MUFON UFO Journal - 1975 12. December - Skylook

'We tell it as it is"

Number 97

SKYLOOKThe UFO Monthly

$1.00

December, 1975

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF MUFONJ MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC.

This photo of an unidentified light is one of two a I leg- consin, during a series of reported sightings. (See page 7)edly taken by a deputy sheriff in Grant County, Wis-

1Founded 1967

SKYLOOKThe UFO Monthly26 Edgewood DriveQuincy, Illinois 62301

Dwight ConnellyEditor

Carolyn ConnellyBusiness Manager

Walter H. AndrusDirector of MUFON

Ted BloecherHumanoid/Occupant Cases

Joseph M. Brill

The Rev. Dr. Barry DowningReligion and UFOs

Ann Druffel

Lucius ParishBooks, Periodicals, History

Marjorie FishExtraterrestrial Life

Stan GordonCreatures & UFO's

Gary GraberArtist

Richard HallCommentator

Mark HerbstrittAstronomy

Rosetta HolmesPromotion/Publicity

Bob KirkpatrickWest Coast Coordinator

Ted PhillipsUFO Landing Traces

David A. SchrothSt. Louis/Mass Media

John F. SchuesslerUFO Propulsion

Norma E. ShortEditor-Publisher Emeritus

Editor's ColumnA tentative meeting which the Cen-

ter for UFO Studies is attempting toset up in April, reportedly in an effortto assess "the state of UFO research,"has had some very undesirable sideeffects.

The basic problem is a list of 138persons selected for what Dr. J. AllenHynek now says is only the firstof what is hoped to be a series of suchmeetings for qualified persons.

What are the criteria laid down byDr. Hynek for participation?

Says Dr. Hynek, the meeting is to be"attended only by persons with anestablished record of serious workconducted with an open minded scien-tific attitude. To be more explicit,this should include only those whohave seriously investigated and re-ported on many UFO cases in thefield, and those who have writtenseriously on the subject, again, in anunprejudiced manner."

For those selected, there must beat least a temporary feeling of honor.

For those omitted from the magiclist there is bound to be disappoint-ment and hurt feelings. Most peoplewho investigate and write aboutUFOs like to feel that they are ser-ious and unprejudiced—yet many"regulars" have been left off the list.

While Dr. Hynek did leave the dooropen a bit for additions to his initiallist, he said that "in making suchsuggestions I would ask that you holdfirmly in mind the strict criteria forinclusion, i.e. that attendees have ademonstrated track record." Theimplication and expectation is thatthe person with a demonstrated trackrecord would already be known—andincluded. Besides, no one wants to bea second round choice.

The actual criteria used by Dr.Hynek remains a mystery when one

looks at the strange mixture of back-grounds and levels of expertise ofthose on the list.

Since sending out the list, Dr.Hynek has informed me that he hashad some second thoughts concerningwho should have been included andexcluded.

Both the list and the meeting weremeant to be secret, but the list andother information was sent to all 138persons on the invitation list.

It is unbelievably naive for Dr.Hynek to believe that he can send out138 letters and expect either themeeting or the list of participants toremain secret, as he requested. Al-ready, copies of his letter are beingXeroxed and passed around. It is,quite naturally, big news when thebest-known name in UFOs selects 138individuals for his personal, secretUFO conference.

What can we in the field learn fromthis?

First, if a select group of scientistsor investigators or whatever are tobe brought together, more careshould be exercised in drawing up thelist of participants.

Secondly, it is quite possible to havea private meeting without attemptingto make it secret. In a field whereinvestigators and organizations arealmost paranoid in their suspicionsof each other, attempted secrecy onlymakes matters worse.

Perhaps a meeting to ascertain"the state of UFO research" is notneeded. Possibly the question has al-ready been answered. The state ofUFO research is obviously in a messwhen the best-known person in thefield cannot come up with a reason-able list of participants to discussthe question.

Tbe contents of SKYLOOK are determined oy the editor and staff, and do not necessarilyrepresent the official judgment of MUFON. Opinions of contributors are their own, and donot necessarily reflect those of the editor, the staff, or MUFON.

SKYLOOK THE UFO MONTHLY is published monthly by Dwight Connelly, 26 Edgewood Drive,Qnincy, IL 62301 USA. Subscription Rates: $8.00 per year in U.S.; $9.00 per year foreign; single copy, 75 cents.Advertising rates: 15.00 per column inch. All ads subject to approval of the publisher.

Copyright 1975 by SKYLOOK THE UFO MONTHLY, 26 Edgewood Drive, Qnincy, IL 62301. Permissionis hereby granted to quote from this issue of this magaiine, provided not more than 200 words are quotedfrom any one article, provided that the author of the article is given credit, and provided that the statement"Copyright 1975 by SKYLOOK THE UFO MONTHLY, 28 Edgewood Drive, Qnincy, IL" is included.

Second Class Postage paid at Qnincy, IL. 62301.

Travis Walton

Alleged Arizona abduction case studiedDATE: Nov. 5,1975 (6:15 p.m.)LOCATION: Turkey Springs area,

Sitgreaves-Apache National Forest,10'/2 miles south of Heber, Arizona.

WITNESSES: Seven forestry work-ers.

TYPE OF CASE: lighted object,light beam, abduction.

CONDITIONS: clear sky, excellentvisibility, no unusual weather condi-tions, temperature of 50 degrees, rela-tive humidity of 12%, dusk, moon notvisible, sun setting in west, Jupitervisible.

The alleged sighting of a UFO byseven forestry workers and theclaimed abduction of one of them,Travis Walton, 22, from a nationalforest near Heber, AZ, on Nov. 5 isaccepted as factual by some UFOresearchers, but others are some-what skeptical.

Early in the case, Bill Spaulding ofMUFON and Ground Saucer Watchwas quoted as saying, "We foundsome interesting things up there. Ifit is a hoax it's one of the best" I'veever seen." Later, however, Spauldingindicated that lack of cooperationfrom Walton and other factors causedhim to question at least some aspects,of the case.

