Statistiche
Sunday, July 24, 2022
The Pentagon Just Revealed the New Name of Its UAP Investigative Office ( The Debrief )
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense announced the establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the latest iteration of the Pentagon’s official efforts to collect and analyze reports of military encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
The Pentagon’s announcement updates a previous statement issued last November, in which the DoD revealed that its official UAP investigative component would be called the Airborne Object Identification and Management Group (AOIMSG), set to become the successor to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) that has officially been in operation since 2020.
“On July 15, 2022, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), amended her original direction to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security by renaming and expanding the scope of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Group (AOIMSG) to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO),” read a Pentagon release.
“The AARO will serve as the authoritative office of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) and UAP-related activities for the DoD,” Hicks wrote in a memorandum on July 15, 2022.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks (Credit: DoD/Public Domain).
Calling the AARO “the DoD focal point for all UAP and UAP-related activities,” Hicks said that the newly renamed office “may represent the Department for such activities to the interagency, Congress, media, and public, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
“Any DoD Component acting on behalf of the UAPTF, or who has data, analysis, contracts, or other material related to UAP, will immediately synchronize their efforts with the AARO,” Hicks added.
Citing the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2022, “which included a provision to establish an office, in coordination with DNI, with responsibilities that were broader than those originally assigned to the AOIMSG,” the newly rechristened AARO will incorporate functions outlined in a widely-discussed amendment to the FY2022 NDAA presented by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), along with similar legislation introduced by Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in the House version of the bill.
The DoD’s establishment of the AOIMSG last year roughly coincided with the initial draft of the amendment put forward by Senator Gillibrand, which included “Anomaly Surveillance and Resolution Office” or ASRO, as a proposed title for the DoD’s UAP office, causing confusion and speculation about the possible existence of more than one UAP investigative element within the DoD.
In May, Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough told The Debrief that only one office would exist, then still called the AOIMSG, and that the Pentagon was “currently coordinating implementing guidance for the AOIMSG across the department and with interagency partners to ensure that the AOIMSG meets congressional intent.”
Gough also emphasized that the relevant text within Sec. 1683 of the FY2022 NDAA included no name for the office in the final legislation that went into law, allowing the DoD’s existing effort to be tailored to meet the requirements outlined in the bill.
According to Wednesday’s Pentagon release, “USD(I&S) Hon. Ronald S. Moultrie informed the department of the establishment of AARO within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and named Dr. Sean M. Kirkpatrick, most recently the chief scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center, as the director of AARO.”
Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, new director of the DoD’s AARO (Credit: Public Domain).
In May, independent researcher Douglas Dean Johnson was first to reveal that Kirkpatrick would lead the Pentagon’s forthcoming UAP investigations, citing “Multiple Executive Branch branch sources” who spoke on background with knowledge that Kirkpatrick applied for the position and was selected, but that no formal announcement had been made at that time.
Since 2012, Kirkpatrick has served as the Defense Intelligence Officer for Scientific and Technical Intelligence, fulfilling the role as the DoD’s counterpart to the National Intelligence Manager for Science and Technology until 2016. Dr. Kirkpatrick also served on special assignment to the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence and went on to serve in several other positions, which included Deputy Director of Intelligence with US Strategic Command, Director of National Security Strategy with the National Security Council, and Deputy Director of Intelligence and the DNI Representative for USSPACECOM.
Most recently, Dr. Kirkpatrick served as Chief Scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center.
“The mission of the AARO will be to synchronize efforts across the Department of Defense, and with other U.S. federal departments and agencies, to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in, on or near military installations, operating areas, training areas, special use airspace and other areas of interest, and, as necessary, to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security,” read a portion of Wednesday’s Pentagon release. “This includes anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged and transmedium objects.”
Wednesday’s release also confirmed that Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (USD(I&S)) Ronald Moultrie, who participated in recent Congressional hearings on the subject of UAP, will lead the AARO Executive Council (AAROEXEC), which will lend oversight and provide direction to the new AARO regarding several elements, which include:
- Surveillance, Collection and Reporting
- System Capabilities and Design
- Intelligence Operations and Analysis
- Mitigation and Defeat
- Governance
- Science and Technology
The DoD’s announcement arrived coinciding with language introduced by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday (H.R. 8367) for its version of the FY2023 Intelligence Authorization Act, which included provisions for the historical study of unidentified aerial phenomena, and called for disclosures related to the recovery of any material related to such phenomena.
According to the bill’s language, “for the period beginning on January 1947, and ending on the date on which the Comptroller General completes activities under this subsection, compile and itemize a complete historical record of the intelligence community’s involvement with unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena,” a portion reads, making obvious reference to events popularly associated with the alleged crash and subsequent recovery of an exotic aerial vehicle in New Mexico in the summer of 1947. H.R. 8367 also calls for “including successful or unsuccessful efforts to identify and track unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena, efforts to recover or transfer related technologies to United States-based industry or National Laboratories, and any intelligence community efforts to obfuscate, manipulate public opinion, hide, or otherwise provide unclassified or classified misinformation about unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena or related activities,” among other provisions related to the intelligence community’s collection of information about UAP.
The UAP-related provision within the bill was spearheaded by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), who serves as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher questions senior military leaders during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on March 7, 2017 (Credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/CC 2.0).
“In an increasingly dangerous world, the Intelligence Community (IC) plays a vital role in making sure the country’s leaders have the best information possible to protect the U.S. and its interests,” Gallagher said in a statement on his website.
“This Intelligence Authorization Act not only takes steps to ensure that these men and women have the resources they need to continue their mission, but also takes steps to promote transparency and increase Congressional oversight of the IC in a way that still safeguards sensitive information.”
In a memorandum issued on Wednesday, Moultrie similarly emphasized the significance of the AARO and the collection of data on unidentified aircraft and other phenomena in the furtherance of the DoD’s national security interests.
“It is vital to our national security and the safety of our military personnel that we maintain awareness of anomalous objects in all domains,” Moultrie wrote in a memorandum on Wednesday.
“We must also keep pace with the development and employment of novel technology by our adversaries. In doing so, we are committed to providing maximum transparency while safeguarding classified information and controlled unclassified information,” Moultrie wrote.
“The establishment of the AARO is a significant step forward in developing the capabilities and processes that are necessary to achieve these goals.”
Micah Hanks
Japan looked to as a model if encountering UFOs, aliens ( The Asashi Shimbun )
With the U.S. Defense Department's release of military video footage of what are purported to be UFOs, encounters with extraterrestrials suddenly don't seem to be just science fiction anymore.
Even Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono acknowledged recently that protocols will be established just in case.
“We would like to decide what to do in the event we encounter a UFO," he said.
More than 50 years ago, Japan was regarded as a model for dealing with extraterrestrials.
The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) made recommendations if humans were to encounter aliens from space.
It has disclosed a 1968 paper that says the "Japanese way" was a good example of “assimilating other technologies and maintaining their identity even if their technology was inferior to the other ones.”
It adds, “People should learn from Japan whose manner is to be friendly and tries to eagerly learn everything from other cultures and cooperate with each other as one country.”
A science journalist and professor who is involved with a space science museum in Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, said "Japanese flexibility has attracted a lot of attention."
Josen Takano cited Japan's period of national isolation from the 17th century through the 19th century when it continued to absorb knowledge about subjects such as medicine and foreign languages at Dejima, a small island in Nagasaki Port, used as a trading post with other countries.
"Another example is that Japan grew its economy at a remarkable speed starting from the turmoil following World War II,” said Takano, who has been involved with the space science museum “Cosmo Isle Hakui.” The museum name means “Space Dejima.”
Takano draws parallels between UFOs and the novel coronavirus, which is similarly unknown.
