Reader Information
▼
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Recent UFO Sightings, Burning Craft in Free-Fall and a Strange Phone Call
MUFON CMS - Colorado - 9/10/10 - (unedited): I was taking my granddaughter for a walk in broad daylight near my home. There were scattered clouds in the sky, but it was mostly clear. I looked up and noticed an odd shaped object moving slowly from a westerly direction moving easterly. It was high in the sky and it was quite a long distance from my vantage point but I could tell immediately that it was not an aircraft (there were no wings or helicopter blades and there was no sound). My first thought was that it was some sort of balloon but it didn't resemble balloon shapes that I'm familiar with. After moving slowly eastward for a time, it stopped and hovered above my head for perhaps a minute or so. I always carry a small camera with me so I pulled it out and snapped a couple of photos zooming to the maximum that this camera is capable of (about 5x). I wasn't sure that the pictures would turn out since it was difficult to zero in on the image with the camera's viewfinder. After a minute or so the object drifted behind a small cloud. I watched for several minutes thinking that it would pass through the cloud and become visible again. After it vanished behind the cloud I never saw it again. My initial reaction was that this was an object that is not commonly seen, at least in my experience, and it definitely piqued my curiosity.
I was quite surprised to discover that the photos captured the object fairly well, especially the second photo. When zeroing in on the object with my computer's software I was very surprised to see that it was shaped like a dirigible or torpedo but it seems too small to be a blimp or similar type aircraft. It also appears to have a shiny metallic skin the reflects sunlight. The fact that it stopped and hovered for awhile also seems a bit strange since the cloud next to it was moving slowly with the prevailing wind. After viewing the photos on my computer I felt a sense of mystery and intrigue and am really anxious to see if there's some sort of conventional explanation for this sighting. I suppose it could be some sort of weather or scientific research balloon and I intend to do some follow-up to see whether or not that is a plausible explanation. I do find it especially strange that the object did not appear again after drifting behind the cloud.
Any insights that you can provide would be appreciated. If you have any further questions feel free o contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.
**********
Click on image for larger version
MUFON CMS - near LaVernia, TX - 9/14/10 - (unedited): I was driving west on Texas State road 87 towards La Vernia. It was lightly drizzling and the traffic was driving slowly. I saw a little light shining through the rain clouds so I pulled over to get a better look at it because there no other star or light in the sky at that time. I stepped out of my truck and stood there next to the driver’s door for an about five minutes. As the rain cloud slowly dissipated and moved from South to North and I discovered I was looking at a shining star or a planet. However, as I was about to reenter my truck, something fell out of the slow moving rain cloud. At first I thought there was a mid-air collision so I imminently called 911 to report it. First I got through to Bexar County 911 dispatch then I was transferred to Wilson County 911 dispatch. A second car pulled off the road about 100 feet behind me and I believe they too witness this event.
This is what I reported to 911: I told them I was driving on 87 heading to Stockdale, Texas. I was presently between San Antonio and somewhere near La Vernia. I told 911 to hold on and I jumped back into my truck and drove about 200 to 300 feet to give them a crossroad. I pulled up to County Road 365 and relayed my position. Then I explain that I saw something about the size of a jet liner fall straight down from the rain cloud but there was no more rain coming from it now. The 911 dispatcher asked if I was sure it was a plane. I told them it looks like an airplane but the wings had broken off (I did not see any wing on the side facing me) and about the size of a Boeing 757 or a bigger 747. I estimated the bottom of the cloud was 20,000 feet and it fell for about 5,000 to 10,000 feet and I think I counted 2 to 3 seconds of free fall. The object was about 20 to 30 miles East of me and was burning up on its way down but it was engulfed in blue flames with dripping hot metal falling more from one side of it (Like when you see videos of the Space Shuttle Columbia breaking up on reentry). Except this thing is dropping straight down from the cloud and it was falling horizontal as if the plane hit a wall, stayed intact and started falling. As I watched it fall, all the flames had burned out about 5,000 feet above the ground. I could not hear anything because of the passing traffic and I did not see a ground impact because of the trees on the horizon. I told 911 that it was not a meteor because meteors fall like left to right or across the sky. 911 asked me where I thought it had falling. I told them it fell to the north and between of La Vernia and Stockdale. They asked for my full name and said they are sending a car out to investigate.
After I hung up the phone with 911, I continued my drive to Stockdale and picked up my son and told him what I had called into 911 about 15 minutes earlier. So we continued East on 87 looking for the crash. We drove all the way to Nixon with no luck so we stopped into Nixon’s Dairy Queen to get something to eat and asked around if anyone had seen anything fall from the sky. There were about four employees but no one had seen or heard anything. It was now exactly 9:51PM when I stepped outside of the Nixon’s Dairy Queen when I heard and noted a twin engine plane flying very slow in a circular formation right above the town. I motion my son to come out and verify the aircraft. I could not see any markings (just the anti-collision lights flashing) but by it slow speed and altitude I believe it to be a search plane.
Next we drove back to Stockdale. On the drive back to Stockdale from Nixon, we passed two police cars heading East but I could not tell if they where State or Local law enforcement. About 4 miles West of Stockdale we took up a looking position at the southern corner of the intersection where 87 and 97 from Floresville meet. At exactly 10:33PM a low flying Helicopter was flying from West to East just north of 87 in the direction to where I reported the possible impact area. At exactly 10:55 two police cars with sirens and lights flashing were driving very fast from Stockdale direction towards La Vernia direction. At about 11:15 with no further incidents, we drove home so I could make this report. I have added a few maps of the area to show my location when I called 911.
**********
marcoislandflorida - Marco artist Anthony Dallmann-Jones posted this blog about the UFO seen in the Gulf Tuesday night.