Ray Jordan, investigator forNICAP, was quoted in the Nov. 11ARIZONA REPUBLIC as saying, "Ihaven't found anything in their storiesto indicate a hoax. The young menI've interviewed so far are all visiblyshaken by the experience. I'm in-clined to believe they're telling thetruth."

Coral Lorenzen of APRO, who isreportedly preparing another book onhumanoids, is quoted by the ChicagoTribune as saying, "From the evi-dence at hand we don't see how anyhoax could have been perpetrated. Weare convinced that something quitebizarre happened to Travis." Sheadded that details provided by Waltonunder hypnosis "match unpublisheddescriptions we have received fromother persons who have had similarexperiences."

HcbeK

R Xv^Lt«>x

kP-e.SeHrtl'llftY

The X indicates where Travis Walton was allegedly struck by ablue ray of light from a UFO in view of six other forestry workers.

The Sighting

; According to the Knight News Wire,Walton and six fellow forestry work-ers were traveling in a double cabtruck (four in the back seat, three inthe front seat) when they first sawthe object. Michael Rogers, 28, fore-man of the group, is quoted as sayingthat they "spotted this thing in aclearing about 25 yards from the road.It looked like two pie pans, one upsidedown, hovering about 15 feet abovethe ground."

Rogers reportedly said that theobject "was about 15 feet in diameter,about 8 feet high, and it had somemarkings, but they were too compli-cated to describe. It was glowing allover—a yellowish white. It was twi-light when we saw it, and it seemed tolight up the area. I'd never seen any-thing like it before." Another of thewitnesses, Duane Smith, 19, is quotedas saying that the object was a brightsilver and seemed to glow.

Rogers said Walton jumped fromthe truck and ran toward the UFOwhen a bluish light shot from the UFOand Walton fell. At that point, saidRogers, "We all panicked and droveoff. When we came back about 15minutes later, Travis was gone andthere was no sign of the UFO."

Spaulding's Nov. 13 preliminaryreport of the incident included de-scriptions similar to those quoted bythe Knight News Service. In Spauld-ing's report, which is based on infor-mation from Walton and all six wit-nesses, the object is described as asolid metallic disc which was bright-er than the moon or brightest star,hovering 20-22 feet above the ground,illuminated as brilliant white—then ablue flash. Sound coming from theobject was described as "electrical-high and low pitch."

Spaulding's report notes that theobject was not observed moving dur-ing the sighting, did not change shape,did not change coloring (exceot forthe blue light), did not leave vapor orsmoke, did not disappear and re-appear, did not rotate, did not flutteror vibrate, but did wobble. No landingwas observed by the witnesses.

The observers were traveling duewest at 3-5 mph when the object wasobserved about 90-100 feet to thenrserved about 90-100 feet to thenorth, hovering over a wood pile. Itis not known whether there were air-craft in the vicinity at the time of thesighting.

The blue flash which purportedlyhit Walton was 18-24 inches wide, ac-

A

Sketch by Duane Smith, one of the witnesses to the UFO sighting.

cording to the witnesses who alleged-ly saw it (Smith is quoted in onenewspaper as saying he did notactually see the blue light, but.onlyheard one of the others say, "It gothim.") Walton was reportedly 10-15feet short of being under the objectwhen hit by the blue beam of light.One of the witnesses, Kenneth Peter-son, 25, was quoted by the AssociatedPress as saying that the light beam"kind of lifted him up off the ground.His arms were outstretched and hewas knocked to the ground."

The DisappearanceThe .six forestry workers reported-

ly could not find Walton when theyreturned .to the scene of the sightingafter .overcoming their initial fears.Navajo County Sheriff Marlin Gilles-pie was notified, and a ground search,aided by a helicopter, was conductedwithout Walton being located. -

All six of the witnesses to Walton'sdisappearance voluntarily took lie

detector (polygraph) tests conductedby the Arizona Department of PublicSafety. It indicated that five of thewitnesses .(Rogers, Smith, StevePierce, John Goulette, and Peterson)were telling the truth, according toSheriff Gil'lespie. The test on the sixthwitness (Allen Dalis, 21) was termedinconclusive because the witness wasextremely agitated.

The polygraph operator has beenquoted in the ARIZONA REPUBLICas saying that the lie detector is 97percent accurate and that it is im-possible for that, many people to belying. . : .

Undersheriff Kenneth Coplan noted,however, that Walton and the otherforestry workers had seen the Oct. 20NBC special, "The UFO Incident"which described Betty and BarneyHill being taken aboard a UFO, andsuggested that some aspects of thetwo cases were similar.

Sheriff Gillespie initially said that

the witnesses were consistent in their __accounts of the experience, and thathe was convinced that they had not

.used intoxicants or drugs on the nightof'the alleged sighting.

Mrs. Lorenzen said the witnesseswere asked to draw pictures of thecraft independently "and all thepictures match."

Five days after the apparent abduc-tion, and prior to the return of Walton,his mother, Mrs. Mary Kellett, wasquoted by anoother son, Duane, as say-ing that she believed her son wastaken on board the craft and thatfurther searching for her son would jbe pointless. Mrs. Kellett reportedlyhad a reputation in Snowflake, AZ,where she resides, as an outspokenbeliever in UFO's.

The Reappearance

Travis Walton reappeared on Nov.10, five days after the initial sighting.The Arizona Republic reported thatTravis called his brother-in-law,Grant Neff. about midnight on Nov.10 from a phone booth, according toDuane's wife Carol. Travis reportedlytold Neff that he had been returned toEarth outside of Heber and said, "Ineed help and I'm hurting. Get Duanedown here."

Neff reportedly then contacted _Duane, who was staying with hismother, .Mrs. Kellett. Neff and Duanethen went to pick up Travis.

Travis reportedly looked exhausted,was confused, and had a heavy growthof beard when he was found in the -phone booth. He complained of "tre-mendous pain" in the chest and head,attributing this to tests performed onhim while he was on board theJJFO.

Duane and Carol drove Travis to >their home in Glendale, where Travisate some cottage cheese, but thensaid he felt ill. Travis reportedly ex- jpressed surprise when told he hadbeen missing for five days, sayinghe had been conscious only about twohours of the time he had been gone.