UFO FOOTAGE IN U.S., BRITAIN
In April, the U.S. Defense Department declassified the videos shot by U.S. Navy pilots.
The three black-and-white videos, which range from 30 seconds to a minute and 15 seconds in length, were shot in 2004 and 2015.
In the footage, mysterious objects fly over the sea at a high speed or rotate in the air. The videos were leaked to the public a few years ago and caused a row over their authenticity. But the objects were not identified.
In Britain, reports of UFO sightings given to the UFO research department of the Defense Ministry were made available in the national archives. For example, “My dog was kidnapped while I was camping with my friends” and “Two orange-colored balls were floating in the air in my backyard.”
In one case, there was footage filmed by a soldier with a mobile phone, showing 13 objects floating in the air above a building. Later, they were determined to be Chinese lanterns at a wedding ceremony held in the neighborhood.
The research department, which had been operating for more than 50 years, was closed in 2009 because “no UFO sighting has shown any kind of military threat to Britain at all.”
LONGING FOR UNKNOWN EXISTENCE
The Japanese public has not been immune to UFO sightings over the years.
In 1956, reports of silver metallic strips, like pieces of paper, were seen falling from the sky in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
In Fukushima, many people reported seeing a UFO near Mount Senganmori, which has a conic shape and a height of 462 meters. The sightings have also earned the site fame as a “UFO town.”
Takayama city in Gifu Prefecture and Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine are also well-known among UFO aficionados.
Bintaro Yamaguchi, a researcher of supernatural phenomena and a YouTube star, continues to receive daily eyewitness reports of UFO sightings.
“Ninety percent of UFO sightings are believed to be military airplanes made by other countries and only 10 percent are truly unidentified, which enthralls UFO buffs,” he said.
Yamaguchi said the public is fascinated by UFOs because “people want to be unidentified objects themselves.”
“People can use their mobile phones everywhere, and in some cases their personal information, such as past pictures and information on family relationships, can be disseminated on the internet,” he said. “Maybe people are tired of belonging to such a society, so they might hope to become mysterious beings themselves.”
He added, “I can hear their voices beneath the surface saying that they are envious of UFOs.”
The Pentagon is officially opening a UFO investigation office ( msn )
The Pentagon will soon open an office focused exclusively on investigating UFO sightings, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) on July 20.
The new office, named the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), will serve as a central hub that collects, investigates and manages reports of UFO sightings across the DOD, which includes the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force.
The office will synchronize the federal government's efforts "to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest… and, as necessary, to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security," according to the statement. "This includes anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged and transmedium objects."
(A transmedium object is one capable of seamlessly moving between land, air and sea — like a UFO that was seen plunging out of the sky and into the ocean in eerie footage captured by the U.S. Navy in July 2019.)
The U.S. government has taken a renewed interest in UFOs over the past several years, following the 2017 leak of three now-infamous video clips showing mysterious, wingless aircraft soaring at hypersonic speeds past some dumbfounded U.S. Navy pilots. The U.S. Navy officially confirmed and declassified the videos in April 2020, but has provided no explanation for what the mysterious objects might be. In 2020, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence called for an inquiry into UFOs — or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as the government prefers to call them — citing concerns that there was no unified government approach for collecting and analyzing reports of such sightings. In June 2021, the Pentagon released a report on more than 140 UFO sightings by navy pilots — and concluded that there was no evidence of alien activity in any of these instances.
Numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have also resulted in more than 1,500 pages of UFO-related materials being released by the government — including strange reports that certain UFO encounters reportedly left witnesses with radiation burns and "unaccounted for pregnancy."
Funding for the new office has been provided by the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022 — essentially, a federal law that specifies the DOD's budget and priorities for the next fiscal year. The new office will be run by Sean M. Kirkpatrick, the chief scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency's Missile and Space Intelligence Center, according to the statement.
Il nuovo ufficio UAP del Pentagono: AARO
Il Pentagono cambia denominazione al suo ufficio UAP e ne etende il raggio d’indagine, non più solo a potenziali minacce provenienti dal cielo e dallo spazio, ma anche gli oggetti non identificati che si muovono in più elementi, e quindi transmedium L’obiettivo è riuscire a identificare per tempo le capacità tecnologiche militari sviluppate dai potenziali avversari in modo da preparare adeguate difese e contromisure.
Negli Stati Uniti si torna a parlare di UFO, anzi di UAP come vengono chiamti adesso, e il Pentagono infatti, ha istituito nel novembre 2021 un ufficio incaricato di indagare e studiare gli
oggetti volanti non identificati, l’Airborne Object Identification and Management Group (AOIMG). L’ufficio adesso cambia nome in All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), con anche un ampliamento dei suoi
campi di indagine.
Oggetti volanti non identificati transmedium
La modifica è stata voluta dal vice segretario alla Difesa Kathleen Hicks, che ha anche stabilito i nuovi obiettivi dell’ufficio. Mentre in precedenza l’ufficio si occupava soprattutto di minacce aeree e spaziali, AARO sarà da adesso responsabile di identificare e tracciare anche oggetti non identificati definiti transmedium, cioè capaci di muoversi in elementi diversi ( aria, acqua, spazio ). La modifica risponde anche a quanto stabilito dal National Defense Authorization Act del 2022, che disponeva proprio l’istituzione di un ufficio con responsabilità più ampie in questo contesto. L’obiettivo è quello di individuare per tempo le possibili minacce portate dalle tecnologie militari che i potenziali avversari degli Stati Uniti hanno in dotazione. Un esempio di questo nuovo tipo di minacce transmedium è quello dei missili ipersonici lanciati da piattaforme sottomarine, capaci di viaggiare in acqua per poi raggiungere l’atmosfera e colpire il target a terra.
L’ufficio AARO
È stato Ronald S. Moultrie, sottosegretario alla Difesa per l’Intelligence e la sicurezza nell’amministrazione Biden, a informare il Pentagono dell’istituzione dell’AARO all’interno del suo Dipartimento, oltre che a nominarne il direttore nella persona di Sean M. Kirkpatrick; già capo scienziato presso il Missile and space Intelligence center della Defense Intelligence Agency. Il consiglio esecutivo AARO fornirà la supervisione e direzione dell’ufficio, lungo delle linee guida di attività principali: sorveglianza, stesura di rapporti, mitigazione, operazioni e analisi di Intelligence, governance scientifiche e tecnologiche. AARO servirà dunque come autorevole punto focale dei Fenomeni Aerei Non Identificati ( FANI ) e delle attività relative a questi per il Pentagono. E può inoltre rappresentare il dipartimento della Difesa per tali attività presso le agenzie, il Congresso, i media e il pubblico, in coordinamento con l’assistente del segretario della Difesa per gli Affari legislativi e l’assistente del segretario della Difesa per gli Affari pubblici.
Il Congresso USA e gli UFO
All’inizio dell’anno il Congresso ha tenuto la sua prima udienza sugli UFO dopo più di cinquant’anni. Nel corso dell’udienza i legislatori hanno chiesto ai funzionari del Pentagono maggiori informazioni sugli avvistamenti di oggetti volanti non identificati, e molti di loro hanno criticato la mancanza di trasparenza sulla questione. A ciò si aggiunge il fatto che la scorsa settimana la Camera abbia votato un emendamento per istituire un sistema governativo di segnalazione degli UFO, in modo che gli attuali ed ex funzionari della Difesa rivelino maggiori informazioni raccolte su questi fenomeni. Prima ancora, a giugno 2021, l’Intelligence Usa aveva pubblicato un rapporto che descriveva ciò che si sapeva su una serie di oggetti volanti osservati negli ultimi decenni. Il rapporto non ha potuto rivelare molto altro, dato che si tratta pur sempre di un’indagine di Intelligence rivolta con ogni probabilità a materiale d’armamento di potenze straniere. Ma questo riguarda soltanto le informazioni rilasciate per il pubblico, mentre i documenti secretati con i loro link a video dove si vedono astronavi fare manovre sbalorditive a velocità non raggiungibili da nessun mezzo terrestre non lasciano adito a dubbi sulla loro natura non terrestre. Inoltre alcuni link rimandano a video dei quali non posso parlare, che se fossero mostrati al publico, chiarirebbero senza ombra di dubbio la natura degli esseri che ci visitano. Ma questo lo saprete più avanti.
