even though the Russian’s denied it was of the issues I had with it were: technological device not of terres- one of theirs in some media reports, they trial origin”. A report form should later confirmed the launch and the mis- 1. The “Personal information” section- be a “just the facts” kind of question- sile failed in flight. James Oberg would asked if they are amateur astrono- aire and not ask for the observer to follow-up with another email indicating mers. It only asks for “how long” and assign a conclusion. It encourages the Russians created another UFO a day what “astronomical assoiciation” to speculation and biasing of the ob- later when a Topol rocket launched from which they belong. They do not ask servations. ‘Kapustin Yar’ was recorded from several for degree of experience (i.e. novice, locations. beginner, intermediate, advanced). I commend Mr. Ailleris for his effort but This can often be important in evalu- I dislike the hidden cues in his form. It did not take long for conspiracy minded ation of the reporters familiarity with Most experienced astronomers do not UFOlogists to pick up on this one. Alfred the night sky. It also asks about other normally bother to report UFOs. If they Lambremont Webre suggests that there UAP sightings the witness may have see something odd, they will probably are other valid “scientifically based alter- had in the past. I don’t think this is attempt to do a little research on their native explanations” to the simple missile overly relevant to the one sighting. If own. I have seen astronomy forums re- malfunction explanation.These “expla- the witness wants to file a separate solve mystery objects in the past and nations” include ET interfering with the report for another event, they cer- the vast amount of resources available missile launch, a HAARP demonstration, tainly can do so. on the internet can usually identify most A “project blue beam mass psychological UFOs (ex: the astronomer UFO last issue conditioner”, a wormhole opened up by 2. In the “observation” section, some of that was probably a NASA research bal- the LHC, or ETs!!!! Who are these “scien- the information is inadequate. In- loon). tists” offering these “alternative explana- stead of asking for an azimuth, it asks tions”? Apparently, they are David Wilcock for direction. It also asks the estimate Mr. Ailleris also has a blog, which dis- and Richard Hoagland. A guru the distance to the UAP, which is a cusses UFO reports. It included the so- and a Mars face fanatic does not make mistake common in many UFO re- lar eclipse UFO reportedly seen by the them “scientifically based explanations”. ports. Making an estimate of distance Purple mountain observatory in China. Maybe Robert Hastings can write another for an object that is an unknown This was discussed in the last issue of book about how the UFOs shot this mis- quantity usually results in inaccurate SUNlite. Apparently, he is unaware that sile down. Meanwhile, the rest of us know estimates. On a positve note, it does the director stated there was no UFO but this was a simple missile malfunction with ask to estimate the angle of elevation what they had observed were bright ar- an earthly explanation. and not altitude/height estimates. I eas of the Corona near the sun’s limb that believe a better question for astrono- deserved further study. When it comes to Probably the most interesting blog/web- mers would be to plot the UFOs po- UFOs reported by astronomers, UFO pro- 3 The Roswell corner for this, so I decided to tilt my balloon Who’s blogging materials on some wood and exposed it for about a month. Unfortunately, the UFOs? (Cont’d) Foster Ranch off limits to hide NH weather this past summer was rather evidence? wet and sun was hard to come by. Still, I ponents tend to only present one side of was surprised to see what I got after a the story. I am sure Phillipe probably was There is not much going on with Ro- month or so. unaware of the follow up story but one swell except Mr. Bragalia keeps coming I expected to see blackened balloon ma- needs to learn to dig a little deeper on up with all sorts of wild stories to link to terial but the material was only slightly these things. Roswell. There is nothing new with his discolored. It had a brownish tint to it latest “revelations”. He wanted to make but nothing blackened the way I expect- Billy Cox had an interesting news item it seem like there is a cover-up in the Bu- ed. I suspect if the weather had been about Steve Bassett and his “X” confer- reau of Land Management. Apparently, sunnier and hotter, the results would ences. Steve Bassett has been running the BLM did not want any development have been somewhat different. I also am up quite the tab with his little “Exopoli- occurring on the Foster Ranch area. not sure if my neoprene weather bal- tics” show. He appears to be in the red This is probably not that big a deal and I loon (purchased from Edmund Scien- by at least $16,000 and the collectors are would not be surprised if other land was tific company) was the same type used coming after him. As a result, he is flat under the same restrictions. back in 1947. Many factors could have broke and can’t run his little dog and What Bragalia seems to ignore is that prevented the blackened features that pony show anymore. However, his web- UFOlogists and the SCI-FI channel per- Professor Moore used to demonstrate. site says they are goiing to have another formed two scientific “digs” at the crash However, there was a characteristic that X-conference in April 2010. Apparently, site identified by Bill Brazel. The result I did not expect. running “X-PPAC” is not like running a real was that nothing “alien” was ever dis- The neoprene no longer was elastic in business. Otherwise, he would put such covered. The BLM did not