UFO ROUNDUP Volume 8 Number 03
Volume 8
Number 3
January 15, 2003
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
ORANGE UFO HOVERS OVER PRETORIA
"An unidentified flying object was sighted over Pretoria," the capital of South Africa, "according to several city residents who claim they all witnessed the same object on Monday night," January 6, 2003.
"One of several callers to The Citizen yesterday (Tuesday, January 7, 2003) said they had seen a UFO flying over (the) Brooklyn and Waterkloof areas between 8:30 and 9:15 p.m."
"People interviewed claimed the object, which made no sound, was roundish and bright orange in colour."
"'It was an orange bright light that was moving in a north to south direction as I approached the Brooklyn Circle. It was moving slowly at about 500 meters (1,650 feet) above the ground before it stopped, switching its lights on and off. It disappeared behind a hill in Waterkloof,' said Moncilo Radovanovic."
"Manager of a local take away (fast-food restaurant in the USA--J.T.) Mike Vermeulen said he saw the orange object hovering above a hill before it moved off at high speed."
"'At first I thought it was a plane, helicopter or one of those airships, but realised it was nothing I had seen before. It made no noise and was moving silently. It was very interesting to watch,' said Vermeulen, 'It was definitely not just a normal bright light.'"
"But the sighting could not be officially confirmed. General Manager of Air Traffic and Navigational Services Arthur Bradshaw said, 'We did not receive reports of anything.'"
"A similar response was received from the (South African) Air Force, Police and airports in the vicinity." (See the South African newspaper The Citizen for January 8, 2003, pages 1 and 2. Many thanks to Dave G. for forwarding this newspaper article.)
UFOs CAUSE WAR JITTERS IN BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
"According to information given to the Olaylar News Agency by UFO expert Fuad Gasimov, the new appearance of UFOs in the sky" above Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan "symbolizes that 'it is clearly an alarm signal.'"
Azerbaijan is a small country on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Its neighbors are Iraq, focus of the current crisis in Southwest Asia, and Iran.
"Gasimov is chairman of the Cosmic Seismological Department of the Azerbaijani National Cosmic Agency. 'Something must happen,' he said, 'If we analyze the processes going on in the world, we would observe that the probability of war becomes high in Iraq.'"
"First the UFOs appeared over Baku on (Thursday) January 2 (2003). The residents of the Third Mikrorayon of Baku had a chance to shoot video footage of the objects in the morning at 8 a.m., which was later broadcast on ANS-TV. The footage shocked everyone who saw it."
"Gasimov stated that the appearance of UFOs in the region is an indication of the probability of a major war in Iraq."
"'They are trying to prevent the war,' he said."
"The appearance of UFOs in Azerbaijan's skies may be considered a warning against the (Islamic) republic, too, the expert says. If the war breaks out, the objects are against the use of Azerbaijan's airports" in the conflict.
"'They don't want mankind revealing their secrets,' Gasimov said, 'But there are some facts showing that UFOs keep in touch with certain scientists. The objects keep in touch with these individuals by means of the Morse (code) alphabet for telepathy signals and they transmit information related to the future.'"
"According to Gasimov, (physicist Albert) Einstein first had the idea for an A-bomb (atomic bomb) after he had a dream."
"Also, a German scientist who invented the bomb wrote in his memoirs that he had invented it in his dreams."
(Editor's Note: Gasimov may be referring to Frederick A. Lindemann, a.k.a. Viscount Cherwell, who was Winston Churchill's confidant and science advisor during World War II.)
"'All this provides grounds for these claims being true,' Gasimov said." (See the newspaper Baku Today for January 7, 2003. Merci beaucoup a Robert Fischer de France OVNI pour cette article de journal.)
(Editor's Comment: Baku is only 600 kilometers or 360 miles north of Zarzi in Iraq's Irbil province, the alleged site of an alien underground base. Are the aliens trying to run the Allied air blockade by sneaking in Iraq's back door? For more on Zarzi, see UFO Roundup, volume 7, number 51 for December 17, 2002, "Saddam's Area 51?" on page 2.)