Duane said, according to the Ari-zona Republic, that he took Travisto a private hospital in Tucson, whereTravis was given a thorough physicalexam, including a brain wave test, ablood test, and urinalysis. The resultsof these tests are apparently notavailable.

Carol Walton reported that Travishad a pin-prick wound on his arm

4

Travis Waltonbefore his alleged

'.f experience with

3/'a.UFO.

resembling the mark' left by an injec-tion, but Duane said Carol was mis-taken and that Travis had no marksof any kind oh his body. Duane saidTravis was in good health.

Undersheriff Coplan reported onNov. 12 that Sheriff Gillespie hadtalked with-Travis at an, undisclosedlocation in Phoenix and .that Travis

, had told the sheriff that he had beenexamined by a doctor, but had notentered a hospital as previously re-ported. Sheriff Gillespie also reportedthat Travis had told him he did notremember the blue light which re-portedly came from the UFO, andthat he thought he had been hit on-thehead at the time of "the alleged abduc-tion!

Aboard a UFO?. Travis reportedly told Sheriff Gil-lespie that he had awakened on anexamination table aboard the UFO,and that he was checked by threeweird-looking beings. According to an

.Associated Press story, Duane hadquoted Travis as saying he had seen"two humanoids and others who were

hot human" aboard the craft.Duane is-quoted in the Nov. 12

' Phoenix Gazette as saying . thatTravis "encountered two kinds ofcreatures, one human, one almosthuman. He saw four different kindsof craft."

The Chicago Tribune quoted Travisas sgyirig he had been examined byhairless beings in tight-fitting blue.clothing in a white room. The KnightNews Service quoted Travis as saying"several" strange-looking creaturesexamined him. , .

Deputy Sheriff Ken Nolan, whoobtained his information from SheriffGillespie, gave this version to TheArizona Republic: Travis was ex-amined on board the UFO by strange-looking occupants in what appearedto be a hospital. The people who ex-aminee him were dressed in tight-fitting blue coveralls. They had novisible hair. Travis tried unsuccess-fully to converse with the occupants,but the occupants made no - sound.When he tried to get up the occupantstried to hold him down and he '.'took-

a swing" at one of them. The crea-tures then left the room.

Walton then got up, according toNolan, and went into another room,which contained a chair. He sat in thechair and pushed buttons on the armsof the chair. The ceiling slid back andhe could see stars going by. A crea-ture entered the room wearing a hel-met that looked, like an upside downfish bowl. The occupant smiled, butsaid nothing, escorting him by thearm to a large auditorium-like roomwhere he saw a spacecraft parked.

A device like an oxygen mask was.then placed on Travis' face by peoplewho had long hair, according toNolan, and the next thing Travis re-membered was lying on the pavement'/i mile from Heber on the Payson-Heber highway.

Travis reportedly said .a devicewhich had been placed on his chestduring the examination was knocked

- to the floor when he struggled to getup.

Sheriff Gillespie reportedly cameaway from his interview with Travis"less convinced than before" that thestory -was authentic. . UndersheriffCoplan said he "move than ever" be-lieves the abduction is a hoax. "It'sjust too much, to buy," said Coplan.

t Famed psychic Peter Hurkos. wasquoted in -the Phoenix Gazette as say-ing, "It's a hoax. I believe thefe areunidentified flying objects; in fact;the government is aware of these.But this. one is a hoax. Someone'sfantasy."

7 . The Investigation

'. Spaulding's Ground Saucer Watchpersonnel interviewed-Travis on Nov.11 at GSW headquarters for GSW andMUFON and reportedly found somediscrepencies in the story. Spaiildingsaid Duane took his brother awayfrom GSW and "accused us of beingnegative after we- questioned himabout a couple of holes in the story.In the first place, this is not the wayabduction victims go about things. Wehave, many studies of past abductionsand this doesn't f9llow." : ' ~

Spaiilding, who found "high residualmagnetism" at the location'-of thealleged sighting, was qupted in theNov. 12 Phoeniz Gazette as: saying hebelieved the seven witnesses did see aUFO. He said, however, that "thereare some questions related to the so-

called abduction."Duane reacted sharply to Spauld-

ing's doubts, calling Spaulding apublicity seeker. A scheduled Inter-view of Travis by Dr. J. Allen Hynek,of the Center for UFO Studies, ar-ranged by Spaulding, was cancelledBY THE \Yaltons, reportedly becauseTravis ..was "not ready yet." Travisalso failed to show for a police poly-graph test scheduled for Nov. 14.

However, investigators ,and con-sultants from APRQ who examinedTravis are quoted by the Knight NewsService as saying they are convincedthe story is not a hoax. An APROphyshiatrist, Dr. Gene Rosenbaum,says he and others performed "a com-prehensive battery of psychiatric andmedical exams" on Travis. Dr. Rosen-baum said in a press release that "ourconclusion, which was absolute, is*that this young man is not lying, that

there is no collusion involved. Theresults of psychiatric tests and hypno-sis show he really believes thesethings, that he is not lying." Dr. JamesHarder, APRO's research directorfrom the University of California,who has experience in hypnosis, alsoexamined Travis.

According to Rosenbaum, urinaly-sis and blood tests indicated thatTravis was not a drug user.

CharactersTravis and Duane Walton were out-

spoken believers in UFOs prior to thesighting, as was their mother, Mrs.Kellett. Duane is quoted in the Nov.12 Arizona Republic as saying that inthe past 12 years he and .Travis haveseen 12 to 14 UFOs and that "five orsix were just as definite as anythingyou could imagine."

Duane said that he and Travis hadtalked a number of times about UFOs

and once formed a pact that if one ofthem was taken aboard a UFO thathe would try to return for the other.Duane said, However, that there hadbeen no contact of any kind betweenhim and Travis while Travis was onboard the UFO. :

Duane, who shoes horses and at-tends college, reportedly told an Ari-zona Republic reporter just prior toTravis' reappearance that he was notconcerned about the fate of his broth-er. "He's having the experience of alifetime," said Duane, who added thathis mother was also convinced Travishad been taken aborad a UFO. At onepoint, however, Duane criticized oneof the UFO investigators for saying,prior to Travis' reappearance, thatabductions usually do not last verylong. "That sure didn't help mymother any," said Diiane.