seem to stand any way. It was sort of had a cloth or pa- costly endeavors on hold until he had in the way then and probably would not per feel to it and it ripped easily when I paid his bills. stand in the way of any examination of attempted to stretch it. If I were told this the land. Others have walked/surveyed material came from a balloon, I would Bassett is also complaining through Cox the area with no luck as well. Aerial pho- have doubted that claim. It just could that he does not get enough donations! tographs taken of the area from 1946 not expand in any way. According to Cox, SETI gets $25 million and 1954 revealed no noticable chang- Does this explain what Marcel was de- for their telescopes but Bassett receives es that would have been left by a huge scribing? Marcel described that he could nothing. What is missed by Bassett/Cox gouge and massive military involvment blow air through it and that it looked is that SETI is run by some competent (i.e. large tractor trailers, trucks, etc). like metallic cloth. The material I have professionals, who do not waste their So where is the actual evidence of the does not exactly match this description money on “dog and pony shows” that ac- crash? but it did have the characteristic that “It complish nothing more than get Bassett’s For those who think the Army was able wouldn’t hold any air”. face in the news. It is not research and to sanitize the site and remove any trace never was. Additionally, Bassett’s current from aerial photographs, should talk track record of wasting money is not go- to Peter Merlin. He has been able to ing to further impress any donors. Why identify a classified SR-71 crash site that would I want to donate a single penny to was supposedly sanitized using photo- a guy who has shown that he can’t even graphs taken by the US Geological Sur- balance his books? vey (USGS) five years after the crash. The idea that the record of such a massive Bassett’s failed little enterprise is his own operation described could be physically fault and its disappearance will not be wiped clean is just unrealistic. mourned on these pages. It wouldn’t hold any air And the beat goes on...... Those were the words of Jesse Marcel Sr. when describing some of the debris he discovered at the Foster ranch. Karl Pflock suggested he was describing the paper parachutes that may have been used on the NYU flight. It seemed rea- sonable explanation and I pretty much figured this was the case. However, this last summer, I conducted a little experiment with neoprene balloon materials. I could not go to New Mexico 4 Oklahoma astronomer UK shuts down UFO hotline Old UFO reports still UFO sighting update make good headlines The United Kingdom’s Ministry of defense The UFO examiner recently brought up Thanks to Dave Trembley, I was able to (MOD) has been running a UFO hotline to an old UFO case that seemed mysterious obtain the data from last October’s re- collect UFO reports for fifty years. After and caught my eye for several reasons. search balloon that sparked a “reliable” looking at all the reports they have gath- It had multiple witnesses independent UFO report by some amateur astrono- ered, they came to the same conclusion of each other and it appeared to be rea- mers south of Tulsa. I addressed the the USAF had forty years ago! That being, sonably documented. After reading it, I case last month but lacked any hard data there are no UFOs that have been shown wondered if there was a possible expla- other than the ground plot posted by to be a threat to national security. nation. NASA and the time of the flight termina- tion. Now I have more data that confirms One would think that the response by According to the UFO report, police of- what I deduced previously and wanted to UFO groups would have been mild. How- ficer Manuel Amparano made his report share it with my readers. ever, the response was something akin on May 13, 1978 at 3:32 AM from Kerman, to the UK government taking away a California. He stated that he saw a bright The key time frame of the balloon’s flight health care benefit. Nick Pope and others red object to the south that moved rapid- was between 1845 and 1945 CDT (2345- seemed distressed that the UFO hotline ly towards the southeast when he shined 0045Z), when the observations were was shutdown. Pope referred to it as be- his light at it. The duration of the event made: ing a “sad day for science”. For some rea- was four to five minutes. The police of- son he felt that the MOD was collecting Time Long Lat Alt Speed Heading ficer apparently suffered from severe valuable data. However, if you asked any 1844 102.57 34.16 127381 7 111 sunburn at the time. Others also reported scientists independent of the UFO crowd, 1849 102.56 34.16 126807 8 56 seeing something similar that morn- I bet most would state it was a waste of 1854 102.55 34.17 126319 11 34 ing. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to time. Anybody who watched the David 1859 102.53 34.19 125724 16 28 gather pertinent data (such as azimuth, Clarke videos about the released files, will 1905 102.52 34.21 125108 14 22 angles of elevation, and apparent angu- realize that this is all a bunch of nonsense. lar size) as typical in UFO reports. 