Difesa spazio aereo
Oltre a indagare questo tipo di oggetti, AARO dovrà anche coordinare gli sforzi del dipartimento della Difesa con altri dipartimenti e agenzie, per rilevare e identificare oggetti di interesse in prossimità di luoghi sensibili e strategici per la sicurezza nazionale, come all’interno o in prossimità di installazioni militari, aree operative, aree di addestramento, spazi aerei ad uso speciale e altre aree di interesse. Questo include oggetti anomali, non identificati, spaziali, aerei, sommersi e transmedium. Qualora un oggetto venga ritenuto pericoloso per la sicurezza, AARO sarà responsabile di segnalare la minaccia.
Allarme anti-missilistico
Ma l’attenzione crescente degli Usa nei confronti di oggetti volanti non si ferma qui, come dimostra anche la decisione del Pentagono di pochi giorni fa che ha stanziato 1,3 miliardi di dollari per il progetto che vede coinvolte L3Harris e Northrop Grumman nella realizzazione di una costellazione satellitare che sia in grado di rilevare, identificare e colpire missili e altre minacce, comprese quelle ipersoniche, sfruttando la rete di comunicazione a maglia dei satelliti in orbita bassa che si vanno ad aggiungere ad altri satelliti che servono ad individuare aperture di eventuali portali spazio temporali intorno alla Terra dal quale potrebbero sortire fuori dei potenziali nemici extraumani. Un’altra iniziativa che risponde alla necessità di dotarsi di strumenti di difesa più all’avanguardia che sfruttino i nuovi armamenti per una copertura difensiva totale.
Omicron
Monday, July 18, 2022
Man claims aliens abducted him, says he has been chosen to introduce extraterrestrials to mankind ( IBT )
Michael Alans initially drew a sketch of an alien during his childhood, and since then he has been in contact with extraterrestrials
A forklift truck driver named Michael Alans has sensationally claimed that aliens have chosen him to introduce extraterrestrials to mankind, according to a Lad Bible report.
The revelation from this British man comes at a time when space
agencies like NASA and ESA are vigorously searching for proof of alien
life on distant space bodies.
Alien abductee shares weird experience
In the report, Alans claimed that he has been encountering aliens since his childhood. He also added that aliens have abducted him multiple times.
In the 1980s, during his early childhood, he drew the first sketch of an extraterrestrial being, and since then he has been in contact with aliens, the report added.
"My earliest memory of an alien is when I was just a child, I can remember is feeling something stroke my head, I thought it was my mother but when I opened my eyes I was shocked and terrified it was a creature, a grey alien sat where my mother should have been," said Alans.
He added, "As a young lad I could not grasp what I had experienced, I originally thought the things that had come to me in my room and called me to the garden must have been wildlife that I had not seen before. But I eventually realised that I had been chosen and there was a very clear campaign by the visitors to get to me."
The unusual abduction moments
The report further added that Alans was once abducted by aliens, which he calls, "dragged up to a spaceship by a light beam."
"On one occasion, I woke up in the early hours, completely paralysed. I could see the blue light under my bedroom door and shadows in the hall. The last thing that I remember was seeing three grey aliens and the lead grey thrust his hand up into my face," he said.
Amid all these mysteries, Michael's wife has banned him from talking about aliens and his abduction experience in his house.
Nirmal Narayanan
DUEL IN THE SKY Moment stunned tourists ‘watch Top Gun pilots chase a UFO’ at high speed over a national park ( The Sun )
THIS is the moment stunned tourists spotted two fighter pilots chasing what appeared to be a UFO at high speed over a national park.
Alex McCall was out with his daughter and grandchildren in Acadia National Park in Maine when the military jets suddenly blasted across the skies.
When they looked up, they saw the two aircraft tailing what appeared to be a white UFO.
His daughter managed to capture the moment the three aircraft roared over the park before they vanished into the clouds.
After watching the video back, former pilot Alex said he was sure the Tic Tac-shaped UFO couldn't have been another plane.
Alex, who has 25 years of flying experience, said: "My daughter took the video. It's legit, we don't know what it is.
“There are people saying it’s CGI that are obviously clueless. She stopped filming when she couldn’t see them anymore. It was taken with an iPhone.
"We were on vacation in Maine. There were dozens if not hundreds of people around.
"My kids and grandkids saw it and then heard it.
"My daughter got her phone out and pointed in the right direction but couldn’t tell if she was getting video of it.
"She stopped when she couldn’t see them any longer."
Alex said they weren't the only people to witness the bizarre duel in the sky.
He said: "One person said his mum got a good video of it.
“It all happened so fast... everyone thought the white thing was another airplane until I looked at the video."
It’s not the first time Alex claimed to have encountered a UFO.
"I saw a UFO in 1996 and know what I saw. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of it,” he said.
"The reason I know there is something to some of the sightings is because I saw exactly the same thing.
“Up close and personal. I don’t have a clue what those jets in my video are with but I do know it’s not another fighter jet.
“I also know it wasn’t faked. For what it’s worth, I was an airline pilot for 25 years."
It comes after an aerospace engineer claimed the the Pentagon’s videos believed to show UFOs filmed by navy pilots are being put out to get the public ready for a fake alien invasion.
Mike Bara, who says he has worked on many classified military projects, said he analysed the videos and found there was “nothing exceptional” about any of them.
The TV personality believes they all show easily explainable phenomena – such as drones and in a wild theory believes they could have been leaked to prepare people for a fake alien invasion.
Congress recently made one of its biggest moves yet to probe UFOs as lawmakers voted to create a secure database for reporting the mysterious encounters.
US officials will now set up a unified system for logging sightings as well as offering protection for any government whistleblowers who may wish to come forward about what they know about UFOs.
Imogen Braddick
Will new NASA study move the needle on UFO research? ( msn )
In early June, NASA announced that it's commissioning an independent study on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as UFOs have recently been rebranded.
The intent is to move the scientific understanding of UAP forward, said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science.
"NASA believes that the tools of scientific discovery are powerful and apply here also," Zurbuchen said in a statement. "We have access to a broad range of observations of Earth from space – and that is the lifeblood of scientific inquiry. We have the tools and team who can help us improve our understanding of the unknown. That's the very definition of what science is. That's what we do."
The UAP study team will be led by astrophysicist David Spergel, previously the chair of the astrophysics department at Princeton University.
"Given the paucity of observations, our first task is simply to gather the most robust set of data that we can," Spergel said in the NASA statement. "We will be identifying what data — from civilians, government, non-profits, companies — exists, what else we should try to collect and how to best analyze it."
Space.com reached out to a number of UAP and UFO (unidentified flying object) groups and leading experts in the field to get their thoughts on NASA's new endeavor.
Scientific rigor and transparency
NASA should be congratulated for its willingness to investigate UAP, said Robert Powell, executive board member of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies.
"During their press conference, it was clear that they would provide an exemplary approach to the subject by combining scientific rigor, transparency and a fundamental curiosity about this longstanding mystery," Powell said. "All scientists interested in the study of these phenomena should welcome NASA's entry into the arena as an indication that the time has come for the scientific community to openly examine this subject, and it is hoped that Congress will appropriate funding to open the study of this enigma to all of academia."
