- UFOs DROP "ANGEL HAIR"
IN NEW SOUTH WALES
-
- Twenty UFOs, described as "shiny
silver spheres," flew over a number of farms near Quirindi, New South
Wales, Australia last weekend, littering the ground with cobweb-like filaments
called "angel hair." According to USA Today, "Residents
of a small Australian community swear that they saw cobwebs fall from the
sky after UFOs passed overhead. Dozens of residents of Quirindi called
Australia's National UFO Hotline after the incident." According to
the Tamworth, N.S.W. North Daily Leader, "Mrs. E. Stansfield, 61 years
(old), said that she saw cobwebs falling from the sky. She saw twenty
silver balls which passed overhead. When she went out to her daughter,
she too was covered in fine strands of cobweb. When she tried to pick
it up, it disintegrated in her hand. The family car had cobwebs all over
it." The incident took place at 5:04 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, 1998.
Quirindi is just north of the Liverpool mountain range, about 70 kilometers
(42 miles) southwest of Tamworth, N.S.W. and 300 kilometers (180 miles)
northwest of Sydney. Australian researcher Raymond Brooks reported that
the "various craft" performed aerobatic maneuvers over the farms
"for 1.5 hours, including the release of 'angel hair.'" (See
the Tamworth, N.S.W. North Daily Leader for August 10, 1998 and USA Today
for August 11, 1998. Many thanks to Raymond Brooks, Diane Hamilton and
Ross Dowe of Australia/New Zealand 24-Hour UFO Hotline for this news story.)
-
- CROP CIRCLES APPEAR NEAR HUBBARD,
OREGON
-
- An "intricate pattern" of crop
circles appeared in a wheat field in Hubbard, Oregon (population 1,881)
on July 22, 1998. "Researchers and curious onlookers raced to find
an intricate pattern of circles and pathways" in the wheat field belonging
to farmer Doug Aamodt. "The large flowing design was first show on
KOIN-TV (in Oregon) July 23 and drew people from throughout the Willamette
Valley to steal a look." "Glenna Sherwood, administrative assistant
for the Hubbard Police Department, said people were calling and coming
to the police station almost nonstop." "'It was like (New York
City's) Grand Central Station around here,' she said. 'You couldn't believe
the phone calls.'" "Hubbard Police Chief David Dryden said several
people called to discuss aliens, and officers reported receiving calls
from people asking that the area be cordoned off " so that trained
researchers might investigate the site. "Keith Ardinger, a part-time
crop circle researcher from Portland (Oregon), said he believed that the
crop circle was probably caused by microwave radiation. Ardinger spent
half a day looking for the site, armed with the knowledge that it was located
in a field with (electrical) power poles along Whiskey Hill Road."
"Carol Pedersen, coordinator for the Oregon branch of the Centre for
Crop Circle Studies, said swirl patterns in the wheat and the color of
the nodes located on grain stalks were possible indications that internal
change had occurred." "Doug Aamodt, owner of the field, said
he went to see about this and about the (crop) diagram. He said he became
aware of the circles when Ardinger and fellow researcher Pedersen came
to ask for permission to study the site." Hubbard is on Oregon Highway
99E approximately 26 miles (41 kilometers) south of Portland. "Aamodt
jokingly said maybe he could start selling T-shirts at the field. 'It
could be worth something,' he said with a laugh." (See the Woodburn,
Oregon Independent for July 28, 1998, "The truth is out there...near
Hubbard," by Karen Tate, page one. Many thanks to Stig Agermose and
Errol Bruce-Knapp for forwarding the article.)
-
- GIANT TRIANGULAR UFO FLIES
OVER NORTHERN AUSTRALIA
-
- On Tuesday, August 11, 1998, just after
10 p.m., a giant triangular UFO flew over Australia's sparsely- populated
Northern Territory (N.T.) and disappeared in the Gulf of Carpentaria, just
north of the island continent. According to Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s
Online News, "There have been several reports of a bright light travelling
across the sky, from Alice Springs at 7:30 p.m., dropping into the Gulf
of Carpentaria in Queensland after 10 p.m." "The manager of a
roadhouse south of Tennant Creek, N.T. claimed mysterious lights in the
sky last night looked like fireworks." "Lou Farkas, from Wycliffe
Well, who markets the roadhouse as a site for UFO sightings, said he heard
a 'bang' as well as seeing the light." Describing the UFO, Farkas
said "Imagine the shape of a fighting boomerang--you know how it's
got that bend in it--so the light was formed, and it was probably two or
three inches" wide as it crossed the sky, "so it could have been
quite a big object. But it was formed completely. So it started, then
fomed the image of the boomerang, then it held that shape until there was
an explosion, then it disappeared." Tennant Creek is located about
600 kilometers (360 miles) north of Alice Springs and about 1,650 kilometers
(990 miles) northwest of Sydney. "Astronomers at the Tidbinbilla tracking
station in Canberra say a bright light that shot across the Northern Territory
sky last night was most likely a meteor." "Territory police say
there were sightings from Alice Springs in the south to the Arnhem coast
in the north, with some witnesses claiming night turned into day."
