- FRENCH UFOLOGISTS STUDY MISSING-TIME
ENCOUNTER
-
- French ufologists are studying a UFO
encounter four men had back in January in a rural area about 72 kilometers
(45 miles) northwest of Paris. The incident took place near Grisy-les-Platres
on January 10, 1998. The town is in the department Val d'Oise, near Genicourt
and Pontoise. D. Bruno, 62, a retired aviation technician for Air France,
went on a hunting trip that day with three companions. In two cars, the
men drove north on Chaussee (local road) D27. As they approached Grisy-les-Platres,
Bruno reported, "I noticed before me a series of lights as bright
as the moon. This was very intriguing as the disposition of the lights
in the sky was very strange. As we approached the object, we wondered what
it could be. It resembled nothing within the scope of our knowledge."
"The lights consisted of linear luminous portholes from (measuring)
5 by 3 meters spaced on an enormous black mass that was an estimated 45
meters (139 feet) wide, according to my professional experience. The object
was at the treetops at a height of 20 meters (67 feet) and hovering over
the road. It must have weighed thousands of tons." "I opened
my (side) window in order to hear the sound. I leaned forward the looked
underneath the object. The object was truly enormous and blocked my view
of the sky. There was a central part of the vast construction that was
a lighter shade of gray than the rest, and I thought that it might be a
sort of tire--it was clearly octagonal. I could plainly see more of the
enormous lights beneath it. From that moment on, however, I remember no
more of what happened." The next thing Bruno knew, he was driving
on D27 four kilometers (two miles) past Grisy-les-Platres. "I stopped
the car and was startled to find that I was three kilometers past our rendezvous
point. My colleagues were also in the same bizarre state." On January
23, 1998, thirteen days after the UFO encounter, Bruno added, "I consulted
a doctor when traces of burns suddenly appeared on the left side of my
face and following an eye infection." (Merci beaucoup a Franck Marie
et Banque OVNI pour cette histoire.)
-
- UFOs SEEN REPEATEDLY IN GRAFTON,
NEW SOUTH WALES
-
- Multiple UFOs have been seen repeatedly
over and near Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, since the beginning
of April. On Monday, April 6, 1998, ufologist Barry Taylor reported that
"while skywatching I observed a group of eight 'star' like objects
moving in formation...All eight objects would drop back, move across and
then forward within the formation, weaving around each other." The
UFO formation was seen just west of Grafton at 8 p.m., and the objects
were heading south at an estimated altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 feet. On
Saturday, April 18, 1998, at 7:10 p.m., Taylor spotted another formation,
"same size group...at about 1,000 feet or less" heading south.
The object traveled at one kilometer per second, or 3,600 kilometers per
hour (2,160 miles per hour). On Sunday, April 19, 1998, at 6:35 p.m., Taylor
reported, "I decided to begin skywatching early and I am glad that
I did. Directly overhead at an altitude of about 4,000 feet, a large V
formation of about 30 objects was moving south. Each object was holding
its position... but 'buffeting' a little in perpendicular. Their colour
was a moderately bright yellowish-white. The formation's size was about
15 centimeters (8 inches) at arm's length. I took five photos during the
10-second sighting." On Monday, April 20, 1998, at 6:50 p.m., Taylor
was ready for another photo shoot. Pictures of the big formation taken
with 400 ASA Fuji film hadn't come out, so he switched to 800 ASA for his
Canon 55mm camera with its f2 lens. That night, he spied "a group
of seven or eight UFOs. They came from the north, turned west just before
the Grafton city limits and headed north again. They were moving very
fast, and the formation shifted from horizontal to vertical...I took about
a dozen photos of the first pass, and the shutter speed was 1/15 second
to 1/8 second." On Tuesday, April 21, 1998, Taylor spied a group of
UFOs at 9:20 p.m. "at approximately 6,000 to 8,000 feet, heading south
in V formation. Speed was about 5,000 kilometers per hour (3,000 miles
per hour) and a second group passed by 20 seconds later." Plotting
their course on a map, Taylor calculated that an unchanged course would
take the UFOs to Sydney or Katoomba, N.S.W. Grafton is located 400 kilometers
(250 miles) north of Sydney. (See the newsletter Australian UFO Reports
and Encounters #2 for May, 1998. Many thanks to editor Robert Frola for
letting UFO ROUNDUP quote from his newsletter.) (Editor's Note: Katoomba
has been the Number One site for UFO encounters in Australia for the past
fifty years.)