Also prior to the reappearance ofTravis, Deputy Glen Flake expresseddoubts concerning the story. "Our gen-eral feeling is that they're making upa big story," said Flake, noting thatthe six witnesses had discussed UFOswith Travis earlier, and that Travishad reportedly expressed a desire "tomake contact" with a craft.

Conclusions

Because of inconsistent factors, itis impossible to determine whetherthe case is authentic or a hoax. Ifadditional information on this case be-comes available it will be printed inSKYLOOK.

Arizona patrol officer reports EM effectsBy William H. Spaulding

. Director, Ground Saucer Watch (GSW)Western Division

. At 10:23 p.m. on Aug. 17, 1975, aJoint Use Area Patrol officer inKeams Canyon, AZ, (60 miles northof Holbrook) observed a brilliantwhite light, from behind his patrolvehicle, that completely envelopedhis immediate area. Immediately thewitness slowed his vehicle and turnedto see a red and green rotating lighton an obscured dark shape. The brightwhite spot light was also visible.

Getting out of the patrol van, allthree lights went out and there wastotal darkness. The officer, whowishes anonymity, continued on his

patrol.After driving for 3 to 4 minutes, his

vehicle, a 1970 Ford Bronco, exper-ienced total EME (electro magneticeffects). The patrol van lost its lights,engine and even the communications.The-loss of all the Bronco's electricalsystems lasted approximately thirtyto forty seconds.

Then suddenly the vehicle's lightscame on and the engine started. Theofficer reported the experience toheadquarters, which is part of theofficial police record.

This was not the only UFO encount-er that evening. Approximately thirtymiles to the north, another patrolspotted six unidentified flying objectsexactly 25 minutes after the EME en-

counter. Three officers reported twosimilar appearing objects, with rotat-ing red and green lights and a brightwhite spot light in the middle.

The UFOs were transversing at alow altitude, and streaked away with-in a few minutes. Then suddenly fouradditional objects were sighted hover-ing in a rectangular formation, sep-arated by 12 to 15 celestial degrees.The objects, flashing red, green andwhite, were flying at 5000 feet andwere visible in the direction of theinitial EME encounter.

Later that evening in Tuba City,AZ additional UFOs were reported byboth concerned citizens and policeofficers. Two separate incidents in-volved brilliant colored objects trav-

eling at tremendous speeds.Investigations

GSW was initially contacted by the26th Air Division of NORAD regard-ing the sighting, then the officersfrom Keams Canyon. Due to the.dis-tance, 300 miles one way, a com-pounded problem of half of our Arizo-na FI's were on vacation and thenumerous other UFO sightings occur-ring, in the southwest, the investiga-tion was not conducted until Aug. 23.1975.

A four-member team headed byDavid Bates, conducted a five-hourinvestigation which included inter-viewing the prime witnesses, survey-ing the vehicle with magnometersand gauss equipment, and collectingsoil samples by a suspect GM (groundmarking) area.

The EME survey report revealshigher residual magnetic readingsnear the back and roof of the Bronco,supporting strongly the officer's re-port. Our FI's completely checked theengine and its supporting electricalsystem and found no evidence ofburnt wires, loose connections, nor asingle "failed" or faulty component.The EME experienced could not beattributed to a normal breakdown.

The GM area revealed strange-appearing burnt scrub/trees. A con-trol and test sample was taken andis currently being analyzed by anindependent laboratory. The resultsare pending.

The witnesses were extremelyarticulate and considered trainedobservers. Additionally they werevery knowledgable of the area.

ResultsA complete check was made with

the AFB's: Luke in Arizona and Hoi-loman in New Mexico. They both re-ported to GSW and the Joint Use AreaPatrol that no aircraft or specialaerial missions were in progress thatevening.

The profile of the sightings does notlend itself to natural or celestrial

. phenomena! Additionally ruled outwere weather balloons, birds, spacedecay, objects, or any White Sandsrocket launchings.

GSW fully believes all the officersexperienced bonafied UFO sightings,and as our testing data is processedit is expected that this will sub-stantiate this belief.

Wisconsin sightings reported

These photos were reportedly taken by a sheriff's deputy nearFennimore, Wl, on Nov. 4, 1975. The photos are allegedly of a largebright light seen in the sky at the west edge of the city. Lee Mehciz,an investigator for the Center for UFO Studies, is quoted as sayingthat the photos show a "typical UFO flying pattern, banking fromside to side." However, the photos have not yet been analyzed.

This reported sighting was one of several in Grant County, Wl.Farmer Harold Fasten of Patch Grove reported a "ball of fire" hover-ing on top of a hill, lighting up an entire valley about 8 p.m. on Nov. 6.Following this report, other alleged witnesses said they, had also seenunidentifiable lights near Posten's farm.

On the morning of Nov. 4 a 500-pound Holstein was found nearPatch Grove with its left ear and tongue cut off by a sharp instrument.A veterinarian said the cow had died of pneumonia and "the cutswere probably made after death, because there wasn't much bloodaround it." The .vet said something may have frightened the cowand caused it to run "an it developed emphysema in its lung." Al-though cattle mutilations and UFO sightings are sometimes reportedin the same general areas and in the same general time periods, mostUFO investigators feel at this time that no definite connection hasbeen established.

California report

NOTE: In this issue, SKYLOOK be-gins a continuing column from South-ern California. The authors, bothMUFON investigators and membersof SKYNET, a UFO filter and-track-ing system, arein touch withmany other MU-FON personnelin that area. Thesheer volume ofsighting reportsfrom Californiaprovides a richfield for corre-lative reporting.

Ann Druffel has been actively en-gaged in UFO research and field in-vestigation for eighteen years. Herspecialization is correlative researchfrom varied sources. She has beenProject Coordinator of SKYNETsince its beginnings in 1965.