FLYING FIREBALLS DOMINATE THE SKY OVER BUENOS AIRES
On Saturday, January 11, 2003, beginning at 8:30 p.m., numerous "flying fireballs" were seen over Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
According to Argentinian ufologist Ricardo E. D'Angelo, "Right now, Buenos Aires is experiencing a massive wave of UFOs, possibly the most intense of the past few years."
"Balls of fire, crossing the sky at high and low altitudes and in all directions, were observed by thousands of Portenos (slang word for residents of Buenos Aires--J.T.) and videotaped between 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. I myself counted 23 of them in the sky at one time, and I am accustomed to seeing satellites pass overhead. These were definitely not satellites."
"The balls of fire were three to four times more luminous than Venus. They appeared repeatedly over La Boca, San Francisco, Santa Fe, the Avenida Nueve de Julio and other sections of the city."
"Many of the fireballs had small pulsing lights at their outside edges--colorful blue at the tips but also red and green."
"Later in the evening, ten of the phenomena crossed the sky from one side to the other, entering heavily- populated barrios (neighborhoods--J.T.), in which they were witnessed by many people. Their speed varied greatly, ranging from hovering stationary to showing a very high velocity at times, appearing and disappearing without any regard for logic." (Muchas gracias a Ricardo E. D'Angelo para eso informe.)
MORE STAR-LIKE UFOs SEEN IN AUSTRALIA
On Friday, December 27, 2002, at 10:30 p.m., two men were camping out in Australia's Snowy River National Park, near Buchan, Victoria state, about 350 kilometers (210 miles) east of Melbourne, when they spotted some UFOs.
"Myself and my friend Steve were camping out on a bare mountaintop called One Tree Hill," the witness reported, "We saw these medium-sized 'stars' moving across the sky at the speed of a fast satellite in a sideways triangular formation. First spotted directly above in the centre of the sky. They appeared white and moved at exactly the same speed, were exactly the same size, and the triangle formation was this: the distance between the leading star and the trailing star, which followed in the exact same path, was four fingers width at arm's length; the middle star was offset to the right halfway between the two and was two fingers from the imaginary line (connecting) the other two, which were exactly in line following each other. So the 'triangle' had half its height at the longest side."
"The colour was white, but I am a bit red-green colour blind and would not have noticed if it was a bit red. My friend is not colour blind and did not notice colour, either. The lights did not change formation that we saw. Our location was about 120 kilometers (72 miles) from the New South Wales border."
The witness also wondered if he had seen the same formation of lights that was seen by David M. and his relatives that same Friday night, while they were fishing on the Macquarie River near Ponto, N.S.W. "We were 700 kilometers (420 miles) south of those three fishermen." (Email Form Report)
(Editor's Note: For more on the sighting in Ponto, N.S.W., see UFO Roundup, volume 8, number 2 for January 8, 2003, "Three UFOs spotted in New South Wales," page 2.)
MYSTERIOUS FIREBALL STRIKES PUERTO RICO
"An object of unknown origin crashed against the leaves of a palm tree last Wednesday (January 1, 2003) and burned about a meter of grass in the backyard of a San Juan residence, according to Puerto Rican police officials."
"According to the report, a strong smell of sulfur inundated the site shortly after the fall occurred in a family dwelling in Carolina, the municipality adjacent to San Juan," the capital of Puerto Rico. "The property was owned by Matmari and Martin Rodriguez Carrasquillo."
"The couple advised authorities of the incident a few days after it occurred. Police advised the Arecibo Observatory in northern Puerto Rico of the event. Officials for the Observatory and the Environmental Quality Board conducted a radiation test, yielding results which showed that the object came from beyond Earth's atmosphere, according to the police report." (See the Puerto Rican newspaper El Mundo for January 6, 2003, "Mysterious object falls in Puerto Rico." Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales y Guillermo Gimenez para eso articulo de diario.)