1910 102.51 34.23 124236 14 36 No good data was being collected that 1915 102.50 34.24 123198 15 13 could be used scientifically and, as stated My first thought was it might be a rocket 1920 102.49 34.27 122893 19 358 (and contrary to what is being claimed by launch from Vandenberg AFB roughly 1925 102.50 34.29 122317 15 331 UFO proponents), nothing has ever actu- 150 miles to the SSW of Kerman. I had 1930 102.53 34.29 118234 21 201 ally threatened the defense of the UK. seen rocket launches from Cape Canav- 1935 102.50 34.30 63345 38 162 eral from about the same distance when Nick Pope even implied the closing of this 1940 102.46 34.28 49106 17 128 I was growing up in Jacksonville. The of- hotline would mean that people and pi- 1945 102.41 34.24 38506 51 140 ten appeared reddish, illuminated that lots would now be less likely to observant, area of the sky, and rapidly vanished af- The data reveals several things that mir- leaving their country open to terrorism. ter stage separation. My first step was to ror what the witness stated. One is that Pope is wildly exaggerating and it is high- check the Vandenberg launch history. I during a bulk of the observation time, the ly unlikely that any UFO reports made on was somewhat surprised to discover that balloon was heading in a NNE direction a hotline would have prevented an im- at 3:34 AM PDT on May 13, 1978, NAVSTAR at a slow pace. To an observer 400 miles minent terrorist action. I think the MOD 2 was launched aboard an Atlas rocket away, it would not move significantly would have other lines open for this sort from Vandeberg! Didn’t anybody check since it would be moving towards the of report. As we know from SUNlite vol- this out? The orbital inclination was 63.6 observer and slightly northward. It would ume 1, No. 3, Pope’s role at the MOD has degrees indicating a launch towards the appear almost stationary. Between 1930- been highly exaggerated and he contin- south or SSE. It would appear as a bright 1935 speed and descent rate rapidly ues to milk that cow for all it is worth. His red orb that was low in the SSW that increased. The witness told me this hap- jabbering is nothing more than a selfish would slowly rise and move towards the pened, “sometime around I’d estimate effort to put himself in the news again. SE until it “vanished”. Is it a coincidence 1945”. Based on this statement, I think The truth is that the MOD was probably the UFO sighting happened at the same a ten to fifteen minute difference is not tired of dealing with the wild stories they approximate time and direction or is it that significant an error. had to listen to over the years. Like the possible that this is the solution to this This all confirms my suspicions about the USAF, they realized it was a waste of time UFO report? research balloon being the source for this and resources, which meant person- I am certain the argument will be that this UFO report. It was the correct altitude at nel were busy chasing down “will of the is not what the police officer saw because the time of observation and the correct wisps” instead of conducting actual work he had a sunburn on his body after the direction. I am sure UFO proponents will beneficial to the service. If shutting down event. However, was the sunburn re- continue to present this as a good astron- the hotline allows just one more person to ally due to the UFO or did he happen to omer UFO report but don’t let them fool concentrate on terrorist/defense issues, it get the burn from some other unrelated you. It was just another event misidenti- is a gain for the MOD and the people of event? In my opiniong, the solution to fied as something exotic by a person in- the UK. That is what is important, isn’t it? this mystery is most likely the NAVSTAR2 terested in seeing UFOs. launch. 5 If you asked me, I would say that Leslie Don’t set the snooze alarm for the Kecksburg Crash Kean and the Sci-Fi channel have accom- plished absolutely nothing in their inves- Robert Young tigation into the Kecksburg story. We are ecently pro-UFO writer Leslie Kean told that hundreds of soldiers and their Rwrote an article reciting what she equipment were used to locate, cordon claims are important details surrounding off, retrieve, and transport a large exotic the Kecksburg UFO incident. This is the object. However, the only thing Kean saucer crash tale from western Pennsy- and her cohorts can produces is what lania which sprang up years later after a has been known over the years. That be- December 9, 1965 brilliant meteor fire- ing several airmen and an officer from ball visible from 10 states and Ontario. the 662nd radar squadron were used to Popularized by “Unsolved Mysteries” and investigate the case. She has yet to iden- other TV shows during the 1990s, some tify any other units involved. The obvious saucer believers seem to be increasingly reason for this is because there were no desperate to keep the story going. Like other units involved. many crash stories, each whiff of public- Kean has yet to demonstrate that the sci- ity has the chance of bringing some new entific investigation done in 1965 is false. “witness”into the daylight to keep the fun I have seen her use David Rudiak’s effort alive. So, almost every year as the anni- as a defense instead of actually talking to versary of the event approaches the tiny Dr. Von Del Chamberlain. In June of 2006, handful of ufologists who still pay atten- I pointed him towards Rudiak’s commen- tion to the event throw out another snare. tary on his work and asked if Rudiak con- When asked for the most important UFO tacted him. Dr. Chamberlain responded: incidents of all time in a survey of well- No, Mr. Rudiak did not contact me. This is known ufologists a couple years ago, Ke- the first I have heard of his “analysis.” The ckburg no longer made the cut. The real scientific evidence regarding Kecksburg. One of the pho- paper is a classic case of “proving” what In her latest piece, Kean just regurgi- tographs of the debris trail left behind used to deduce the meteors actual path, which was not towards Kecksburg! one wants to believe and shows lack of un- tates the same old stuff while neglecting derstanding of the fireball event. There is to mention key aspects of the incident Stuff-o-Meter, how about you? simply NO question about this being a me- which point to a prosaic explanation. She In another “bait and switch” investigative teoric event. From start to finish it is a per- didn’t even mention that astronomers tidbit, she mentions the deceased news fect example of one, including all the confu- soon after the event analyzed photo- director of a local radio station, but never sion regarding interpretation, especially at graphs of the fireball’s cloud train and de- reveals that in a special radio report broad- the boundaries of observation where the termined that it was a meteor and even cast the week following the incident this fireball appeared to go to or beyond the ho- determined a possible orbital path out to newsman reported that the only military rizon. It was not just the photographs we the asteroid belt, source of many bright personnel that he saw that night at the used which confirmed the trajectory area rocky fireballs. site were in the back seat of a State Police and endpoint. We worked with many ob- Investigators managed to locate several car. This, too, fully supports the Blue Book servers, going to the site where they made former member of the USAF 662 Radar record and the official version. the observations to interview them. ALL Squadron, which sent three men from a Of course, the “acorn” shaped UFO was the data came together -- fireball observa- nearby radar site near the Pittsburgh air- mentioned. The ufologists’ version of tions, sonic booms, etc. -- to confirm that port. These investigators thus came from the crash never mentions anymore that the event was over SW Ontario and that the the closest Air Force “base”, which is what for the first ten years the claimed eyewit- meteoric body was headed as we indicated was prescribed for UFO reports in Air nesses who reported seeing the object, in our paper. Force Regulation 200-2. Kean called at- itself, described is as like a 17-foot long tention to the fact that one mentioned a rocket shape. Hey, what did they know? Instead of evaluating the true evidence written report, which was not in the Blue Rockets always look like rockets after they available, Leslie Kean chose to use NASA Book file of the incident, but neglected endure flaming reentry and hard landing, as a scapegoat. It is obvious that her effort to tell readers that the witness said they don’t they? was to perpetuate the Kecksburg mystery didn’t find anything, which matches a I’ve been following this story for about and not search for the truth. written notes of a phone report con- 20 years, now, and I think I can make a I have presented my opinion and evalu- tained in the file. firm prediction. Next fall there will be yet ation of the case at my website. Until Instead, Leslie Kean tries to make it sound another attempt to revive the Kecksburg UFOlogists find real facts that can be pre- like she has found conflicting stories from UFO crash tale. Go to Robert Sheaffer’s sented to confirm these stories, this case the former USAF personnel, because one webpage for accurate details on the old- can be considered identified as a bright said three men were involved and an- solved mystery of the Dec. 9, 1965 me- daylight fireball coupled with some vivid other thought it was four. For a memory teor. imaginations. that’s 44 years old, this doesn’t register more than a 1 or 2 on my 10-point Weird Tim Printy 6 wife had mistaken the Goodyear Blimp CAUTIONARY TALES: JUST HOW BAD for a silvery-mother ship. He was abso- lutely astonished his wife did not know MIGHT A UFO OBSERVATION BE? such blimps existed. She had never heard of the Hindenburg disaster, Zeppelins or, Matthew Graeber the Akron blimp of sad memory. So, here we may be confronted a generational gap It seems many pro-UFOlogists tend to told officers “It seemed to be circling the of common knowledge and complete ig- have some difficulty with believing how building at very low altitude!” norance of aeronautical history!? poor a UFO observation can be, not to mention how inflated, distorted and em- Two police cruisers arrived on the scene Another UFO field investigator who is a bellished that poor report may become with their lights flashing in urgency. Cops MUFPON leader in Pennsylvania, phoned as the story weaves its way through the hurried curious residents out of danger. with a report by a lady living on a farm. sensational rumor-mills of Saucerdom, Then, they took up defensive positions She had reported a UFO which appeared and becomes magically transformed into behind their vehicle’s opened doors with to be an airplane flying backwards! The rock-solid ‘Unidentified!’ pistols drawn and pointed skyward, as the plane was actually an experimental pri- strange triangular craft dove at them and vately-owned aircraft from a nearby air Perhaps, as I have recently learned such quickly vanished into the darkness…. it’s facility, NOT a in disguise! UFOOLogy stems from a passionate re- loud fluttering sound fading in the howl- jection of western science and the intel- ing wind and pouring rain. Although, the objects mentioned above lectual contributions of men like Thomas were first perceived and reacted to by Huxley. Or, this kind of behavior may be I had been notified by a police source (Be- witnesses, UFO investigators and Police rooted in what Karl Pflock identified as cause of earlier UFO reports in the town- personnel as UFOs ( i.e., Assumed alien “The UFOlogist’s will to believe.” ship I had investigated), and arrived on spacecraft). These overly-zealous and the scene a bit later. By that time, it was errant reactions were based entirely on I shall offer but, a few case examples of learned the dark triangular UFO was ac- scant observational data/clarity and ig- how bad a UFO report can be in this brief tually a youngster’s Batman kite with its norance of all the other possible tell-tale article, with the hopes that no one will be tether tangled in a