-
- COW FOUND MUTILATED IN CENTRAL
LOUISIANA
-
- The night of Sunday, April 5, 1998, a
1,100-lb. cow was stabbed to death and mutilated in a pasture near Boyce,
Louisiana (population 1,361). According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the
perpetrator "removed its genitals and udder, but there were only a
few drops of blood where a pool might have been expected." "Whoever
killed the cow Sunday may have drained the blood from knife wound in its
neck, or may have mutilated it after it died, investigators said..."
"'I would tend to believe that it could be some kind of religious
cult. I can't say that for sure. But I would think it has something to
do with it,' Rapides Parish sheriff's detective Buddy Willis said Tuesday,"
April 7, 1998. "Gary Dunn, an investigator for the Louisiana Livestock
Brand Commission, said he thinks the cow was tranquilized and killed, then
the blood was drained and taken away." "'That's strictly a presumption,'
he said." "The cow was three to four years old and reportedly
healthy." "The pasture gate was locked, so whoever killed the
cow had to jump the gate, Dunn said." "Another odd feature: There
were no signs of a struggle, and tiny yellow flowers around the body stood
straight, indicating that the cow had not been dragged anywhere."
Boyce is on Interstate Highway 49 approximately 227 miles (361 kilometers)
north of New Orleans. (See the Baton Rouge Advocate for April 9, 1998.
Many thanks to Lou Farrish of UFO NEWSCLIPPING SERVICE for this story.)
-
- GIANT OCTAGONAL UFO SEEN IN
ROSAMOND, CALIFORNIA
-
- On Wednesday, April 22, 1998, at 9:15
p.m., a gigantic octagonal-shaped UFO was seen hovering over Albertson's
Grocery Store in Rosamond, California (population 7,430). "The description
was of a large object, not quite octagonal in shape, between 100 yards
to 200 yards (90 to 180 meters) with bright orange and yellow lights around"
its outer edge. As the object hovered, "it made no sound and its lights
caused motorists to park and gawk, and some to call the newspaper."
According to copy chief Jane Treece of the Antelope Valley Press, calls
began coming in at about 9 p.m. "After the first couple of calls,
we said, 'Yeah, OK, sure,' Treece said, 'But between 9:15 and 11 (p.m.)
we received a dozen calls from people who were setting on their way to
Albertson's to do some shopping or who were eating at the Taco Bell.'"
On Friday, the Kerns County Sheriff's Department office in Rosamond "said
they had no reports of such a sighting." U.S. Air Force spokesperson
"Lorraine Sanders said she, too, had no information on the event."
"Edwards Air Force Base public information officer Gary Hatch said
base operators reported no flights scheduled in that area for that time
of night." (See the Antelope Valley Press for April 23, 1998, "Residents
Report Flying Craft." Many thanks to Bill Hamilton for the newspaper
article.)
-
- MORE UFOs REPORTED IN GEORGIA
-
- On Saturday, April 25, 1998, at 11:50
p.m., Kevin M. and his brother were at home in Comer, Georgia (population
939) when they "observed a reddish light zigzagging at his speed,
moving across the sky at approximately 40 degrees above the southern horizon.
Viewed by the naked eye and with 7X35 binoculars, the stars appeared as
faint images compared to the object." Kevin, an astronomy major in
college, said, "I know the difference between a planet, heavenly body,
and a flying object," adding that the "light remained horizontal
relationship to the Earth's surface the entire time and disappeared at
12:30 a.m. in the southern sky at around 20 to 30 degrees above the horizon."
Comer is located at the junction of Highways 22 and 72, about 85 miles
(136 kilometers) east of Atlanta. (Many thanks to Tim Hagemeister of NACOMM
for this report.) On April 1, 1998, at 10 p.m., a UFO "described as
looking like a huge flying dinner plate was reported 10 miles (16 kilometers)
north of LaGrange, Georgia (population 23,547)." About an hour later,
the female witness saw "mysterious bright lights" to the north-northeast.
"The large non-blinking light sat low on the horizon for several minutes
Grabbing a pair of binoculars, the woman watched the light" which
she described as "about the size of Venus" for "over a minute,"
after which "it 'zipped' away to the east." Two days earlier,
on March 31, 1998, at 8:30 p.m., a saucer-shaped UFO was "seen hovering
over a clover field near a stock pond" near Stovall, Ga., 10 miles
(16 kilometers) southeast of LaGrange. "'It was a round thing that
had a light going round and round,' the witness reported, having observed
it from his car. 'Even though it took less than a minute to turn the car
around, the UFO was gone.'" Georgia ufologist John Thompson said,
"This is the exact same spot where a daylight Valley-type (i.e. a
thimble-shaped object similar to the one photographed in Valley, Alabama--J.T.)