THREE DAYLIGHT DISCS SEEN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
On Saturday, January 4, 2003, at 2:40 p.m., "a woman and her passenger were driving along the highway at the foot of the Rosswood mountain range" in Canada's British Columbia province "when they saw three white circular objects hovering near the peak" of Rosswood Mountain.
According to Canadian ufologist Brian Vike, "The (woman) driver stopped the truck, and they both watched the objects as they slowly descended down the mountain. She explained that there was a small hill in front of the mountain. The objects dropped down behind the smaller hill, and both witnesses lost sight of them. She said they sat watching for a short while just in case whatever they saw showed up again."
Rosswood, B.C. is 42 miles (67 kilometers) north of Terrace, B.C., which has been the site of a UFO flap for over a year. (Many thanks to Brian Vike for this report.)
FLYING-WING UFO SEEN BY TWO IN CALGARY, ALBERTA
On Friday, January 10, 2003, at 9:30 p.m., D.K. and his sister were "star-gazing" in Calgary, Alberta, Canada when they both noticed something strange.
"My sister and I were star-gazing that night," D.K. reported, "Our eyes had adjusted to the low light, and we had to strain them to see most of the stars due to light pollution from the city."
"There was heavy air traffic that night. The unusual aspect of this sighting comes from the fact that it was very hard to see. Like a shadow against the night sky. It flew right over the city (Calgary) centre, coming in from the east. I believe our eyes were sensitive to the low light, and this allowed us to see the craft. From our vantage point, it looked one kilometer (0.6 miles) away."
"The actual shape was hard to make out. A large wing comes to mind. It was flying faster than most aircraft I've seen over the city. It flew east to west for what seemed like several seconds, then banked and headed in a northeasterly direction. We were able to watch it for several more seconds before it vanished into darkness. I realize now that I detected a distinct sound from it. This sighting did not leave us in awe. More like an uneasy feeling." (Email Form Report)
LUMINOUS UFOs SPOTTED IN AURELIA, IOWA
On Thursday, January 2, 2003, at 8:10 p.m., the witness reported, "I was driving home from work," going from Cherokee to Aurelia, Iowa (population 1,062), "and I noticed a bright object in the sky to the northeast. I watched it for a while and noticed that there were red, green and white lights on the object and thought it was a plane."
"The longer I watched it, I noticed it was not moving. It was at this time that I noticed another object exactly like" the first one "to the southeast in front of me. Neither one was moving."
"Then I noticed an airplane above the object on my left, and that made it very evident that what I was watching was just sitting there. But the other object was not moving, either."
"I got within a half-mile of the town, Aurelia, where I live. I tried to call my husband to tell him, but the phone was busy. When I got home, I told him what I had seen and that I had tried to call, and he asked me when. I said just a couple of minutes ago. He hadn't been on the phone, and my computer was really having problems--my connection is through a satellite."
"I know this sounds crazy, but I had a similar experience several years ago in northwestern Iowa" when "my children and I witnessed a UFO only a couple of hundred feet away. So this incident aroused my curiosity."
Aurelia, Iowa is on Highway 7 about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Sioux City. (Many thanks to John Hoppe of UFO Wisconsin for this report.)
MOON MYSTERY: A SECRET CAVE OR TUNNEL AT COPERNICUS CRATER?
Observations made by an American astronomer have rekindled the debate as to whether or not "somebody else is on the moon."
Writing in the February 2003 issue of Sky and Telescope, Stephen James O'Meara noted, "And so it was on the evening of December 19, 1996, when, on a whim, I turned my 4-inch (10-centimeter) f/5 refractor (telescope) to the Moon at dusk. The Moon was three days past first quarter, and, despite the visual chaos that marks the day-night terminator, my eye was instinctively drawn to a tiny shadow inside the crater Copernicus. At 23X the interior structure of the crater's north wall looked curious. It was as if someone had spray-painted a spiral pattern, like graffiti, across its face."