rooftop TV antenna. identity indicators involved in the inci- offended by the obvious mis- It was made of black plastic (Like that dents. In short, a UFO sighting may ap- and misinterpretations the witnesses of a lawn and leaf disposal bag), and its pear strange and unidentifiable to those have made regarding their strange, sud- loud fluttering sound was produced as who apply A KNEE-JERK REACTION TO den and shocking UFO experiences. the wind flowed from its flexible trialing THEIR FAULTY OBSERVATIONS AND PRE- edges. DISPOSITION ABOUT UFOs AS VISITING I will close this article with a ‘belly-laugh’ ALIEN SPACECRAFT. true story of the attempts of one rela- In another instance, a MUFON UFO field tively new saucer crash expert who has investigator phoned about a UFO he had AZTECIAN UFOOLOGY! ‘borrowed’ and embellished a very old spotted while driving to work early one and well-known UFO hoax to advance his morning. He had observed the object In another free-fall of non-logic example. own promotional agenda and rise to star- with a dark band along its middle (on the One saucer crash expert currently on the dom in contemporary Saucerdom! These horizontal axis of the craft) He observed scene is spreading his ‘New Age Gospel of Cautionary Tales are dedicated in memo- the object again the following day, it was nonsense’ about a saucer crash that ‘alleg- ry of my dear friends, Karl T. Pflock, Robert a ‘MetLife blimp’ with a blue stripe on edly’ took place fifty-one years ago in the G. Todd, Philip J. Klass, UFORIC’s Gordon its side (Flying above a TV covered golf desert near Aztec, New Mexico. Unfortu- Myers and APRO/UFORIC researcher Mike tournament). On the first morning it was nately, two criminal conmen were tried McClellan who wrote a very persuasive quite hazy and the details of the blimp a convicted for this same hokum during article debunking the Aztec UFO crash were not distinct to the unaided eye. the early fifties, using a very similar UFO claims of the charlatan, Professor Robert crash yarn which was merely the prelude Spencer Car back in the early seventies. Back in the 70’s my wife (Grace) received to bulking investors out of money. a call from her younger sister whose hus- SAMPLING THE REPORTS band was stationed in San Diego, Califor- But, now the old dusty hoax has been re- nia. She told my wife of a huge “Torpedo- visited and with a soon to be published Bristol/Levitown, Pa, back in the mid-sev- like silvery UFO” which was flying along book ignoring all the court records and enties: Police were dispatched in the pour- the coast. She said it was enormous, not the verdict. The long-dead case has been ing rain on a dark windy night in response noisy like the jets she often saw and small ‘Resuscitated’ for a new generation of un- to a frantic call from a woman who had power and sailboats in the water were suspecting UFO enthusiasts and believ- been terrorized and chased from a park- slipping in and out of the colossal UFO’s ers. There are of course, little problems ing lot into her apartment building by a shadow as it slowly moved along. one must overlook at times, obvious ex- low-flying, frightfully noisy UFO! Others cesses and contradictions which tend to in the apartment building had heard and Later that evening my brother-in-law take the old tale to new heights of absur- seen the fleeting, dark saucer too. They phoned and embarrassingly told me his dity: 7 1. The expert claims someone at the crash site, pressed a button inside the craft (Presumably, with a stick shoved through the broken glass of one of the craft’s portholes) Then, the 80 foot in diameter craft suddenly fell apart in sections… Something like a gigantic transformer toy, I guess!?

2. This remarkable transformational feat, may help us grasp how an 80 foot in diameter aliens spacecraft may have been loaded upon 8 foot wide flat-bed truck and spirited away from the scene by (You guessed it!) The super-secretive and cover up skilled specialists of the U.S. military.

3. Of course, there are a whole passel of newly discovered witnesses to the crash. Although some may think it a wee bit unusual so many folks just JOYOUS NANOSH TO ONE happened to be in that particular disassembled some of the aircraft part of the lonely desert when the and loaded it upon a big truck be- AND ALL ill-fated alien saucer plummeted to fore driving away. A local newspaper Earth. One must realize these folks owner who was something of a col- ‘Twas the night before Nanosh and all have kept silent for over fifty years, orful character, well-known for his through the ship, not a hybrid was stir- waiting for just the right opportunity leg-pulling nature may have adapted ring, not even a blip. to be part of this historically signifi- the factual story into a saucer crash cant book on the mythical covered yarn ? (At least, one of the old-times The stun guns were hung by the ejection up, despite this publication not be- suggests that possibility), and others pod’s door, and six photon torpedoes lie ing the first attempt to resurrect the in the area spoke of the newsman’s stacked on the floor. yarn, while also over-looking the fact chronic yarn-spinning too! He had When out on the ship’s rim there arose that Mike McClellan had found NO even once published a news story such a clatter, I thought in the instant eyewitnesses to the event during his about his being taken aboard a space we’d struck anti-matter. investigation back in the early seven- ship in the desert by little saucer But, the word quickly spread that ties. men, and visited with ranch-hands “Nanosh” had arrived, and we feasted on who relished his stories as they gath- tribbles both, sauted and fried. 