Richard Zimmerman is an editorand free-lance writer. He has re-searched UFOs for the past fiveyears. Specializing in correlativematerial, at present he is studyingpossible patterns in UFO sightingsin the Los Angeles Basin.

By Ann Druffel

When the Air Force slammed shutthe doors of Project Blue Book inDecember, 1969, it advised the publicto report UFO sightings to their localpolice. Although Blue Book's demisewas no great loss to the field, re-searchers groaned inwardly at theadvice to "report to the police."

Experienced UFO investigators wereaware that local law enforcement of-ficials, in general, had neither thetime nor the ability to separate UFO"wheat" from "chaff."

Police and UFOsFor several years following the

1969 AF suggestion, UFO witnessestried repeatedly to refer their sight-ings to their local police and sheriff

Police and UFOs

stations. Their reports were invari-ably met with ridicule or disinterest.It was not until the organization ofDr. J. Allen Hynek's CUFOS thatpolice departments throughout thecountry became fully aware.of waysin which sighting reports could beeffectively handled.

Even before CUFOS' entry into theresearch field, individual policementhroughout Southern California, andin other states, had begun tentativecooperation with local UFO groups.An effective link was set up withMUFON's Southern California track-ing arm, SKYNET, on January 28,1974. It linked the Van Nuys PoliceEmergency Board, which covers thevast San Fernando Valley, withtrained MUFON investigative per-sonnel.

The San Fernando Valley, part ofLos Angeles proper, is a giant,heavily settled complex coveringmore than 250 square miles. Its lawenforcement needs are mainly servedby the Los Angeles Police Depart-ment. Through the instigation of Offi-cer Maurice Allen of LAPD, SKYNETbecame the recipient of UFO reportsdirect from Valley citizens.

Rick Zimmerman, in particular,has given of his energy and talentsin receiving this influx of calls. Re-searchers desiring to collect datain this manner should be warned thatthe volume of reports, especially inthe early A.M., can try the patienceof the most avid investigator!

A New AttitudeContrasting this cooperative police

attitude with former days, we cansee a vast difference. During an im-portant and intriguing series ofevents on Feb. 5-6,1960, several mem-bers of the LAPD were witnesses to adramatic sighting. Although indi-vidual policemen willingly gave state-ments to veteran researchers IdabelEpperson and Marilyn Epperson, atpolice headquarters they were met

with an official cold and cautious atti-tude. Nowadays the opposite situationexists. Individual LAPD helicopterpilots have indicated that puzzling,long-lived sightings might be checkedout by their surveillance craft. <

Some policemen, too, have come 'forward in recent months to reportpersonal sightings to MUFON. One .,particular case concerned JackThompson, member of the LAPD,and Mrs. Thompson.

In the summer of 1968, date un-certain, the couple were travelingnorth along Highway 99 on their wayto a fishing trip in Oregon. About mid-night they passed through the tinyNorthern California community ofRipon, about 75 miles southeast ofSan Francisco. Three bright whitelights were viewed pacing theircamper, periodically appearing anddisappearing. Presently only one lightwas in view. It suddenly "turnedaround" and headed toward them. Ahuge shape loomed into view, sendinga steady, bluish-green beam towardthe ground.

The off-duty policeman leaped fromhis camper as the lighted object con-tinued toward them. Deliberately,with an odd, whistling sound, a huge,tri-shaped object passed the campernot more than 100 feet behind and atan estimated 200-300 feet altitude. It Jwas about 55 degrees up from thehorizon, moving from east to west. .The object's bulk subtended an arc :»of 20-30 degrees. Thompson estimatedit to be 40-50 feet long, "like a DC-10going over practically overhead."

A Beam of LightIt was shooting out a sharply

defined beam of bright, bluish-greenlight which reached the ground, cov-ering an area of 30-40 feet diameter.The cone-shaped beam was emanat-ing from a distinct aperture in thebottom of the craft.

Thompson's sketch and verbalstatement describes an object with a

8

central cigar-shaped "fuselage," withtwo "nacelles" on either side, alsocigar-shaped. He saw no connectinglinks between the central part and thesmaller complementary objects — nowings or tail. Since the vivid lightbeam did not light up the solid por-tions above it, the details of theirshapes were not sharply defined. It ispossible that the "craft" could havebeen three individual'pbjects, remem-bering the three lights which hadpaced the T's camper for severalminutes before the dramatic sweepacross the highway.

After crossing the road, the ob-jects) abruptly disappeared by turn-ing out the:central bluish-green beam.Duration of the close-encounter phaseof the .sighting was about two min-utes. No interference with the camp-er's electrical system was noticed,nor any,, physical effects reported bythe Thompsons.

Puzzled, they, continued their jour-ney, contacting residents of the areaon the" camper's CB radio. None of thepersons contacted had any knowledgeof the mysterious craft.

By 2:00 a.m. the couple reachedRoseville, some eighty miles north,and pulled off into an isolated reststop north of town. Sometime after2:45 a.m., Mrs. Thompson was awak-ened by a loud whirring-whistlingnoise, seemingly coming from out-side. She opened the camper's roofvent, recognizing the same peculiarsound which had accompanied theobject's low pass some hours earlier.

An Indistinct ShapeThere was only darkness in the sky

above, as seen through the vent, butMrs. T. had. an eerie impression thatthe object had returned and was hov-ering low over the camper. Sheroused her husband from a deepsleep, and when he realized what washappening, he hurried out the reardoor. He saw an indistinct shapetraveling away into the southerly sky.He also recognized the sound emanat-ing from it as identical with the,tri-shaped object -with the vivid lightbeam. It was about one-half mileaway, slpwly proceeding into the dis-tance, and the size of a quarter atarm's length. Estimated duration ofthis visual sighting was approximate-ly one minute. ;

The Thompsons remained quietabout these odd events; upon their

return home they shared them onlywith Officer Maurice Allen. Due toThompson's position as ang lapd lawenforcement..officer, .he' did not wantto publicly reveal his experience. Ttis a tribute bot^ to the mature publicattit.1"!;, Loward UFOs at the presenttime, and to the Thompsons them-selves, that this case has at last cometo light.