(Editor's Comment: Sounds like the case in Zimbabwe three months ago.)
"Duncan Osborne from the Deep Space Tracking Station says the reports
are consistent with the effects of a meteorite entering the earth's atmosphere
and burning up." (See Australian Broadcasting Corp. Online News for
August 12, 1998. Many thanks to Stig Agermose and Errol Bruce-Knapp for
forwarding this report.)
-
- HUGE TRIANGULAR UFO FLIES
OVER NORTHEASTERN FRANCE
-
- On Monday, August 10, 1998, at 11:30
p.m., eyewitnesses in Sedan, a small town in the department of Ardennes,
210 kilometers (126 miles) northeast of Paris, spotted "a triangular
UFO with a bright white light and two little red lights in the rear."
Witnesses also reported seeing "smaller white lights" on the
craft's underside, forming an arrowhead shape. According to ufologist Jean-Luc
Lemaire of the Centre des Etudes des OVNIs Francais (CEOF), the triangular
UFO "was seen in thirty communities" around Sedan. Over the cities
of Charleville and Meziere, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Sedan, the
UFO was seen "descending from a high altitude." Just before 2
a.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 1998, the UFO was seen in Carignan, 22 kilometers
(13 miles) southeast of Sedan. According to the newspaper Le Courrier,
"An unidentified flying object with a triangular shape, moving at
a low altitude above the cities of Sedan and Carignan, has been observed
by over 150 people. Two youthful amateur videographers filmed a short
sequence that night." The video was broadcast on the midnight news
show on France's nationwide Channel FR3 on Thursday, August 13, and on
Antenna 2. The video shows the UFO trying to dodge the camera's viewfinder
as it flies low over the Ardennes. The CEOF investigation continues. (See
the newspaper Le Courrier/Le Progres of Saone et Loire for August 14, 1998,
page 30. Merci beaucoup aux Michel Granger et Thierry Garnier de SOS OVNI
pour ces nouvelles.)
-
- DISC-SHAPED UFO SEEN OVER
GRIMSBY, LINCOLNSHIRE
-
- A "vast gleaming disc" appeared
in the night sky over Scartho, a suburb of Grimsby, Lincolnshire, UK at
the end of July 1998. "A UFO has been spotted over Scartho fork, according
to a report. The vast gleaming disc hovered over the roundabout (rotary
in the USA--J.T.) and then soared upwards, said the Springfield Road resident."
"'The first time I saw the UFO, I was frightened. The disc gave off
a red glow and then turned green,' he said. 'The disc spun off into the
night sky, moving this way and that in an apparently random way. Who knows
where it was going?' he said." "One week later, the disc returned
on a moonless night, he said." "'It was definitely the same disc
and emitted the same color light. It was hovering high up over the roundabout,'
he said." "UFO expert Dave Jackson of the Scanthorpe research
group Hangar 18 said, 'We have not had sightings in Scartho before, but
in recent weeks there have been reportings of activity in Immingham and
Goole.'" Grimsby, Lincs. is 140 miles (224 kilometers) north of London.
(See the Grimsby Evening Telegraph for August 5, 1998, "Flying saucer
sighted at Scartho." Many thanks to Errol Bruce-Knapp for forwarding
the newspaper article.)
-
- PHANTOM PLANE CRASH AT SKELMERSDALE,
LANCS.?
-
- A strange incident took place near Skelmersdale,
Lancashire, UK the evening of July 26, 1998. "Emergency Rescue launched
a full-scale rescue search after people said they saw a microlight aircraft
plunge from the sky a ball of flames. Skelmersdale police, paramedics
and firefighters were joined by Lancashire Police helicopters during the
alert..." "Eyewitnesses said they saw the one-man aircraft nosedive
into a field close to the Rainford Bypass with smoke trailing behind.
But nothing was found after an extensive two-hour search of the field in
the Rainford and Bickerstaffe area." "Skelmersdale leading firefighter
Tony Cavanagh said, 'We got the emergency call that an aircraft was in
distress over the Rainford Bypass. After a lengthy search we were unable
to locate it. I think it's a case for Mulder and Scully. They're probably
searching the top of the bypass now." Skelmersdale is 10 miles (16
kilometers) northeast of Liverpool and 170 miles (272 kilometers) northwest
of London. (See the Ormskirk, Maghull and Skelmersdale Advertiser for
July 30, 1998. Many thanks to Gerry Lovell of Far Search for this report.)
-
- ROD-SHAPED UFO SIGHTED BY
A
MAN IN FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
-
- On Saturday, August 1, 1998, at 8 p.m.,
a man in Fairfax, Virginia (population 19,622) was outdoors when he suddenly
noticed "something 'shoot off' the moon." Peering in that direction,
he watched it "develop into an object that was a bright but small
object. somewhat long and thin, but maintaining a steady shape, speed and
brightness." The UFO's speed "was said to be rapid but not excessively
fast." "The object followed a curved path almost down to the
horizon, then changed course and then streaked very fast directly ovehead.