4. Then, we are informed a work crew ered in barns and bunkhouses. of El Passo Oil and Gas company Oh what a joyous and festive event, we employees came upon the downed I’m afraid there is very little anyone can danced with Abductees ‘til the evening saucer after being dispatched to do to divert the flood of saucer hokum. was spent. the scene of a small brush fire near But “SUNlite” is an online life preserver in Yes, Nanosh had come, and we all felt a company drip tank. The problem is the turbulent waters of UFOOLOGY for the glee, execept for ome Hybrid that old-timers who lived in the area all those who would embrace its intellectual paused to go wee. their lives say oil and gas company wisdom. tanks and lines were not yet existent So, beam up to see us on Nanosh next in the alleged crash sire area before Oh yes ‘UFOOLogy’ is a rather pithy (Extra year, we’ll nibble on tribbles, and drink 1960. So, there may be a bit of a time- vowel) word I coined about fifteen years lots o’ beer...and we’ll feast, and we’ll line problem with the new version of ago, it may be defined as the consensus- feast ‘til your Earth belly pops, just reme- the 1948 story? (This bit of informa- powered corruption of the scientific ber rule one..bring a Hybrid a pot! tion was provided by a MUFON state method, a lack of applied prudence, and About NANOSH director’s report. He had interviewed the careless abandon of common sense Dear Saucer-heads, Saucer-Headeetes or Aztec old-timers back in the 1990’s) reasoning skills in favor of purely emo- Saucer Cross-Dressers, (please take your tional anecdotal accounts. In the old days pick).I just thought I’d send you these 5. Back in the 1940’s a military pilot had out west, it was simply known as “Spoof- Holiday Greetings, while also wishing emergency landed a P-38 lighten- ing” young fellers and gullible easterners. you and yours a heart felt and Joyous ing fighter plane at a property near Nanosh. the later ‘alleged’ crash site. A group of mechanics came a few days later, -Matt 8 Almiro Barauna’s many hoaxes

Kentaro Mori Almiro Baraúna was a trickster. It has been known for many years that he cre- ated a series of trick photos of a flying saucer published on the “Mundo Ilustra- do” magazine in 1954. Recently, thanks to the work of historian Rodolpho Gauthier, we have finally made this article widely available. “[Despite] many photos of the ‘saucers’ having been made, these cannot be taken as proof at all since there at my house we can also make flying saucers, with chips from the Carioca fleet. To do so, you just have to know how to use a photographic camera, as the readers may learn through the photos on this article”, wrote Vinicius The next day, Jornal do Brasil interviewed Lima who then presented the photos to Saco de São Francisco by himself and a group of photographers from Niterói tricked by Baraúna along with explana- Baraúna. The work was sold to the news- “who can create anything, from flying tions as to how they were created. paper without his knowledge”, Jornal do Brasil confirmed in the same day edition, saucers, sputniks and even black ghosts Which means this was not exactly a hoax, Feb 22. You can see these hoaxed photos, coming inside newsrooms in broad day- that is, the photos were clearly presented including one of Baraúna along with the light”. as the trickery they were. Baraúna could fake treasure chest, again courtesy of Ro- Besides Simões, they mentioned Valter be even seen as a serious, concerned dolpho Gauthier. Quota, Carlos Ruas, brothers Delio and photographer. He could, had he not de- João Limoeiro, Lívio Campos and even liberately hoaxed before. Geraldo, from the Police Technical Insti- “Some time ago, he was trying to make a tute. Simões claims Baraúna was part of report about a ship sunken centuries ago, this photo trickery bunch, and that he also using a fraud. With the camera lens was not the only one there that doubted over a glass, placed at the bottom of a Baraúna’s allegedly real flying saucer pho- can, Baraúna photographed a miniature tos. ship, […] prepared by him, giving the im- “Geraldo created one better than that”, pression it was a ship sunken many years said João Limoeiro. When asked about ago”, informed the newspaper Diário de it, though, Geraldo replied, “I assure you, Notícias on Feb 22, 1958. [Baraúna’s] one is better”. It was not the only newspaper to report Given that his Mundo Ilustrado trick in- on his hoaxes. volved a flying saucer, it was sure to re- “A newspaper from Rio de Janeiro pub- ceive more attention, but Baraúna’s hoax lished a long series of news reports about of a treasure chest complete with a skull is the extraordinary finding of a treasure in perhaps more relevant because it involves Espirito Santo. The photo showed an old deliberate deception. The hoaxed photos chest and a skull. Regarding this report, Mr. Joaquim Simões revealed that the photos were actually taken in Saco de São Francisco from Niterói [near Baraú- na’s house]. The objects that composed the treasure were a skull borrowed from the local Med- icine School and an old chest, still in his possession. This material, that [Simões] assumed were to be used in artistic pho- tos and not in hoaxed news, were taken 9 were presented as authentic, and Baraú- What about the photos? had to be photographed at the same na even denied having hoaxed them. time as the image of the island. My first Back in 2003, I became aware of Kentaro thought was a pane of glass was placed “Can you imagine? Even that story about a Mori’s work on the Trindade case as he in front of the camera. However, that did treasure I photographed in Espirito Santo revealed that he had acquired high-res- not make sense. Even at very high depth they claim it was a hoax”, he told the very olution scans of the photographs. Prior of fields, the glass would have to be far same Jornal do Brasil, which published to this, most of the photographs existed away and