I am sure you have heard from people about “The strange lights” off the Marco Island Resident’s Beach last night.
We first noticed them at 8:35PM – They were there, in various formats until 9:15PM and were seen no more (by my wife and me). Neither of us drinks. ;-) We are also both professors of higher education so we are not totally unable to make intelligent judgments. Nuff on that.
We DO have pictures that my wife took…IF you are interested.
MOSTLY, I am hoping you can just tell me what we saw. I was a science major and this one baffled me in terms of a logical understanding.
Description. I do believe these were near the horizon line, although they started off closer. I believe they were receding to the West. I have some very powerful binoculars and probably saw things most did not.
WHAT were they? They were “hot” in the sense that they were glowing orange-yellow balls. Some might say they were lights on a UFO, and I can see how some of the angles would give that notion.
Here is what we noticed. The first four we saw were in an arc * * * * but rose in the middle like an eyebrow slightly. They would then “go out” and new ones would appear. They remained 2 – 4 minutes, would extinguish and would then new ones would suddenly “blink on”. The most there were at any one time was eight. They alignment was either in a bar or lights, one time they were in a V formation, and once in
an almost perfect octagon.
Telling clues. They were above the horizon and never moved vertically or horizontally (except once) – never swooped or rose or fell. Just “appeared” then dimmed slowly and went out, much like a flame running out of fuel might.
They had smoke trails! With my binocs I could see them – almost like the ball of fire was emitting a large trail of smoke rising straight up. This could not be seen by naked eye very often.
The one aberration was that while in an almost octagon, one of the balls fell. It was the only one that did this we could see. Most just stayed in place until they went out, but his one definitely fell. It started dropping slowly and when it hit the water a flash went up…which is the one way we could tell it was over the horizon line as it was NOT on THIS side of the horizon line.
Can you tell me what this was??? I have thought and thought on it…was it the Coast Guard testing wind patterns, or ??
The interesting part was how “fixed” they were. Except for that one, the only “movement” was coming on and fading away.
**********
Intrigue After Scottish Couple Capture UFO On Film
forres-gazette - A Forres couple have been sitting at their window looking into space and wondering, ever since they spotted an unidentified bright light in the skies above Forres.
And after speaking publicly about the UFO (unidentified flying object) mystery, they received an alarming phone call warning them off speaking about the incident.
Don and Pat MacArthur were at home at 2 Nelson Road, watching the TV on Friday, September 3, shortly after 8.45pm when they both spotted a strange light in the skies above the town.
"We both spotted a bright light at the living-room window above the trees on the other side of the road," said Don, who works for Moray Council's lands and park crew. "I thought it was a helicopter searchlight, and was waiting for the aircraft, but it wasn't that.
"My wife just ran to the window to see closer," he added. "I knew it wasn't a helicopter and I ran into the other room to get my cine camera."
The couple's living room window looks out over the houses on the opposite side of the road, and they both spotted the object above the chimney pots and tops of trees coming from the rough direction of Forres High Street.
"I don't know what it was, but I managed to capture a few seconds of it on camera," said Mr MacArthur. "I ran out the door in my socks and zoomed in full to try and get a better picture."
The images show a bright, pink, largish, diamond-like object in the sky and then just disappearing. Moments later, a black object appears in the corner of the screen, appearing to come from roughly the same direction, but much higher in the sky with a small trailing light at the top of the screen.
Then a black object appears, falling slowly towards the earth, before disappearing from sight by the chimney pots.
Mr MacArthur said he has shown the film to several people and no one can explain what it is, or has ever seen anything like it before.
He dismissed the idea that it could be a burning chinese lantern - which are available for sale locally - due to the height, shape and colour of the object and the way he claims it moves, having compared it against other pictures of the lanterns, which are lit and released into the sky, before they just gradually burn out.
"If it was a lantern, then why didn't my camera show it burning out," he said. "I had it pointed there and it just disappeared. In my opinion it was something moving away extremely quickly."
Mr MacArthur claims that the far right of the pink diamond light has a white light, which indicates something moving at speed while the left hand side has a sort of glow, as if the article has come from that direction. He also claims that there is a sort of vapour trail in the third sequence, as if the object is smoking or spilling fuel.
Forres man Dan MacArthur is convinced he saw something unusual in the skies above Forres.
Mrs MacArthur, who works part-time for Moray Estates, said when the light appeared at first that she thought it was a firework, but it never exploded and then moved sideways.
There was very little wind on Friday night, and no reports of any flares, or fireworks.
Spokesman for the Findhorn Marina and Moray Inshore Rescue Organisation, Simon Paterson said that if someone had released a flare, he didn't know about it.
He said a flare was quite distinctive, and usually red, green or white in colour and roughly circular shaped, and could remain in the sky for about a minute, being designed to burn out before descending. He added that there might be a parachute attachment which could drop afterwards.
He said that flares were sometimes released above the bomb dump area at RAF Kinloss, but agreed that it was quite late on a Friday night.
A spokesman for RAF Kinloss said that there were no flares or anything else released on that Friday night, and no reports of anything unusual or any aircraft activity above the town at the time.
The mystery deepened further when Mr MacArthur received a phone call, with a recorded message telling him that to tell people he had seen a UFO would harm his bed and breakfast business.
"I was really surprised," he said. "It was a recorded message - a woman's voice - telling me to press various keys for further information."
The call came just hours after he had spoken to 'The Forres Gazette' about his experiences.
"My son knows someone who filmed something which he thought was a UFO," he said. "They came and took his camera and kit away from him. It makes you wonder."
Recent UFO Sightings, Burning Craft in Free-Fall and a Strange Phone Call