At the time of MUFON's interviewwith the Thompsons, he was still onactive duty instructing police re-cruits in the use of firearms at theL. A. Police Academy. Both witnesseswere careful-in their statements andentirely free from any tendency toembellish details. They have no par-ticular interest in UFOs and havepreferred over the years to think thatthe object/was an experimental air:craft of terrestrial design. However,they state that the sound emitted wasdefinitely not that of any ordinaryaircraft. They remain puzzled to thisday why.an "experimental aircraft"should have been,.performing, sur-veillance of this type.

A Mathematical AnalysisFollowing the writer's investiga-

tion of the Thompson report, DonaldWeitzel, a Southern California engin-eer, contributed a painstaking mathe-matical analysis based on the dis-tances, sizes and angles provided bythe witnesses. His figures show thatMr. Thompson was more than con-servative in his estimate ,of 40;56 feetfor the object's length. Weitzel statesthat the object's length was on theorder of 190 feet, oddly correlative ofThompson's statement that the objectwas "like a DC-10 going over prac-tically overhead." The entire.text ofthe MUFON investigation and thesubsequent mathematical analysisare on file at MUFON headquartersand at SKYLOOK off ices.

The growing tendency of UFOs toshow themselves to law enforcementofficers might well.be deliberateattempts on the part ,of UFO entitiesto be viewed by responsible authori-ties. Concerning this,, it is well toremember the case of PatrolmanHerbert Schirmer of Ashland, Nebr.,who experienced a strange encounterwith an alien craft and its occupantson Dec. 1, 1967. The opening questionfired at Schirmer by the longheaded,grayskinried entity was, "Are you thewatchman over this place?"

PennsylvaniaSightings

ContinueBy Stan Gordon

Pennsylvania Center for UFO ResearchUFO sightings since July of .this

. year have been coming into thePennsylvania Center'on.an average .of- two sightings per day. Sjghtlngs.of Jupiter, Venus, and bther naturaloccurrences, have been responsiblefor many of these sightings. However,a number of unexplained aerial vis-itors apparentlyare still about.'

For example during the first two.weeks of July, numerous witnesses inabout a five-mile radius of Latrobeobserved a 'large .metallic;, cigarshaped object hovering at .tree toplevel. At the, same time,: numerousreports 6f' metallic .appearing, discs,

' some in formation, were also beingseen. •. '' , .

On the night of July 10,"-UFO sight-ings were reported throughout manypoints in the state. Near Chambers-burg, a young woman reported thather -vehicle was chased by a thirty-foot diameter disc ;for several miles,while the object remained only inchesabove .the roof of her car. Severalother witnesses in tthe.area also re-

. ported similar sightings simul-taneously.

On July. 27, near Butler, a womanreported that a round similar objectwith red flashing lights and., legs :atthe bottom hovered outside of herwindow, and just seemed to float onthe air. ,

On Augusts, at approximately .4:50p.m., a group- of .witnesses nearGreensburg , repqrtedly .; observedthree flat, siver discs hover about 100feet in altitude then ascend towardthe east. A few second later, threemore similar objects flew past them-heading in the same direction. •

We have received dozens of reportsof bright, orange spheres makingerratic movements in the night skies,and at times dropping flaming sparks.The reports do not seem to fall intothe hot air balloon category, due tothe unusual movements of theselights.

Cult of'The Two'composed of five elements

Editor's Note: -Dr. Downing is aPresbyterian minister and the authorof the" well-known book THE BIBLEAND FLYING SAUCERS. His aca-demic background represents a com"-bination of science and religion. ASKYLOOK stafi: member since 1974,he has: contributed several articlesand book reviews.

By Barry H. Downing

Most Skylook readers have prob-ably beenlqllqwirig the national newsheadlines concerning the Oregoncult whose members are. waiting to .be taken off to heaven, or anotherplanet, in a UFO. (A news summaryappeared in the October issue of.SKYLOOK.) Most serious students ofUFO's undoubtedly regret the exist,ence of such groups — they just in:crease the ridiqule that must be borneby serious UFO students.

The cult made for good news cov-erage because of several strangeaspects. It was founded by a man andwoman who never attended.the pro-motional meetings, according to thenewspaper accounts available, Even-tually it was discovered that the leadvers were Marshall Herff Applewhiteand Bonnie Lu Trusdale Nettles.

The cult taught that eventuallyJesus and his space brothers wouldbe corning to earth in a UFO to takethe "true believers" to heaven; this"second coming" of Christ happensonly once every 2000 years, so thatthose who miss this flight are introuble. The true believers must, giveup everything—family, money, jobs,sex — and concentrate on meditating,this process will bring a person'smind and body to "100% perfection."

As one disciple said, "99% perfectwill not do." Those less than perfectwill not make the heavenly "flight.One added element of "strangeness"is the teaching ^that each person hasa spirit or guardian angel to help himin his meditating process.

Good Newspaper CopyAll this made for good newspaper

copy, together with the "disappear-ance" of about 30 people who joinedthe cult, with the possibility that theyhad already "gone to heaven."

It seems to me there are five major

10

elements which taken together haveproduced the Oregon UFO cult: l iThe general emotional strain of livingin the 1970's. 2) Christian teaching, 3)the space age mentality and UFOs inparticular, 4) influence of Easternreligions, including mtovements likeTranscendental Meditation and 5)Spiritualism. Thus if we examine thegroup and divide it into these fivefamiliar elements; we will discover"the Anatomy of .a UFO Cult."

Emotional Strain1) The emotional strain of living

through this decade is evident to all.If it isn't Watergate, or the probablefinancial disaster of New York City,it is the Middle East. This has givenmany people the feeling of impending -doom: .

In this context there are many peo-ple willing to listen to any plan forsalvation — anything to get us out ofthis world before it blows up. In.themeantime, Marshall Herff Apple-white is going through his own emo-tional crisis.