must be large so the edges this statement in the same news report as just some images in books that were would not be visible. For this to happen about the Niterói photo trickery bunch. extremely small and prevented careful without anybody noticing, would seem As we emphasize, the treasure chest was examination. Various UFO proponents unlikely. This led me to another scenario. a hoax that Baraúna photographed near proclaimed them some of the greatest his house in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. photographic evidence for UFOs ever to This scenario involved the UFO image So, Almiro Baraúna hoaxed, and even exist. On the other hand, Dr. Menzel de- being placed internally on the film plane when denounced, denied the hoax. clared the photographs a hoax based on through the use of a mask in front of the the photographer’s background of creat- film. This mask could have been inserted But he eventually admitted the hoaxing ing hoax photographs. between photographs using a dark bag of the treasure chest. It only took him 39 or setup internally with the roll of film. In In 2004, the Trindade images were be- years. the first case, it would have been a time ing circulated by many UFO proponents. consuming operation to get the four In a recorded interview with Marco Petit Brad Sparks proclaimed that he had es- photographs. The second case could conducted in 1997, he claims a “frustrated tablished an international Trindade Re- be done rapidly but involved setting up photographer” whom he “helped a lot”, search Project to verify their authenticity the film prior to the photographs being lending a lot of material “which he never and that the results of the study would taken. Sparks contended that this mask returned” was probably envious about be completed sometime in 2004 or 2005. would result in the resolution of the pho- his fame and brought up the subject of I am unaware of any results ever being tograph being degraded. This is an issue the treasure chest to the press. He’s cer- published other than Martin Shough’s of concern with this hypothesis. Howev- tainly referring to Joaquim Simões. website, which seems to be his own ef- er, one must remember that Barauna was fort. About this time, some form of news Baraúna then explains that he and Ubira- an accomplished photographer and may inspired to tell John Rimmer tan Fernandes from Cruzeiro magazine, have found a way to get past this prob- that new evidence was going to reveal the Vanderlei and another friend made a trick lem with clear glass or treated film that Trindade case as a genuine event. This to fool Tribuna da Imprensa into publish- cleared most of the grain in the mask. ing a hoax. And they published it. “new evidence” never surfaced and I can only assume it was Brad Sparks privately I want to make it clear that I am not of the “Indeed, that was a hoax”, Baraúna finally informing Clark about his work. Like the opinion that this was the method used admited. “But one thing had nothing to promised report, the “new evidence” sim- and I am only suggesting it as a possibil- do with the other”, he told Petit. ply vanished or was found not to be so ity. One can not ignore the possibility The other, of course, is the Trindade Island convincing. that Barauna may have found a way to UFO case. Baraúna passed away in July create such a hoax image. The only thing Meanwhile, Kentaro shared the high res- 20, 2000, without ever admitting that the standing in his way was the time required olution images with many people, includ- Trindade UFO photos were hoaxed. to create the hoax images. ing myself. Being of the opinion that they His treasure chest hoax is part of a long were probably hoaxes, I began to wonder One thing Kentaro Mori noted back in series of relevant evidence, to date not how Barauna could have accomplished 2004 was that the cloud formations did considered in any evaluation of this clas- such a feat. The idea they could be dou- not appear to be the same in the photo- sical UFO case, that I and fellow research- ble exposures did not sit well with me graphs. When he mentioned this, Mar- er Rodrigo Moura Visoni, with the help simply because the images did not have tin Shough stated there were patterns, of many, including Rodolpho Gauthier, the signature of a conventional double which indicated a time passage of several have uncovered and will be publishing exposure because the UFOs image was minutes. Brad Sparks stated he could see openly soon. more dense than the background. With “wave patterns” and was able to see the this in mind, I attempted to look at other same wave in two successive pictures. His methods being used by photographers time passage for the photographs was be- at the time. I found some rather interest- tween one and three minutes! All of the ing trick photographs but none gave the witnesses claimed the time period was methodology. I assumed that most were less than 30 seconds and Barauna gave done in the darkroom during the printing a 14-second time frame after performing process. tests with his camera. All of this indicated the story surrounding the photographs According to the Barauna story, the nega- were to be questioned. Kentaro hopes to tives were examined right after develop- present new evidence in the future. We ment on the ship. If this were true, it was The hoax UFO from Barauna’s article and the actual look forward to Kentaro Mori’s upcoming unlikely that the UFO was added in the Trindade UFO image. It is not an exact match but revelations about the Trindade case they are similar. dark room. As a result, I figured the UFO 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 UFOs on the tube Book Reviews Buy it! (No UFO library should do Mystery Quest: Alien cover up way. It was no surprise this weak effort without it) was a bust. I