Powell said that the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies would urge NASA to tap into the background knowledge that has already been obtained by other science organizations and become familiar with "the pitfalls and successes in the study of this subject." This will enable more rapid scrutiny of UAP development areas that need expanded scientific involvement, he said.
"In order to facilitate a rapid acquirement of known data, the new NASA UAP group should consider identifying an individual that can coordinate data and information sharing with established UAP organizations," Powell said. "This will help avoid duplication of efforts."
Win-win development
Also welcoming NASA's new study is Avi Loeb, head of Harvard's Galileo Project, a systematic scientific search for evidence of extraterrestrial technological artifacts.
The Galileo Project is currently assembling its first telescope system on the roof of the Harvard College Observatory, planning an expedition to retrieve fragments from the first known interstellar meteor, studying satellite data on UAP and designing a space mission to rendezvous with the next anomalous ('Oumuamua-like) interstellar object that zooms into our solar system.
Loeb recently summarized his thoughts about the NASA announcement in an essay titled "Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery."
Overall, this outcome is gratifying and represents a "win-win" development, Loeb said. "The Galileo Project is now likely to receive a boost to its funding from wealthy individuals and foundations with which I am in close contact," he wrote in the essay. "But most importantly, the Project's scientific mission narrative is now echoed within the government. It does not matter who tells the truth as long as it is being told."
Related: UFO watch: 8 times the government looked for flying saucers
Fishing expedition
Loeb said that it's wonderful that NASA will be engaged in trying to unravel the mysterious nature of UAP. He tags this quest as a "fishing expedition," one that will end up with a mixed bag of natural and human-made objects.
"But even if we have high-quality data on just a single object that demonstrates something else, such as an extraterrestrial technological origin, it would represent the most important discovery in human history," Loeb told The Jerusalem Post recently.
Loeb said he would be delighted to provide any input that could help NASA's study, "because it shares the intellectual DNA of the Galileo Project," he wrote in the essay. "Government agencies and academia should be working together towards the collection of new evidence-based knowledge on UAP."
Open mindedness applies also to scientific research, Loeb said. "We should explore the unknown by seeking evidence agnostically and not assuming what we might find. Gladly, we now know that both the Galileo Project and NASA agree on following this principle."
Right start
"NASA's new UAP initiative is very encouraging, perhaps even more so than the formation of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group in the Pentagon," said Mark Rodeghier, the scientific director of the Center for UFO Studies in Chicago.
UAP are best investigated openly, Rodeghier said, "both because this will allow a range of qualified researchers to be involved, but also because this will permit the results of the investigation to be shared with the public."
The military has advanced sensor capabilities, and that may be crucial for gathering critical data on the phenomenon, said Rodeghier. "But I have concern that findings will, as a matter of course, not be shared with the public. Those of us who have been advocating for years that more resources be devoted to studying UAP have always recommended that this be done openly and transparently."
Rodeghier said that, at this stage, NASA is conducting reconnaissance to learn what data are available and how best to study the phenomenon — which is exactly the right start — and he is not concerned about coordination with the military.
"Down the road, there could be potential for overlap and redundancy in the two efforts, but science is normally best done with multiple research groups working on the same problem, and UAPs are no different," Rodeghier told Space.com. "I do hope that NASA reaches out to the serious UFO community, because we can advise them on data and data-quality issues that we understand from long experience. Our involvement will make their study more robust and comprehensive."
Sharing information
"I think it's great that NASA, the U.S. Navy, and other organizations are starting to take the UFO question seriously. However, I find it strange that the U.S. Air Force, which has been openly investigating this phenomenon since the 1940s, is completely quiet on the issue in modern times," said Michael Masters, a professor of biological anthropology at Montana Technological University.
In his new book, "The Extratempestrial Model" (Full Circle Press, 2022), Masters makes the case that UFOs and aliens are our future human descendants, coming back through time to visit and study their own evolutionary past.
Masters spotlights a number of case studies of close encounters. It seems that whenever a case involved military personnel specifically, he said, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations was all over it. "Why are they so quiet now? Why aren't these offices talking to each other and sharing information and data they've collected across multiple decades?"
Stigma has lifted
"I think NASA's involvement is extremely significant," said investigative journalist Leslie Kean, author of The New York Times bestseller "UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record" (Harmony Books, 2010).
"We have to remember that when Jimmy Carter was president, he asked NASA to conduct just the sort of assessment that the agency is undertaking now. NASA said no to the president of the United States. Now, NASA has initiated data gathering on its own. Clearly the stigma has lifted. We are living in a different world with respect to UAP," Kean said.
At this stage, NASA's task is simply to gather data, Kean said — to find out what data researchers have, what more they should collect and then determine how to analyze it.
"So we may not be given any major revelations in the near term," she added. "However, this is clearly the first step. And what's really important is that they are looking for data from civilians as well as from government. They will not be working with classified data and will make everything transparent to the public. This should stimulate additional scientific investigation, and it will greatly help lift the stigma even further within the scientific community."
NASA's UAP look-see should help groups like the Galileo Project, and hopefully data can be shared between those two organizations, said Kean. "I hope NASA accesses data from space. If we can document the existence of UAP in space, then we really have something."
Energy, experience and expertise
Kevin Knuth is an associate professor of physics at the University at Albany (State University of New York). He is an active UAP researcher.
"Given that pilots have been, and still are, reluctant to come forward regarding encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena, one must seriously ask whether NASA astronauts have seen significant unidentified phenomena in space," Knuth said. "I would hope that the NASA UAP investigation interviews NASA astronauts to determine what may have been witnessed in space. Perhaps there will also be interviews of former or current cosmonauts?"
Given that civilian organizations are becoming more active in space, there is the potential for a new safety issue involving UAPs, said Knuth. "Does NASA plan to require astronauts to report encounters with unknown objects in space like the U.S. Navy now does?"
Knuth points out that there are a number of former and current NASA scientists actively working to study UAPs via several research groups, including Loeb's Galileo Project. "I would hope that the NASA study team takes advantage of their energy, experience and expertise on the topic," Knuth said.
Anecdotal reports, blurry photos, no solid data
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the NASA UAP effort.
"NASA says that they are establishing an independent group of investigators to look into UAP reports, but it's difficult to see why this is expected to accomplish anything," said Robert Sheaffer, a leading skeptical investigator of UFOs.
For 75 years there have been plenty of people looking into UFO/UAP claims, some of them very educated, and still no solid findings have emerged, Sheaffer said. "So what does NASA bring to the table that wasn't there before? Do people really think that no astronomers or physicists have ever investigated UFO reports until now?"
Sheaffer pointed out that NASA's budget for its UAP appraisal is a modest $100,000, "which in the overheated world of government contracts won't even pay for a single full-time researcher for one year."
By contrast, from 2008 to 2011, the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program gave $22 million to the Nevada-based company Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies to investigate UAPs and their allegedly "collocating" weirdnesses, Sheaffer said.
"It ended up with reports of poltergeists, paranormal wolf-like creatures and malevolent blue orbs attacking people, but they still learned nothing about the nature of UAPs," he said. "The Department of Defense refused to appropriate any money after that."
Sheaffer senses that the problem is not that there is too much data to analyze; rather, there are only anecdotal reports, blurry photos and other shaky information.
"Those who are familiar with the history of 75 years of UFO reports understand the perils of taking eyewitness reports at face value, a lesson that government investigators of high strangeness apparently have yet to learn," Sheaffer said.