Applewhite is.a.Presbyterian min-ister's son who has a master's degreein music, and is an assistant professorof music at the University of St.Thomas in Houston, Texas. He alsosings in the Houston Opera, and for allappearances, is hard driving and suc-cessful. But suddenly he is given ayear's leave of absence, according toUniversity . records, because of"health, problems of.-an emotionalnature." •'•"-'.; •

Applewhite goes to New York,meets a soul-mate, Bonnie Lu Trus-dale Nettles, who then returns toTexas with Applewhite to open anoccult study center. What are theelements of the "world view" orreligion they develop? /

Christian Traditions2) It is clear from some of the

teachings of the UFO Cult group thatsome of the Christian traditions aremaintained, especially three ele-ments. .

a) The group believes in the secondcoming of Christ, which they havetied in with the UFO concept—UFOsproviding the vehicle for Christ'ssecond coming and return to heaven.

This idea is not so hew — I suggestedthis in my book The Bible and FlyingSaucers in 1968, as a possibility.

b) .The' second link between theUFO cult and Christianity is its ob-vious emp'hasis on faith. If you do notbelieve the teachings of the cult, youcannot be "saved.".

Perfection As A Virtuec) The third emphasis of the group

is on perfection. This.is riot new toAmerican Protestant Christianity. Inthe 1820s, communities and groupssuch as Zoar, Oneida, Amana, Shakersand Transcendentalists developed,many aiming at "perfectipn."

Newspapers noted that the OregonCult required its members to sell allthey had, in order to become perfect.This was probably based on the teach-ing of Jesus who said to the RichYoung Ruler who asked Jesus whathe must do to be perfect. Jesus said,"If you would be perfect, go, sell whatyou possess and give, to the poor, andyou will have treasure in heaven;and come, follow me" (Matthew19:21).

The group emphasized the ideathat believers must be perfect inorder to be ready to be transformedand taken on board the UFO on theappointed day. From my personalreligious .point of view, it is here thatI reject the teachings of the Cult.

The emphasis of the group is really

selfish — self perfection. Jesus didnot teach self perfection as an end initself. Rather he taught that love ofGod and love of neighbor is the way toself perfection. The emphasis ofChristianity is on love, not on selfperfection. Thus the Apostle Paul inhis famous hymn on love said, "If Igive away all I have, and if I delivermy body to be burned, but have notlove,-I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians13:3).

I have seen little, in fact nothing,in published reports to indicate a callto go out and serve the world in thiscult group. In fact, the group is main-ly withdrawing from the world totry to save its own neck, as it were,and too bad about everybody else. Butin any case, some of the teachings ofChristianity are used, and sinceApplewhite is a Presbyterian minis-ter's son, it is not surprising he usessome Christian teachings.

One thing to note about the per-fectionist teaching. If something goeswrong, if the UFO does not arrive onschedule to take true believers ontheir, heavenly ride, the leaders cansay, "The reason we failed is that youdid not obey us and become perfect."The Bible teaches we are saved notby our own perfection, but rather byGod's grace, by the forgiveness of aloving heavenly- Father. In my opin-ion, religion that teaches we can onlybe saved.by our own perfection is notgood news, and it is not Christianityeither.

UFO Image3); Another element of the UFO

Cult obviously is that it has drawnon the UFO image as part of its planof salvation. UFOs provide a link withthe- universe, something Christianityhas lost in the past century. Eventhough Jesus said he came fromheaven — from the outer Universe —the age of science found this hard tobelieve. If UFOs are there, we canagain believe — in the name of truthand science — that heavenly beingsare looking out for us.

Most scientists find that the re-ligious aspect, of the UFO problemjust muddies the scientific UFOwater. I can sympathize with the frus-trations of men like Dr. J. AllenHynek is trying to deal with the UFO"religious nut fringe," of which I amundoubtedly, a part in the. eyes ofmany. Dr. Edward Condon in his

Colorado Scientific Study of Uniden-tified Flying Objects, much to the dis-may of serious UFO students, paidclose attention to the "nut fringe."

Dr. Carl Sagan of Cornell .Univer-sity has said-he believes most peopleare interested in UFOs 'to f i l l re-ligious needs. There is no denyingthere is much truth to this view. How-ever, it is a false logic which con-cludes too soon that just because peo-ple have a religious hunger that theyhave created UFOs. :any more thanwe can say that people have createdfood because they have physical hun-ger.- The existence of food and ourneed for food happen to match up.Maybe there is both a religious hun-ger, and a religious match up, in theUFO area. ' • • ,-

Eastern Religions4) A further element in the cult is

the influence of Eastern religions,seen in the emphasis of the group onreincarnation, and on meditation. Asmost., people know, there has beenwidespread interest in Transcenden-.tal . Meditation. The group has un-doubtedly drawn from this move-ment. Again, science has said thatmeditation . affects the chemicalmakeup of the body. The Oregon Cultgroup teaches that through self denialand meditation the body will be trans-formed so that it can be taken aboardthe UFO when it comes. .

The group also teaches reincarna-tion. In fact, it is taught that if peopledo not get on board this "SecondComing" of Christ, they.will have to..

be reincarnated for another 2000years before they get another chanceto get out of this world. -They, teachit is 2000 years "between heavenlyUFO.trips.j 5) The f inal element in the teachingof the cult is spiritualism. Applewhitetaught that he was in contact withspirits, in particular "Brother Fran-cis," a monk who died in Greece in-1818. They .teach, that every personwho joins their cult group has aguardian angel or spirit who willguide them to perfection in theirmeditation. •-• .- •

This whole process of waiting forthe coming of Jesus with: his UFO,perfection through self denial andmeditation, is-called "Human Indi-vidual Metamorphosis." or -HIM.When -you reach perfection; you areready for your heavenly UFO ride.

Coffee, Tea, or Milk?Thus, when we separate the indi-

vidual parts of the Oregon UF.O Cult,we discover that most of the teach-ings are familiar to many people intheir separate forms. What is notfamiliar is the synthesis. .

It is like being offered a glass, ofsoft drink which is orange, Coke, androot beer combined. If we -did .notknow .what was in the glass, it wouldprobably taste very strange. Once-weknow the contents, the taste, is not sosurprising. Still, it is not a drink mostof us are likely to come to love.