UFO was seen by a man and his son in April of 1996." LaGrange is located
64 miles (102 kilometers) southwest of Atlanta. (See Filer's Files #17
for 1998. Many thanks to George A. Filer of MUFON and John Thompson for
these reports.)
-
- DUNCAN VIDEOTAPES UFO OVER
HIGH ROCK LAKE
-
- On Wednesday, April 29, 1998, at 12:15
a.m., Stefan Duncan, editor of American UFO Newsletter, stopped his truck
near the intersection of Mack Road and Bringle Ferry Road in Salisbury,
North Carolina (population 23,087) when he spied a mysterious light in
the sky. "I was on my way to High Rock Lake," the site of many
UFO sightings since December 1997, Duncan reported, "This craft was
sitting stationary when I first viewed it...I jumped out of my truck and
I grabbed my videocamera...The craft was moving at 30 miles per hour (48
kilometers per four)--that's a wild estimate. It moved to the right of
me and began to approach." By the time it reached Duncan's location,
the UFO resembled an object with this configuration: o 0 "Both lights
were white," he added, "The first light was much brighter. At
the front tip of the craft was a red, diffused blinking light." At
first Duncan thought it was a slow-flying airplane or a helicopter. "But
then, to my amazement, the craft began to roll over and revealed it was
a triangular shape. At each corner of the craft was a single white light
that appeared to be right at the tip. The triangular-shaped craft turned
completely over and began flying upside down. It continued in this position
until it faded from my sight..The rollover came in very clear on the videotape."
High Rock Lake is about 10 miles east of Salisbury, a small city on Highway
29 about 115 miles (184 kilometers) west of Raleigh. (See American UFO
Newsletter #8 for 1998. Many thanks to Stefan Duncan for this report.)
-
- TRIANGULAR UFO SEEN EAST OF
MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT
-
- Early in April, a 39-year-old man was
driving east on Route 147 from Meriden to Middletown, Conn. (population
42,762) at 9 p.m. when he spotted an unusual object hovering over the Mount
Higby Reservoir. "He saw an object hovering over the water and its
reflection was observed in the water. There were three lights in triangular
formation, which were very bright." According to Mark Cashman and
Bruce Tilden, who are investigating the case for Connecticut MUFON, the
UFO "was about 50 feet above the reservoir. Object was approximately
100 feet (30 meters) across. It is estimated that the pine trees around
the reservoir are between 30 and 40 feet high. The witness said the lights
on the object were slightly bluish-white, closer to flourescent light than
halogen." The witness observed the UFO from the car's driver-side
window. The object turned off its lights as his car drove past. The Mount
Higby reservoir is approximately four miles west of Middletown, a small
city about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Hartford, the state capital.
(See American UFO Newsletter #8 for 1998. Many thanks to Stefan Duncan
for this report.) (Editor's Note: A "mysterious explosion" rocked
Middletown on April 1, 1907, shaking buildings and shattering glass, long
before the era of supersonic flight. See Middletown's Penny Press for
April 2, 1907, page one.)
-
- MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR HAMPERED
BY CLOUD COVER
-
- The Mars Global Surveyor snapped its
third picture of the enigmatic Cydonia region on April 24, 1998. The new
photo shows "The City" and was shot from an altitude of 244 miles
(392 kilometers). However, cloud cover in the Martian skies foiled Surveyor's
attempts to find and photograph the marooned Pathfinder lander and the
Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers. According to the NASA press release, "Raw
data indicated that the (Pathfinder) lander was not visible due to a thick
haze" although land features close to the site, such as Twin Peaks,
were visible. "Viking 1 lander in Chryse Planitia was not identified
in images of the site, probably due to imprecise coordinates used to locate
the landing site." "Winter weather in the northern hemisphere
and heavy cloud cover prevented a view of the Viking 2 lander in Utopia
Planitia." "Further imaging of the Cydonia region and the Pathfinder/Viking
landing sites will not be feasible" for a while, as Mars will soon
be passing behind the sun. Solar flares will probably hinder the radio
communications between Earth and the Mars Global Surveyor. (Many thanks
to Errol Bruce-Knapp for the NASA news release.)