Leonard David
"Non si saprà mai": così iniziò il mistero del "triangolo del Diavolo" alle Bermuda ( msn )
La storia di questo ultimo viaggio è rimasta tuttora senza una vera spiegazione e ha inizio nell’aeroporto di Heathrow, in Inghilterra, il 27 gennaio del 1948. Appartiene all’incidente aereo che forse più di tutti ha contribuito - insieme a quello della famigerata Squadriglia 19 - ad alimentare la leggenda del "Triangolo delle Bermuda": quel tratto di mare dove, almeno secondo gli esperti del paranormale, questo nostro mondo si collegherebbe con altre dimensioni a noi ignote.
È una mattinata fredda e umida, quando i primi temerari e facoltosi passeggeri sono in procinto di imbarcarsi sul quadrimotore pilotato da esperti aviatori militari. Uomini che avevano appena vinto la guerra e maturato l'expertise adatto a mettere in piedi un'idea ambiziosa quanto insidiosa: fondare una compagnia aerea che potesse competere con la Boac (al tempo la maggiore compagnia aerea statale britannica, ndr) per conquistare le rotte che dall'Europa portavano nel cuore delle Americhe del Sud.
A bordo di aerei basati su i migliori bombardieri a lungo raggio - come gli Avro York, Avro Lancaster e Avro Tudor - la neonata Bsaa pensava di offrire lussi mai visti prima come la proiezioni di film in volo o il servizio ristorante incentrato su pasti surgelati, attraendo il pubblico con lo slogan "Vola con le stelle", e facendo rotta su mete esotiche come i Caraibi.
C'erano tutte le carte in regola per diventare una compagnia aerea di successo, se non fosse stato per un tragico incidente che già nel 1947 aveva scosso la compagni, dando luogo a una delle prime leggende sulla sparizione di un aereo di linea collegabile agli extraterrestri. Stiamo parlando della perdita dell'Avro Lancaster nominativo Star Dust, avvenuta il 2 agosto 1947. Scomparso nel nulla mentre era in volo sulle Ande. Poi ritrovato dopo oltre mezzo secolo in seguito allo scioglimento dei ghiacci. Ma torniamo a noi.Ogni viaggio ha i suoi problemi
Quel giorno a Heathrow i primi passeggeri dell'Avro Tudor nominativo Star Tiger (G-Ahnp) si stavano imbarcando per il lungo viaggio che li avrebbe condotti all'Avana, facendo scalo a Lisbona, Santa Maria nelle Azzorre, St. David nelle Bermuda e Kingston in Giamaica. E non ci volle molto prima che s'imbattessero nella prima piccola insidia, appena poche ore dopo il decollo. Il sistema di riscaldamento dell'areo era difettoso li avrebbe costretti a viaggiare a delle temperature che sarebbero stato considerate proibitive anche per l'equipaggio di un bombardiere militare in missione - figuriamoci per dei civili in viaggio di piacere.
A bordo c'erano 25 passeggeri più l'equipaggio, composto da quattro veterani dell'aria capitananti B.W. McMillan, un neozelandese che aveva servito nella Reale aeronautica neozelandese ed era ben noto per le sue qualità, e due hostess. Tra i passeggeri invece, sedeva sir Arthur Coningham, maresciallo dell'aria che aveva condotto gli squadroni tattici degli Alleati nei cieli della Normandia
Un sistema di riscaldamento che fa cilecca non può mettere a rischio un volo di linea. Ma non sarebbe stato l'ultimo problema tecnico a insidiare il viaggio dello Star Tiger. Una bussola difettosa e un motore che faticava a riavviarsi, rallentarono il viaggio che prevedeva la sua seconda tappa a Santa Maria nelle Azzorre per un necessario rifornimento di carburante. Non va dimenticato infatti come la distanza che separa Londra dall'Avana fosse enorme per i tempi, e che pure gli aerei come l'Avro Tudor, benché vantassero un'autonomia di 6.500 chilometri anche a pieno carico, dovevano garantirsi degli scali intermedi per essere certi di arrivare a destinazione interi, e con i galloni di carburante necessari alle manovre d'atterraggio.
Carburante o passeggeri? Una scelta delicata
Il bollettino meteorologico consegnato allo Star Tiger prima della partenza era oltremodo scoraggiante. Forti venti di burrasca e fenomeni temporaleschi avrebbero accompagnato la tratta Azzorre-Bermuda. Deciso a proseguire il suo viaggio sull’Atlantico per arrivare a destinazione, il comandante McMillan si trovò di fronte a una decisione da prendere: evitare di riempire al massimo i serbatoi per raggiungere in sicurezza le Bermuda, considerando che i forti venti lo avrebbero potuto spingere fuori rotta allungando il viaggio, o essere costretto a lasciare a terra alcuni passeggeri con il loro bagaglio per alleggerire il carico e fare spazio ad altri preziosi galloni di carburante?
Optò per la prima - col sennò di poi potremmo dire incautamente - decollando alla volta delle Bermuda con i serbatoi non riempiti al massimo della loro capienza, ma neanche un passeggero infuriato alle sue spalle. Con un bollettino meteo che riportava venti forti e piogge, ma l’idea di volare ad appena 2.000 invece che a 20.000 piedi di altitudine per evitare i venti di tempesta peggiori. Con un po' di fortuna ce l'avrebbero fatta. E alle 4.00 del mattino sarebbero atterrati a destinazione senza ricevere alcuna lamentale da parte dei passeggeri. Così l’Avro Tudor proseguiva nel suo volo notturno, sorvolando un oceano scuro e agitato, e attraversando banchi nuvolosi capaci di privare i piloti della la visibilità da un momento all’altro.
Secondo le stime, quando lo Star Tiger era prossimo a oltrepassare il "punto di non ritorno”, si trovava un centinaio di chilometri fuori rotta a causa dei venti. Le rilevazioni astrali, nonostante il maltempo, avevano consentito al navigatore di ricalcolare la rotta senza che a bordo si perdesse la speranza di arrivare - con ritardo - all’aeroporto di Kindley Field sull'isola di St. David alle Bermuda, ex base militare con cui era già entrato in contattato radio. Alle 3.15 e alle 3.17, l’operatore della Guardia aerea a Kindley Field contattò per l'ultima volta lo Star Tiger in rotta di avvicinamento per le Bermuda. Il segnale era chiaro. A bordo erano stanchi e provati, ma lucidi e tranquilli. Poi, d'un tratto, sopraggiunse il silenzio.
Alle 3.50, quando era ormai trascorsa più di mezz’ora dall’ultima comunicazione radio, alla torre di Kindley apparve chiaro che le cose dovevano essere andate per il peggio. Lo Star Tiger non si era più messo in contatto. Non aveva lanciato nessun messaggio Sos. Non aveva raggiunto la sua destinazione come previsto, neanche con ulteriore ritardo. Non aveva lasciato - apparentemente - nessuna traccia di sé a questo mondo. Solo una nave mercantile, la Ss Troubadour, aveva riferito l'avvistamento (alle ore 2.10 del mattino) di un aereo con luci lampeggianti che volava basso sull'oceano, da qualche parte tra le Bermuda e la baia del Delaware. Una segnalazione che, se collegata allo Star Tiger, lo avrebbe trovato completamente fuori rotta.
Le operazioni di ricerca e quegli strani messaggi
All'alba venne immediatamente lanciata un'operazione di soccorso dalla forza aerea statunitense, che convolse ben 26 aerei nelle ricerche di quell'aereo scomparso nel nulla. Altrettante furono le unità navali impegnate nei giorni successivi. Nessuno trovò traccia di detriti, del relitto e dei superstiti. Solo il primo di febbraio un bombardiere B-17 riferì di aver avvistato diverse scatole e un fusto di petrolio a 325 miglia a nord-ovest delle Bermuda. Questo avvistamento non sarà sufficiente a collegare i detriti alla sparizione dello Star Tiger.