was really looking forward to watching UFOs: Explained - Philip Klass this program since it featured Peter Mer- The highlight of the show was a trip to In my opinion this is Phil’s best work of lin. Boy was I disappointed in how this all Tikaboo mountaintop with a high pow- his triology of UFO books. It seemed to panned out. What looked like a new and ered telescope. It had to be the most me the best written of the the three and insightful approach to the mys- ridiculously staged dramas I have seen focused on some very pertinent issues tery turned out to be the same old con- since “UFO Hunters”. While they were associated with UFO reports. He also spiracy nonsense and speculation about scaling the mountain, a helicopter and revealed his 10 UFOlogical principles what the government is hiding. F-16 flew around the area. The helicop- that I feel are reasonably thought out. ter was identified as a blackhawk and it The cases presented are good but I did Right off the bat, I was disappointed. The was suggested that it was a special ops find his work on Socorro somewhat lack- show’s first focus was on Robert Lazar. It helicopter. More than likely it was a USAF ing. Like Quintanilla, he could not find gave the impression that his claims were Pavehawk used for security measures. anything significant. As a result, he fell factual but they aren’t. Does anybody re- It left after twenty minutes and was not back to the hoax scenario on some very ally believe that Lazar is credible these seen again implying it was just a curi- flimsy evidence. If you want to have one days? It was obvious that the show was ousity issue and not a security one that UFO book by Klass, this is the one. going down the conspiracy and reverse prompted the helicopter to pay the visit. engineering alien spaceships path. One Glenn Campbell suggested they should Borrow it. (Worth checking out of could easily have predicted most of the leave or that “authorities” might be wait- clips shown in the televison show. Some ing for them when they went back down. library or borrowing from a friend) of the more bizarre parts included Rob- I seriously doubt the military or local “au- UFOs: The public deceived - Phi- ert Morningstar. He described how the thorities” would interfere with any televi- ip Klass Nazca Lines were used as a guide for alien sion program because it would not be spaceships to follow. I guess their ship’s the best publicity. I am sure the produc- This book is not bad either. Some of it fo- navigation systems were not superior to ers probably checked to see if it was OK cuses on what wrote in his straight lines drawn in the desert some- before they even attempted the trip up UFO Handbook, while other chapters fo- where. Morningstar also repeated the the mountaintop. cus on more news about witness reliabil- bogus claims made in the UFO hunters ity. It also focuses on cases that appeared episode about AUTEC in the Bahamas. The “MysteryQuest” program could have after his second book was published. Apparently, the producers for this show been ground breaking had they decided Some of them are well researched, while were just as gullible. to be honest with the viewer. They could others fall a bit short. Borrow this one have described the D-21B crash retrieval to read his take on these cases as well as Much of the show appeared stage. This in detail and shown close-ups of the some of the other items he covers. You was obvious when the camera crew went rocket cone. I am sure they would have may gain something from it. to a mysterious crash site identified by been able to see the “skunk works” mark- Peter Merlin. Thanks to Peter’s article ings on some of the materials (just like Bin it! (Not worth the paper it is last month, I immediatly identified the Peter demonstrated last month). They written upon - send to recycle bin) rocket nose cone of the D-21B drone they also could have described the true his- showed being “discovered”. The show’s tory of Area 51 with the testing of various UFOs: Identified - Philip Klass producers attempted to make it appear secret aircraft. Lastly, they could have like it was just found. However, Peter had debunked the claims of . It This book was Klass first endeavor into found it in 2005. They also stated that it could have been an educational and well UFOs. His theory about plasmas and ball was too heavy to move and anlayze. How- thought out program. lightning were not well received and he ever, you could see Merlin place it on its really stretched some ideas. He also fell side with very little effort. They then “dis- Instead of doing something different, for a hoax photograph as evidence for covered” some unusual fragments that the producers of the show decided to do his theory. Needless to say, this was em- were later tested. They were found to the same old stuff. They chose to - mis barrassing for him and it would affect his have been made of earthly brass. represent most, if not all, of what was later writings on the subject. I found this shown. I felt sorry for Peter Merlin and book in a used book store about a decade They also set up three cameras to capture Glenn Campbell. Their participation was ago. When I read it then, I was not overly UFOs/exotic aircraft over Area 51 in a 48 nothing more than an attempt to rub- impressed. I am still not that impressed. It hour period. The wide angle lenses used ber stamp the show as authentic. Most sits in my library only as part of Klass col- in these cameras were pretty useless un- of their input was obviously ignored by lection. Don’t waste your time trying to less something huge appeared or con- the producers in order to sell another obtain this copy. It is not worth it. ducted exotic maneuvers. The recorded . Mystery Quest was a a cloud and some car lights ont he high- waste of time. 23