-
- SHUTTLE BABY RATS DIE OF UNKNOWN
CAUSES
-
- The space shuttle Columbia's Neurolab
mission got a new lease on life last weekend as Commander Richard Searloss
patched up a malfunctioning air cleansing system. "A leaky valve caused
the shuttle's carbon dioxide removal unit to shut down late Friday, threatening
to cut short the two-week research mission explaining how the nervous system
develops and functions in space." "But shuttle Commander Richard
Searloss patched up the unit Saturday afternoon." "Using a screwdriver
and tape, he removed one end of a small hose, blocked it with tape to bypass
the leaky valve, and reinstalled it." "He told flight controllers
that the system was 'cool and copacetic,' and compared his handiwork to
auto repair." (Editor's Comment: Were I aboard that shuttle, I'd be
awfully glad that Mr. and Mrs. Searloss let Richard take auto shop in high
school.) On Tuesday, April 28, 1998, NASA reported that "about half
of the baby rats aboard the space shuttle Columbia have died unexpectedly...The
rats, which were 9 days old, when Columbia blasted off April 17, were test
subjects for experiments to learn about how the absence of gravity affects
the development of the human brain and nervous system." "NASA
officials said more than 40 of the baby rats have died, apparently because
their mothers were unable or unwilling to nurse them. Scientists had expected
11 to 14 deaths through natural causes during the mission." On Wednesday,
April 29, 1998, NASA's chief veterinarian, Dr. Joseph Bielitzki, "said
50 of the 96 baby rats have died aboard Columbia since the launch April
17," adding that "Columbia's crew is doing everything possible
to prevent more deaths." The crew attempted to keep the baby rats
alive by feeding them a blend of milk extract and Gatorade. "Mary
Beth Sweetland, research director with People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA), accused NASA of being unable 'to keep animals alive
on the ground or in space.'" (See USA Today for April 27, 1998, "Astronaut's
handiwork preserves mission;" and April 28, 1998, "Rats Die in
Space;" and April 29, 1998, "NASA Criticized.")
-
- CASSINI BYPASSES VENUS ON
FIRST LAP OF ITS VOYAGE
-
- On Sunday, April 26, 1998, the Cassini
spacecraft zoomed past the planet Venus, adding another 16,300 miles per
hour (21,080 kilometers per hour) to its speed and shortening its flight
time to Saturn. Cassini was launched in October 1997 for a seven-year,
2.2 billion-mile journey. "The plutonium- powered spacecraft will
spend four years exploring Saturn, its rings and frozen moons. It's carrying
the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, which will land on Titan, the
largest of those moons." Cassini passed within 176 miles (281 kilometers)
of Venus and used the planet's gravity to achieve a higher flight speed.
"'All indications are that the spacecraft did exactly what we expected,'
said Ronald Draper, Deputy Program Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory"
in Pasadena, California. "A second Venus 'gravity assist' is set for
June 24, 1999, followed by a close pass of the Earth in August 1999 and
another past Jupiter in 2000. Each will add speed to allow Cassini's arrival
at Saturn on July 1, 2004." (See the New York Daily News for April
27, 1998.) (Editor's Comment: Cassini is now traveling at a flight speed
of 87,000 miles per hour (139,000 kilometers per hour). In the past seven
days, the spacecraft has gone 2,088,000 miles (3,340,800 kilometers) beyond
Venus. Now that it's well away from Venus's shine, it might be visible
by telescope. Venus can best be seen at 4 a.m. in the eastern sky, about
10 degrees above the horizon. Just above it and to the right is Jupiter.
Amateur astronomers, let us know if you spot it.)
-
- from the UFO Files...
-
- 1937: MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS SEEN
ON MARS
-
- "On May 30, 1937, during a part
of the interval between 4h 35m and 6h 0m G.C.T., while Mars was being observed
through a 12-inch aluminized reflector, 250 magnification, with unusually
good seeing, what appeared to be a series of bright flashes was seen, extending
across the south polar cap about one degree north of the southern rim of
the disk." "They were irregularly intermittent and were estimated
to be about one magnitude brighter than the rest of the (polar) cap. They
were entirely unexpected, but once they had been seen became the chief
concern of the observation period." "Measured from the drawings
and the photographs the thickness of the south polar cap on the central
meridian was about one degree, 87. The flashes extended almost midway
between the northern edge of the cap and the southern rim of the disk.
A line of tiny white spots seemed to extend across the cap, some of the
spots coalescing to swell into a brilliant white spot which quickly became
yellow, then red-yellow, the phenomenon passing from left to right across
the polar cap." (See Popular Astronomy volume 40, page 430 for 1937,
"Apparent Flashes Seen on Mars" by Latimer J. Wilson. Reprinted
in THE MOON AND THE PLANETS: A CATALOGUE OF ASTRONOMICAL ODDITIES, compiled
by William R. Corliss, The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Md., 1985, page
221.)
-
- 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
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