Inquietanti furono i messaggi confusi e incompleti che vennero captati dai radioamatori che rimasero in ascolto lungo tutta costa orientale del Nord America, e giurarono di aver ricevuto messaggi inviati da qualcuno che non conosceva bene il codice Morse. Secondo molti di loro, tra punti e linee, qualcuno stava tentando di scrivere la parola "T-i-g-r-e".
Sempre in quei giorni di ricerche, una stazione della Guardia costiera di Terranova riferì che insieme al messaggio in codice Morse, avevano intercettato qualcuno che pronunciava le lettere "G-a-h-n-p": il numero di registrazione di Star Tiger. Il velivolo ufficialmente scomparso il 30 gennaio al largo di quello che veniva già soprannominato il "triangolo maledetto" delle Bermuda. Tratto di mare dove tra la Prima e la Seconda guerra mondiale era si era iniziato a credere si consumassero eventi strettamente collegati al paranormale. Un luogo "infernale", frequentemente scosso da tempeste, nel quale navi e aerei sparivano senza lasciare traccia.
Questi messaggi incompleti vennero captati sporadicamente fino al 3 febbraio, quattro giorni la sparizione dello Star Tiger di cui non si sarebbe più trovata traccia. Gli appassionati del paranormale iniziarono a sostenere la tesi che quei messaggi distorti non erano altro che richieste d'aiuto dei superstiti che erano "finiti in qualche modo in un'altra universo o in un altra dimensione spazio temporale". Ma esistono senza dubbio spiegazioni più logiche ed estremamente terrestri. Seppure mai confermate.
Una spiegazione logica dietro al mistero
Le teorie che vorrebbero un buco nero all'interno del famigerato triangolo delle Bermuda, luogo prescelto dagli alieni per entrare in contatto con la nostra civiltà, rimangono plausibili e affascinanti per molti, quanto risibili e inconcepibili - a buon titolo - per molti altri. Tuttavia che in questo inospitale triangolo di mare siano scomparsi nel nulla un numero non trascurabile di uomini e mezzi, non ultimo l'Avro Tudor IV Star Tiger, resta fatto inconfutabile.
Dietro la "misteriosa" sparizione dello Star Tiger potrebbero nascondersi soltanto una spiacevole combinazione di fattori che non hanno proprio nulla a che fare con il paranormale. L'aereo in questione potrebbe essere incappato in una tempesta con venti più forti del previsto, che lo avrebbero portato fuori rotta fino all’esaurimento del carburante - come in realtà è in parte stato dimostrato. Sebbene a bordo fosse presente un serbatoio di riserva da attivare manualmente in caso di emergenza, era necessario del tempo prima che il carburante raggiungesse i motori.
Questo potrebbe non essere stato sufficiente a “salvare” l’Avro Tudor che proprio in virtù della succitata tempesta. Soprattutto perché volava alla ridottissima quota di 2000 piedi. L'estrema vicinanza alla superficie del mare, se sommata a qualche problema al motore, potrebbero aver portato l’aereo privo di propulsione a schiantarsi sulle onde per scomparire in pochissimo tempo tra i flutti. Senza lasciare traccia.
La stessa altitudine ridotta inoltre potrebbe aver visto l'aereo sorpreso da una raffica di vento più forte delle altre. Costringendo i piloti a manovrare improvvisamente a bassissima quota. Una brutta imbardata potrebbe aver condotto il velivolo in mare prima che il capitano e il suo secondo fossero riusciti a recuperare l’assetto. Non ci sarebbe stato il tempo per lanciare un messaggio di May Day.
Non va dimenticata inoltre la possibilità del semplice errore umano dettato dalla stanchezza. Per tutto il viaggio lo Star Tiger aveva comunicato di volare a una quota di 20.000 piedi nonostante volasse - almeno secondo le ricostruzioni - a soli 2.000. Questa semplice dimenticanza, ripetuta più volte, potrebbe aver convinto un pilota stanco ad abbassarsi nella completa oscurità mentre era in rotta di avvicinamento. Ma invece di condurlo a 10.000 piedi, lo avrebbe condotto dritto tra le onde di un oceano oscuro e agitato. Facendo scomparire per sempre lo scintillante Avro Tudor, e le 31 anime che erano a bordo.
Ultima ipotesi, largamente sostenuta, è che lo Star Tiger avesse subito dei danni impercettibili ai serbatoi, maturando nel lungo viaggio una perdita di carburante che forse non venne rilevata dalla strumentazione di bordo.
Un mistero destinato a perdurare
L'assenza di ogni traccia dei corpi dei passeggeri come di detriti riconducibili all'Avro Tudor e la mancata localizzazione di un relitto dopo oltre settant'anni hanno sobillato le più disparate teorie degli ufologi e degli amanti del paranormale di tutto il mondo. Uomini e donne che non hanno mai smesso di credere che proprio lì, nel mezzo del triangolo delle Bermuda, esista una sorta di portale capace di far sparire nel nulla, o peggio inviare in altre dimensioni sconosciute, aerei, navi e chi si troverebbe a bordo. Queste sono e resteranno fantasie.
Le inchieste avviate sull'incidente dello Star Tiger operato dalla Bsaa, non che tutti i rapporti accumulati nel tentativo di trovare una spiegazione all'accaduto, si sono limitate a concludere che: "In completa assenza di qualsiasi prova attendibile sulla natura o sulla causa dell'incidente di Star Tiger, la Corte non ha potuto fare altro che suggerire possibilità, nessuna delle quali raggiunge il livello anche della probabilità. [...] Cosa è successo in questo caso non sarà mai saputo e il destino di Star Tiger deve rimanere un mistero irrisolto".
Davide Bartoccini
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Avvistamento a Bosa (Nuoro) nel 1907: è il primo Ufo italiano? ( Il Faro )
Analizziamo un avvistamento interessante, seppure testimoniato più di 60 anni dopo i fatti, con le ovvie dimenticanze e confusioni.
Dopo aver “festeggiato” i 75 anni dal primo avvistamento ufficiale di Kenneth Arnold del 1947, (leggi qui) facciamo una corsa a ritroso nel passato. Secondo la storiografia ufologica scandita dalla serie di libri ‘Ufo in Italia’, quello che segue è stato per molto tempo considerato il primo avvistamento di un fenomeno volante non identificato sottoposto a indagine, sia pure molti anni dopo.
Ci troviamo a Bosa, un piccolo centro abitato a nord della penisola di Sinis, in provincia di Nuoro, nei primi giorni di giugno del 1907, quando il testimone (all’epoca un ragazzo) che si trovava in compagnia dei genitori stava tornando a casa dopo una visita alla nonna. Alle ore 22 circa dal cielo stellato e senza Luna si sentì un fortissimo boato della durata di ben 6 secondi. Tutti alzarono lo sguardo e ad una altezza stimata di circa 300 metri osservarono un oggetto ovoidale, lungo quasi 30 metri e del diametro di 8, fermo nel cielo e illuminato da una luce gialla dorata. Dopo altri 6 secondi la luce si spense senza lasciare traccia o altro segno che indicasse un suo movimento. La posizione del fenomeno era sulla verticale di piazza Duomo e sull’ingresso del ponte sul fiume Temo.