It was much closer when it passed overhead..." Fairfax is on Highway
50 approximately 22 miles (35 kilometers) southwest of Washington, D.C.
(Many thanks to Kenneth Young of Tri-States Advocates for Scientific Knowledge,
T.A.S.K., for forwarding this report.)
-
-
- From the UFO Files...
-
- 1963: SAUCER IN SEEKONK
-
- When people ask your editor, "How
come you're so interested in flying saucers?" I reply, "I've
seen one." And since this is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the
sighting, I thought I'd share it with you readers. It was Sunday, August
18, 1963 (And has the world changed since then!). I was 13 years old,
and we were gathered for a family reunion cookout at the home of my grandparents,
John and Alice Trainor, at 36 Malta Street in Seekonk, Massachusetts, just
east of the Rhode Island state line. At about 3:30 p.m., because it was
so sunny and hot, I decided to find a shady spot and catch up on my reading.
I found a backyard lounge chair in the shade of my grandmother's lilac
bushes. I began reading a DC comic book--the aptly-named Mystery in Space.
Adam Strange, Alanna, Sardath--all my favorite people on my favorite planet,
Rann. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a bright gleam. I was facing
due east. Up fron the pine trees came this bright object, obviously reflecting
the sun, which was behind me. It rose in a southerly direction from a
point 20 degrees above the horizon to 45 degrees above the horizon. Airplane,
I thought, and went back to my reading. A few minutes later, I looked up
from the page and was startled to find the bright object in the exact same
position. It hadn't moved at all. I frowned, putting down the book.
What is that thing? Staring at it, I could see that it was a flattened
disc, bright silver in color, nearly as shiny as the chrome bumper on my
father's 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air. It had definite edges and it hovered
motionless in the blue sky. I'd estimate that it was about a mile east
of me, somewhere above then-rural Arcade Avenue. I heard my relatives chatting
in the front yard and realized they couldn't see the object. So I hollered,
"Hey! Come here! You've got to see this!" They ignored me.
The hubbub of conversation went on. I hollered again. "Get out
here--quick!" Still no response. My throat getting hoarse, I tried
again. "Come on! You're missing it!" Minutes passed as I watched
the daylight disc. Then it zipped away in a southeasterly direction, taking
precisely two seconds to reach the horizon. I know because I was counting,
"One thousand, two thousand," and it was gone. I blinked at the
horizon, thinking, I just saw a flying saucer! While sitting there, I heard
a tremendous thundering behind me. Jumping up, I saw a U.S. Navy jet fighter
come barreling over the neighborhood, afterburners at full roar. The plane
flew towards the southeast, following the same trajectory the disc had
two minutes earlier. I have seen a lot of aircraft during the ensuing thirty-five
years. But I have never seen any airplane anywhere, not even the F-16,
match the breathless speed of that flattened silver disc. I do not know
what the disc was. But I can identify the jet. It was a Vought F-8 Crusader,
with the black letters NAVY clearly visible on the underside of the wings.
Many years later, I happened to read the NICAP book, THE UFO EVIDENCE,
and learned that two silver daylight discs had been seen by a pair of teenaged
boys, just a few years older than myself, in Biddeford, Maine at 12:30
p.m. on August 18, 1963. Even more surprising, I read Mr. Joshi's biography
of H.P. Lovecraft in 1996 and learned that, in 1903, at the age of thirteen,
Lovecraft used to roam the woods in Seekonk along the state line. That,
of course, is the old Martin farm in Seekonk, which was sold and subdivided
into streets--Malta, Fay and Hunt Streets-- around 1910. A decade later,
in 1921, my grandfather bought the bungalow on Malta Street, most likely
unaware that the land had once been a favorite haunt of Lovecraft's. I
was even more surprised to learn from Joshi's book that Lovecraft and his
mother, the former Susan Sarah Phillips, daughter of the notorious Whipple
V. Phillips, spent 1908 in White River Junction, Vermont, a town and time
period known to all students of Charles Fort. What does it all mean? I
have no idea. All I know is that, thirty-five years ago, I saw a silver
disc hover in broad afternoon daylight, and it kindled my lifelong interest
in the phenomenon of UFOs.
-
- Here's another anniversary for August
18. On that date in 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child of British
ancestry to be born in North America. She was born at Sir Walter Raleigh's
colony at Roanoke In Virginia. The War of the Spanish Armada prevented
Britain from contacting the Roanoke colony for four years. When a British
ship finally came calling in 1591, there found to colony abandoned and
no trace of the colonists. The only clue to the colonists' fate was a
mysterious word, Croatan, carved into the bark of a tree.
-
- Join us next weekend for more saucer
news from "the paper that goes home--UFO Roundup." See you then.
-
- UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1998 by Masinaigan
Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO
Roundup on their websites or in newsgroups provided that they credit the
newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the
item first appeared.
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