"When I increased the magnification fivefold, the spiral pattern tightened to a dark center that, for all I could tell, was a hole in the crater wall as black as squid ink."
"The sight reminded me of one of the high caves occupied by ancient cliff dwellers" in the USA's Southwest.
"I immediately began drawing the feature at about 7:50 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. When I finished, I penned 'the Cave in Copernicus' next to the drawing and called it 'hypnotic!' By 9:30 p.m., the rotation of the Moon had carried the shadow away from the Cave, which lost definition and eventually disappeared."
"Wondering if the same conditions of light and shadow would repeat during the next lunation, I tried, but failed, to see it. In fact, a combination of factors--bad weather, travel plans, wrong Sun illumination angle--prevented me from seeing the Cave again until the evening of January 7, 1998, more than a year after my initial sighting."
"Alas, even on that night I missed the key time to see the Cave by about an hour. Although I could see some sections of the spiral structure in the north wall, it was not complete. And the black hole of the Cave, which made my eyes widen with wonder in 1996, was but a bland, rectangular patch of deep penumbra."
"An observation on February 6, 1998 brought further disappointment. This time I could see the outer and inner spiral, but no central cavity--just another penumbral shading. Obviously, seeing the Cave again was not going to be as simple as I thought."
In his article, O'Meara provided a list of dates favorable for seeing the Cave, which may be a natural lunar feature. Then again, in 1996, he might have seen the tunnel of an underground alien base with its blast doors open. UFO Roundup readers who have 6-inch (15- centimeter) telescopes may want to hunt for the Cave themselves. The most favorable viewing is at the following dates and UTC times:
February 11, 2003 at 18.2 UTC
March 13, 2003 at 8.0 UTC
April 11, 2003 at 20.8 UTC
May 11, 2003 at 8.6 UTC
June 9, 2003 at 19.6 UTC
July 9, 2003 at 6.2 UTC
"On November 24, 1966, Lunar Orbiter 2 was 46 kilometers (27 miles) above the Moon's surface, looking north, when it caught (a) dramatic, oblique view of Copernicus. The crater's central peaks are below center, and beyond them (on the north wall) is the region of O'Meara's Cave."
Armed with his copy of Sky & Telescope, your editor visited the public library, plucked their copy of the same magazine off the shelf, and laid both side by side on the reading table. Then, using a pair of Barska binoculars, he created a 3-D image of the Copernicus crater overhead and oblique angle photos.
(Editor's Comment: Yes, I occasionally do recon photo analysis in addition to everything else I do around here.)
"There appears to be one or more dark spots in the north wall in the spot indicated by O'Meara," UFO Roundup editor Joseph Trainor said. "The spot on the right, or east, is rectangular in shape. It could be the entrance to an old lava tube similar to those found in Hawaii. But, then again, it could be artificial--carved out of the perpendicular crater wall."
"What is really interesting is the 1966 Lunar Orbiter 2 photo. Just beneath the Cave is what looks like a level, man-made dirt road about 1.7 kilometers long, with a 10 to 15 degree upgrade. It might be a road leading up to the cave from the crater floor. Only the jumbled rocks to the left obscure the view, preventing us from seeing if the 'road' indeed reaches the crater floor."
"Just to be certain, I did the same 'stereoscopic' view of Copernicus, using the telescope photo of the crater in David Hatcher Childress's book Extraterrestrial Archaeology. Both the 'spiral' and O'Meara's Cave were visible on the crater's north wall in that photo, as well." (See Sky & Telescope for February 2003, "The 'Cave' in Copernicus," pages 109 to 111. Also Extraterrestrial Archaeology by David Hatcher Childress, Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempton, IL, page 58.)