In paese si fece riferimento ad una credenza locale, la “barca di S. Pietro”, la cui apparizione avrebbe garantito una buona annata. Secondo alcune ricerche fatte anni dopo, la data dell’evento dovrebbe essere spostata a un giorno di maggio del 1910 quando, secondo i ricordi dei paesani, quello stesso fenomeno (di forma e dimensioni simili a quelle del nostro racconto) era durato addirittura 3 giorni, suscitando una profonda impressione: solo alla fine della terza notte, improvvisamente, l’oggetto si era diretto a fortissima velocità verso il mare ed era sparito definitivamente. Non si era rilevato alcun effetto fisico sugli uomini e sugli animali: nessun rumore. Solo all’atto della partenza fu riscontrata una fortissima raffica di vento tiepido da levante. Di conseguenza, nelle persone si verificò un terrore mistico e molte donne si recarono in chiesa a pregare, con il timore della fine del mondo o altre calamità.
Un avvistamento interessante, seppure testimoniato più di 60 anni dopo i fatti, con le ovvie dimenticanze e confusioni, aggiunte ad una certa ritrosia nel voler parlare da parte di chi assistette al fenomeno. Secondo il primo racconto fatto dal nostro testimone, sembrerebbe potersi trattare dell’esplosione aerea causata da un bolide, ovvero un corpo meteorico abbastanza grande e ben visibile, disintegratosi per l’ingresso in atmosfera e non riconosciuto come tale probabilmente per la direzione verso i testimoni che non hanno così potuto vedere la scia. Mancherebbe però un conseguente residuo di luminosità, tipico dei bolidi.
Più complicato ipotizzare una spiegazione per le testimonianze che fanno riferimento alla data successiva: il fenomeno stazionario per 3 sere consecutive, la correlazione con una credenza locale (si era già svolto un fenomeno simile nel passato?), la ventata calda: tutti dettagli che sembrano appartenere ad una casistica ufologica classica. Anche il terrore che pervase i testimoni sembra genuino, tanto più che li spinse a correre in chiesa per pregare.
Di contro dobbiamo però aggiungere che le testimonianze “tardive”, raccolte a grande distanza di tempo dai fatti, sono da prendere con le molle perché il tempo passato, i racconti ripetuti e riascoltati negli anni possono aver introdotto modifiche ed alterazioni nei ricordi, perfino particolari aggiunti: è una questione ben nota presso gli studiosi di storia orale, oltre che di psicologia della testimonianza. Per questo, se dal punto di vista storiografico il caso è interessantissimo, possiamo dire che la mancanza di dati certi non ci consente di offrire spiegazioni ragionevolmente certe per quello che resta, quindi a tutti gli effetti è un fenomeno non identificato.
Stefano Innocenti
Avvistamento UFO ad Alatri (Frosinone), la testimonianza ( Castelli Notizie )
In questo periodo alcuni dei lettori mi stanno contattando per riferirmi di loro particolari avvistamenti; avvistamenti che spesso e volentieri riguardano però fenomeni convenzionali e che dunque trovano una semplice spiegazione. Ma non tutto è spiegabile, come il caso di avvistamento che vi propongo e che proviene da Alatri, in Ciociaria!
19 Giugno 2022 – Italia, Alatri, (Frosinone), ore 00:30 circa: “…Buongiorno le scrivo perché ho visto i suoi articoli sugli avvistamenti. Mi chiamo (…) e sono di Frosinone, il 19 Giugno 2022 intorno alla mezzanotte eravamo in 3 e le racconto in breve cosa abbiamo visto… una luce che si ingrandiva e rimpiccioliva, scompariva e ricompariva più spostata, dalla quale sono usciti dei lampi o laser, comunque erano a intermittenza come se sparasse… allora ho detto a mia figlia di registrare un video ma non rende come dal vivo, si vedono solo luci grandi e piccole, sicuramente non era un pallone sonda, drone, ecc., perché quei lampi uscivano da quel globo luminoso… Ci troviamo ad Alatri (FR), e il luogo preciso dell’avvistamento si trova su una montagna dove andiamo spesso di sera proprio per realizzare degli avvistamenti, l’ultimo era avvenuto il 28 Gennaio 2022…”.
Dopo aver visionato il video (di scarsa qualità), non sono riuscito a ricavare maggiori dettagli sull’avvistamento, ma se consideriamo quanto affermato dalla testimone, ovvero la presenza di “lampi” o “laser”, dunque possiamo comprendere che l’avvistamento non può essere definito normale e neppure spiegato in modo convenzionale.
Alatri, lo ricordiamo, è un luogo molto importante da un punto di vista storico, possiede in se le antiche testimonianze del popolo pelasgico o ciclopico, che un tempo realizzò le immense strutture in opera poligonale (mura), ancora oggi oggetto di discussione a livello scientifico.
In tale luogo sono visibili in alcuni punti della città, dei simboli, e l’intero abitato antico è orientato astronomicamente con il solstizio estivo, oltre ad avere alcuni punti di repere astronomico. Parliamo dunque di un luogo “magico”, in cui fenomeni di questo tipo sono stati osservati anche in antichità, oltre che visibili nella nostra epoca. Dunque, secondo me, non è un caso che in tale luogo e in tale zona d’Italia, vi siano tanti casi di avvistamento.
Per chi fosse interessato può contattarmi al seguente indirizzo e-mail, per raccontare la propria esperienza di avvistamento, anche in completo anonimato: daniele77c@hotmail.it.
Invito il lettore a contattarmi per fornire un proprio contributo allo studio della casistica ufologica. Alla prossima!
Daniele Cataldi
Thursday, July 14, 2022
The Hudson Valley UFOs: How the Media Reacted to a 1980s UFO Flap ( The Debrief )
Back during the Summer of the Saucers in 1947 and for more than a decade after, UFOs were a serious topic in the media. The subject received plenty of coverage as both the public and the government seemed to grapple with what it was that people were seeing in the skies.
But by the time Project Blue Book ended in 1969, the tone in America’s newspapers and newsreels seemed to change considerably. Many journalists openly mocked people who talked about little green men and flying saucers. This no doubt pleased the federal government, and many researchers suspect that this was happening by design.
That wasn’t always the case, though. There were some events that generated considerable public attention and were reported on by the press in a mostly sober fashion. One of these was the series of sightings in upstate New York that came to be known as the Hudson Valley flap. While there had already been scattered sightings reported in the area a couple of hours north of New York City, the real burst of activity seemed to begin on New Year’s Eve of 1982. A retired police officer reported seeing a huge “v-shaped” object with multiple colored lights gliding almost silently over his property.
He wouldn’t be the last person to report such an event. Many others followed, and by March 23rd of 1983, the local newspaper in Port Chester, New York was running a front-page feature describing crowds of people claiming to have seen the triangular object. The witnesses who were interviewed included an on-duty police officer named Kevin Soravilla, who testified that he had seen the object twice in a 45-minute period after his department had received more than 100 calls. He described the object the same way the others had, saying that he had seen it stop in midair and “turn perpendicular” before reversing course and heading away from view. At no point in the article was there any suggestion of people making up stories or misidentifying something.
Artistic Rendition of the USS Gyatt “UFO Encounter” in 1964. (Image Credit: Dave Beaty of the Nimitz Encounters)
By November of that year, the local newspapers were not just covering the sightings themselves, but also the people who were flocking to the valley to investigate this activity. On November 11th, the Journal News in White Plains, New York, ran a two-column story featuring interviews with UFO investigators. One ufologist from Connecticut who was a member of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy told a reporter that more aliens would probably visit the Earth if humans weren’t so hostile toward them. A second investigator accused the federal government of having crashed “flying discs” and alien bodies, insisting that they were covering up the information to keep it from the public.
The paper even included comments from J. Allen Hynek, who described how and why he left in his capacity as a science advisor to Project Blue Book. Hynek also said that researchers were “fighting a publicity war” with the military because military officials sought to ridicule anyone who reported a sighting.
