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INVESTIGATION OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS
How does one investigate a transitory phenomenon which appears
suddenly to unprepared observers over a very small area, and
under conditions which are not understood? Various organizations and
individuals have wrestled with this question for the last 50 years.
There are many phenomena which are extremely short-lived
and cannot be readily reproduced in the laboratory, such as fireball meteors, mountain
lights, earthquake lights, unusual displays of atmospheric electricity
(ball lightning, sprites, superbolts, etc.). Most reports of the foregoing
examples depend predominantly on eyewitness testimony. Analysis of such
raw data poses many difficulties for the investigator. Witnesses not
only include descriptions of the phenomenon, but often incorporate
their impressions and biases into their accounts.
After more than three decades' experience in UFO
investigations, Brad Sparks offers the following advice for
obtaining the most useful data from any UFO observations:
The most important data to obtain from a visual
UFO observer are in rough order of importance:
– 1. DURATION. This should be
obtained by Timed Re-enactment of the sighting since most
witnesses
do not use a clock or stopwatch to time a sighting.
Casual estimates are usually very inaccurate.
– 2. ANGULAR SIZE. This should
be obtained by having the witness recall the sighting and mentally
compare the UFO at its closest/largest to the full moon
and a star/point source and/or to known objects
(such as aircraft) of a known
size at known distances, all of which
should be given in the sighting report. The fact that it
represents the largest and closest point in the sighting must be noted in
the report along with how much time the UFO was that close. The angular
size(s) for the rest of the sighting should be obtained and given in the
report. If it is a Close Encounter (CE) at close range, the angular size
is not necessary if the object's actual size and distance are accurately
estimated, and most witnesses will not be able to accurately estimate
large CE angular sizes such as "100 Full Moons in size," etc.
The object-held-at-arm's length method of comparison is
very inaccurate because most witnesses highly exaggerate the size of
objects in the sky, e.g., most people would be very surprised to learn
that the Full Moon is only the size of an aspirin tablet at arm's length,
and most think it's the size of a large coin or marble, or even a tennis
ball or baseball! If arm's length is used the arm's
length (from the handheld object to the
eye — not the actual arm) needs to
be measured, as everyone's arms have different lengths
from person to person and different ways of holding up objects in front of
them. In reality we do not measure the "arm's length" at all, but the
distance from the witness' eye to the handheld object used as a comparison
to the UFO as recalled by the witness.
– 3. LOCATION. Exact location
of witness and approximate location of UFO. Preferably GPS
coordinates if possible, including elevation above mean sea
level (MSL). Multiple ways of specifying location should be used
in addition to GPS coordinates where available: Street address and
city, with location by distance and direction from the house or
landmark. Landmarks used should be highly defined, not large
nebulous areas such as large cities or mountains
(e.g., "10 miles East of Los Angeles" is virtually
meaningless; Los Angeles itself is at least 30 miles wide so
where does this distance count from, the center, the nearest
boundary?)
– 4. DATE and EXACT TIME with TIME
ZONE. The lighting conditions should be
specified (day, night, dawn, dusk, etc.) to help eliminate
uncertainty and if the time is close to 12 Midnight the dates before
and after should be given so there is no 1-day ambiguity.
For example, a sighting at 11:50 PM on March 20
would be given as 11:50 PM on March 20-21 so no one will get
confused and think it might have been on March 19 instead. (If you
don't know for sure say so.) If
at 12:05 AM on March 21, say 12:05 AM on March 20-21.
Even better practice is to say, 11:50 PM on the night of March 20-21, or
12:05 AM on the night of March 20-21, to continue these examples. The U.S.
military believes the 24-hour clock system and use of Z-time (GMT or UTC)
eliminates these ambiguities but they are only as accurate as the fallible
humans that make the time zone conversions. Erroneous or confusing time
zone conversions have been part of major international incidents such as
the Gulf of Tonkin incidents in 1964 and the Soviet shootdown of KAL 007
in 1983.
– 5. DIRECTION (Azimuth or Compass)
and ELEVATION ANGLES. For UFO when first
seen, last seen, and all points in between as applicable. If a magnetic
compass is used this fact must be noted. Directions can
be obtained by use
of a protractor and other simple instruments using straight line landmarks
such as streets as a reference, and later these can be converted to true
azimuths or magnetic compass points by
using maps. (In most places on earth
the True North differs from Magnetic North and changes from year to year;
exact values can be obtained on the Internet from the
U.S.
National Geophysical Data Center and other sources such as
aeronautical and nautical charts, and such sources and their date
must be noted in the sighting report). North is 0°, East is 90°,
South is 180°, West
is 270°, and North is 360° or back to full circle 0° again.
Elevation angles can be obtained using a protractor and
hanging a weight from a string as a plumb line. The horizon
is at 0° elevation; straight overhead Zenith is 90°
elevation. Surveyor's transits, navigational sextants and other
instruments would be ideal to use but not likely to be available in
many cases.
The reason duration and
angular size are so
important is because they describe and limit the maximum amount of
visual data a witness can possibly see of a UFO. (These data could
actually be converted into video data file sizes, though in
actuality it will be very difficult for most witnesses to fully
describe a sighting second-by-second, or fraction-of-a-second by
fraction-of-a-second.) If a sighting lasts only say 1 second, it
does not matter how large and how close a UFO might have been it is
simply impossible for a witness to see very much and the possibility
of error is very high. If a UFO is only a pinpoint or star-like
point source it does not matter how long, even hours, it may have
been observed, the possibility it was a star or an insect or firefly
will remain very high (unless more detail was observed by other
witnesses or by using optics or if tracked on radar, etc.)
– HOW TO RECORD SIGHTING DATA. The
best way to record a witness' data on a sighting is by
step-by-step re-enactment with each step recorded
on sheets of paper like a cartoon animation or map of the sky, or both.
The elapsed time must be
recorded on each data sheet along with Time/Time Zone, Date,
Location, Direction (Azimuth/Compass), Elevation Angle, and
Name of person making the
drawing (witness or investigator) as well. For example,
if a drawing shows the UFO at about 10 seconds after first seen then
that ELAPSED TIME ABOUT 10 SECS should be noted on the drawing,
etc. — Brad Sparks.
Project 1947 encourages the reporting of unusual
short-lived phenomena, including, of course, UFOs. Questionnaires
for various short-lived events may be found on the following
websites:
J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies UFO Report Questionnaire
Ball Lightning Questionnaire
International Meteor Organization
Fireball Report Form. (world wide)
Notes concerning filling out the report form. (You should read these now,
it will help to know what to look for if you should observe a fireball.)
American Meteor Society
On-line Fireball Report Form (for the USA)
Severe Weather Report Form USA
Documents presented here contain some ideas about, philosophy of, or
applications of investigating UFOs. More documents and links will be added
later.
Ruppelt's plan to redirect Project Blue Book, discussed in the Air Force Times.
Richard Hall's notes
on the University of Colorado's planning session on
how to investigate electromagnetic effects associated with UFO reports.
Instructions to the University of Colorado's Early Warning Network.
An updated version of the University of Colorado's memo to Early Warning
Network co-ordinators.
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