PHOTON BELT DISCOVERED AROUND THE MILKY WAY
"With its black hole nursing an eating disorder, its magnetic lines tangled like spaghetti and a ring of clutter left from a collision with a dwarf, Earth's home galaxy looks more and more like a mess that not even Martha Stewart could pretty up."
"Astronomers have long known the glittering firmament of the Milky Way wheeling overhead on a clear night is a peaceful illusion that masks cosmic violence and chaos. But a series of recent observations have revealed new variations on the theme."
"Scientists said Monday (January 6, 2003) they have discovered a previously unsuspected belt of stars encircling the galaxy like a giant undulating hula hoop 120,000 light-years on diameter."
"Astronomers believe the star belt is the tell-tale remnant of a collision between the Milky Way and a smaller 'dwarf' galaxy and could help explain how the galaxy formed about 10 billion years ago."
Curiously, the discovery comes nearly seven years after the first mysterious "Photon Belt" messages were received by a few members of the UFO community. The Photon Belt controversy was the subject of an intense Internet debate during 1996. The initial messages claimed that Earth "will soon discover the Photon Belt." But subsequent messages, plus debate, claimed that Earth would enter the Photon Belt, and that this event would cause climate disturbances and other planetary changes. (See the Duluth, Minn. News-Tribune for January 7, 2003, "Star belt surrounds Milky Way galaxy," page 5A.)
EXPLODING STAR THRILLS EARTH'S ASTRONOMERS
"Tremendous eruptions are occurring on a bright star in the nighttime sky, astronomers say."
"Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, the 'hypergiant' star Rho Cassiopeiae lost mass equal to 10,000 times the weight of Earth during one tremendous outburst in 2000, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics say."
"Visible to the naked eye and many times larger than Earth's sun, Rho Cassiopeiae has intrigued scentists since 1946. Only a dozen such hypergiants are known, and scientists suspect that Rho Cassiopeiae will soon destroy itself in a supernova explosion. The scientists are hoping to determine what triggers such eruptions before the stars die." (See USA Today for January 8, 2003, "Dying star's huge eruptions analyzed," page 5D.)
From the UFO Files...
1970: ALIEN ENCOUNTER IN FINLAND
On January 7, 1970, "while skiing close to sunset" near Heinola, Finland, "Aarno Heinomen, 36, and Esko Viljo, 38, heard a strange buzzing sound which became louder. A very bright light approached and hovered about 15 meters (50 feet) in front of them."
"An apparently metallic object could be seen surrounded by a 'luminous gray fog.' It was a domed disc about 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter with three hemispherical protrusions spaced around the lower surface and a tube about 25 centimeters (10 inches) in diameter in the center. The UFO descended slowly and the 'fog' disappeared."
"About 4 meters (13 feet) from the ground the buzzing sound stopped and a beam of light emerged from the central tube to the ground."
"Within the light beam was a small humanoid figure (90 centimeters or 3 feet tall--J.T.) with a white face, and a cone-shaped bright metallic 'hat.' He had on gray coveralls and green boots. He was holding a small black box from which came a blinding ray of light. The fog then reappeared and red and green sparkles burst out from the luminous circle as the fog became heavy. The light beam re-entered the tube and suddenly the UFO was gone."
"Heinomen was fainting and paralyzed on the right side."
"It took the men two hours to reach the nearest village, which was 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away. Heinomen was suffering headaches, vomiting and breathing with difficulty. He felt pain all over, was cold, and could not keep his equilibrium."
"Viljo had a red, swollen face and also lost his equilibrium. His hands and chest were covered with red spots. Other witnesses (cross-country skiers--J.T.) had also seen a bright light that night." (See the book Uninvited Guests by Richard Hall, Aurora Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1988, page 267.)
Well, that's it for this week. Join us in seven days for more UFO, Fortean and paranormal news, brought to you by "the paper that goes home--UFO Roundup." See you next time!
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 2003 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO Roundup on their websites or in news groups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the item first appeared.