The sightings were still going on well into the following year, and journalists had spread out to explore other possible explanations not involving extraterrestrials. On June 28th of 1984, the Poughkeepsie Journal posted a feature in which they spoke to witnesses who were accusing stunt pilots with small aircraft of flying over the region in a close, v-shaped formation to trick people into thinking they were seeing something otherworldly. They even spoke to a police officer who claimed to have followed the planes back to a local airport and spoken to one of the pilots who admitted to pulling off the hoax. However, the pilots were never named. The paper also made a point of including rebuttals from other witnesses who pointed out that they could easily identify a group of planes flying in formation and added that no set of pilots could account for the numerous sightings that had been reported. There was once again no suggestion that the subject was some sort of joke.In August of that year, the same newspaper covered the first-ever UFO convention to take place in the region. It was attended by more than 500 people and reporters showed up to cover the event. Hynek was the keynote speaker and he described the ongoing flap as “a real mystery.” He and another speaker also threw cold water on the idea that a small group of Cessna airplanes could be responsible for everything that had been happening. Sightings of the massive triangular object eventually trailed off and ended, but the belief in unidentifiable objects flying over the Hudson Valley did not. A restaurant named the Cup and Saucer soon opened in Pine Bush, New York, with a large flying saucer prominently featured on the sign over their door. A museum dedicated to UFOs and the paranormal opened in the same town and remains in operation to this day. And whenever they hold a public event or parade, reporters show up to cover the action and they’re still not making fun of the people who attend (except for a few of the people wearing more outlandish alien costumes, of course). The nation’s other, larger newspapers spent much of the past five decades ignoring or even mocking stories involving UFOs. That all changed with the release of the New York Times bombshell article in December of 2017. Now it seems as though every outlet in the country is talking about it and covering the actions that Congress is taking. But out in a backwater section of upstate New York, there are some newspapers that beat them to the punch by forty years.
Jazz Shaw
Putin and the UFO Sightings ( WSJ )
The debate over UAP may herald not alien visitors but destabilizing new weapons systems.
Now we know that the UFOs are not secret Russian systems, commented any number of bloggers and analysts, after Russia’s botched invasion of Ukraine failed to produce evidence of advanced capabilities.
We know no such thing. True, the so-called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAPs, as the U.S. military calls them, likely aren’t Russian. The most credible alleged sightings have been by U.S. military pilots in training missions in airspace reserved for U.S. military training operations. If the objects are real and the product of any government, they’re likely ours.
But such technology would be destabilizingly risky and likely would not be revealed by any power that had it. If the mysterious sightings are what they seem—impossibly speedy, impossibly maneuverable small flying objects—they would immediately upset the nuclear balance. The presumably unmanned systems could be used to destroy nuclear forces quickly and thoroughly on the ground, without resorting to nuclear weapons.
In invading Ukraine, Russia has bitten off a lot of strategic risk. It would bite off a lot more if it revealed transformative military capabilities. China and India would be as deeply alarmed as the U.S. and NATO, likely washing away whatever ambivalence now keeps them quasi-neutral in Russia’s war.
For those who haven’t noticed, the UFO question emerged with new urgency after the Pentagon’s 2017 publication of pilot videos of unexplained encounters. Last year, an unclassified report by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence threw up its hands saying it couldn’t resolve the mystery. In May the Pentagon’s chief spokesman called follow-up House hearings “very important.” Former Obama CIA chief John Brennan told an interviewer that the evidence suggests a “type of activity that some might say constitutes a different form of life.”
The DNI report cited 80 cases between 2004 and 2021 in which unexplained aerial phenomena were detected by multiple types of military sensor, including the human eyeball. The ostensible conclusion of our intelligence community: “Most of the UAP reported probably do represent physical objects.”
In a previous column, I suggested why, for space-time reasons, they are unlikely to be alien spacecraft. An alternate view can be found in a new book by ex-banker Mark Gober, who rests his case mainly on the credibility of numerous credentialed people who believe or suspect they’ve seen evidence of alien encounters.
But anyone coming to this debate should also be tweaked by the recent and seemingly unrelated words of Russian dissident Yulia Latynina, who on these pages last week called for a “new arms race,” including “precision weapons that can take out Russia’s nuclear silos—and let Mr. Putin know that [we] aren’t afraid to use them.”
For the U.S., revealing such capabilities would be no less a strategic pickle than it would be for the Kremlin. These weapons, if they exist, would have to be tested somewhere—most likely on an existing testing range.
Between a feature and a bug would be the inevitability of their being observed by trained personnel using military-grade instruments. The DNI report somewhat ironically allows that secret government programs may indeed explain the sightings. Left out is the possibility that the UFO show is being orchestrated to test the waters for revealing such capabilities, or to gaslight U.S. rivals—or maybe being tested aren’t super-maneuverable military drones, but the ability to spoof human eyeballs and sensors into seeing them, which is also consistent with known or suspected U.S. government research interests.
Mass hysteria is still a possibility too, sparked by everyday phenomena whose explanation, if known, would be “boring,” as Sen. Marco Rubio once put it.
The documented military sightings, after all, are a tiny subset of unexplained claims that are always surfacing around the world and have for centuries, so far amounting to nothing. For somebody writing this particular column, a can of worms is the long association of UFOlogy with nuclear-weapons dread. A large and surprisingly developed lore concerns the testimony of U.S. military personnel who profess that alien visitors have used other-worldly technology to deactivate our nuclear weapons. The so-called Rendlesham Forest incident is only the most well-aired of these episodes.
Other nations’ intelligence agencies are certainly paying attention to our UFO debate, if not publicizing their own “conclusions.”
Vladimir Putin, the coldblooded ex-KGB agent, has reasons of his own for occasionally touting Russian superweapons that don’t exist or exist only on the drawing board. His nuclear threats don’t emerge in a vacuum. When the archives are opened, we may find he’s been seeking to counter what he fears are U.S. mind games to put Russia’s government in doubt about the possible existence of unrevealed Pentagon super-capabilities.
Holman W.Jenkins, Jr.
Did Jimmy Carter spot a UFO near Columbus in 1969? Here’s what happened. ( Aol. )
Seven years before his presidency, former President Jimmy Carter saw what he called, “the darndest thing I’ve ever seen.”
The incident took place in Leary, Georgia, just a stone’s throw south of Columbus. It was October 1969, the year before he was elected governor. At around 7:30 p.m., while waiting to give a speech at a Lion’s Club meeting, Carter says he saw an unidentified flying object.
Carter was not alone. About a dozen others reported seeing the UFO with “very bright changing colors and about the size of the moon,” according to History.com. He reported the object started out blue and then turned red and was “luminous, not solid.”
The incident made a lasting impression; Carter was still talking about it years later at a 1973 Southern Governors Conference. He retrospectively filed two official reports when word of the incident reached the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma and the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena in Kensington, Maryland, according to the Washington Post. He listed his occupation as “governor” and his address as the “state capitol, Atlanta.”
The first was a handwritten report in July 1973 to the International UFO Bureau after they sent him a form to complete. He responded to the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena in Kensington, Maryland, when the group sent him a similar form three months later.
Carter said, “the object hovered about 30 degrees above the horizon and moved in toward the earth and away before disappearing into the distance.
“It returned, then departed,” Carter added. “It came close... maybe 300 to 1,000 yards... moved away, came close and then moved away.”
When Carter ran for president in 1976, he emphasized honesty and ridding the government of the secrecy that led to Watergate, “I’ll never tell a lie. I’ll never make a misleading statement. I’ll never betray the confidence that any of you had in me. And I’ll never avoid a controversial issue.”
When it came to the UFO sighting, Carter backpedaled a bit. He told a campaign reporter that he had seen a light in the sky he could not identify, but did not call it a UFO.
“I have no idea what it was,” he said. “I think it was a light beckoning me to run in the California primary.”
Mona Moore