Neither is the. Oregon UFO Cultlikely to become a favorite religiousmovement in. the United States.

"Hoaxed again! Sitting out here with this crowd in the middle ofnowhere, waiting for a mythical spaceship, penniless, hungry . . .and now this lousy wind."

11

In Others' WordsUFO information in the ~weekly

tabloids has been at a low point inrecent weeks. The Nov. 4 NATIONALENQUIRER reported on a FebruaryUFO sighting at an ICBM missile sitein Montana. Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle'scomments on the reliability and integ-rity of UFO witnesses were featuredin the Nov. 16 issue of NATIONALTATTLER. The Nov. 18 issue of THESTAR contained a none-too-compli-mentary article .on the recent FortSmith, Ark., UFO conference and thecurrent state of UFO research.

The December issue of MALE has arehash article on Soviet UFO interest;and the January issue of the maga-zine has an article on the "Devil'sSea" in the Pacific Ocean.

B. Ann Slate contributes an inter-esting article to the December issueof SAGA. -This deals with UFO and"creature" reports in/around Ed-wards Air Force Base in California.

At this writing, the No. 5 (January1976) issue of OFFICIAL UFO is onthe stands. As usual, it contains somegood material, including articles byJoe Brill, Ray Fowler, Don Worley,Richard Hall, Don Berliner, WendelleC. Stevens, Hayden Hewes, R.Michael Rasmussen and others.

Recent new. paperbacks includeRichard Winer's :THE."DEVIL'STRIANGLE 2 and Adi-Kent Thomas;Jeffrey's THEY DARED THEDEVIL'S TRIANGLE. Both titleswill be reviewed in future columns.

THE UNIDENTIFIED by JeromeClark and Loren Coleman is an in-triguing book which presents thetheory that UFOs and other forms ofparanormal phenomena are arche-typal images from humanity's col-lective unconscious (a la the ideas ofthe late Dr. Carl Jung) — a sort ofplanetary poltergeist activity,. cre-ated and sustained by our mentalimaginings. The authors have gath-ered their data from many sources

By Lucius Parish

and the result is a well-written vol-ume which holds the reader's interestthroughout. Contactees, fairy lore,"creature" sightings, the. 1896-97 air-ship reports — all are tied togetherin an attempt to show their commonorigin. Personally, I find the conclu-sions unconvincing, but one must ap-preciate the attempt to look at thedata in a new way. I regard THEUNIDENTIFIED as required read-ing. It may be ordered from WarnerBooks - P.O. Box 690 — N.Y., N.Y.'10019. The price is $1.50, plus 25<t forpostage.

Serge Hutin's ALIEN RACES: ANDFANTASTIC CIVILIZATIONS andRobert Charroux's MASTERS OFTHE WORLD are very much alike inmany ways. Both books contain amixture of facts and speculationsabout alien colonizers in Earth's pre-history, lost continents,: undergroundcivilizations, secret societies and theusual subjects covered by the moreprolific writers on the theme of"ancient astronauts." The Charrouxbook contains some various items ofinterest scattered through it,, butHutin's material consists largely ofrehash from the works of otherwriters, including Charroux. Bothbooks are available .from Berkley•Publishing Corp. — 200 Madison Ave.— N.Y.; N.Y. 10016. MASTERS OF.THE WORLD is $1.50; the Hutin bookis $1.25 (plus 25<f per book).

On the subject of "ancient astro-nauts," readers might like to knowabout some of the forthcoming bookson the subject. Erich von Daniken'sMIRACLES OF THE GODS is due outin paperback from Delacorte Press inFebruary, 1976. His new movie, asequel to "Chariots of the Gods,"should be released this fall.

Josef Blumrich, the author of THESPACESHIPS.OF EZEKIEL,-is work-ing on another book which deals withthe supposed relationship of certainAmerican Indian tribes with extra-

terrestrials.Andrew Tomas is currently work-

ing on a new book. W. RaymondDrake's GODS AND SPACEMENTHROUGHOUT HISTORY is now outfrom Henry Regnery Co. in hard-cover. His GODS AND SPACEMENIN GREECE AND ROME will bepublished in England by Sphere Books(paperback) later, this year and willprobably be published in the U.S. bynew American > Library (SignetBooks). ... • • . •

Richard E. Mooney, the author.ofCOLONY:, EARTH and GODS OFAIR AND DARKNESS is currentlyworking on a third book. PeterKrassa's WHEN THE YELLOWGODS CAME is now set for publica-tion by Bantam Books in April, 1976.

Erich von Daniken's IN SEARCHOF ANCIENT GODS is now availablein a Bantam paperback, but minusthe color photos contained in the hard-cover edition. John Wallace Spencer'sfirst book has been revised and re-titled LIMBO OF THE LOST -TODAY. This is also a Bantam paper-back.

The January issue of BEYONDREALITY will be a "UFO Special,"so this might contain some materialof interest. \

The DEVIL'S SEA: by .ElizabethNichols is, unfortunately, just onemore collection of rehash in paper-back form. The Bermuda Triangle,the Devil's Sea in the Pacific, UFOs,Atlantis, mysterious disappearances—you've read it all before in a dozendifferent places. Interviews with suchpeople as Irene Hughes, -MaxineAshwer and the late Otto Binder pro-vide a semi-bright spot in the book,but these are not enough to recom-mend it to anyone other than the For-tean bibliophile who must have every-thing of this sort in his collection.The book is available for $1.25 (plus25<f for postage) from: Award Books—350 Kennedy Drive—Hauppauge, NY11788. - .

,12

Soundless orange half-globereportedly photographed in France

By Richard HallMUFON International Coordinator

(Report from NOSTRA, 27 aout(August?) 1975 submitted by JeanBastide, translated by JacquesDeschenes).

A UFO chase on Aug. 22. 1974. inAndelot, department of Haute-Marnein .northeast France, proved to be aterrifying experience, for the wit-nesses.

About 11:30. on Saturday night.Dominique .Sarnie,. 18, was driving toBlancheville-Chantraines. Near arailroad crossing he suddenly saw aluminous object in the sky andstopped his car to investigate. TheUFO disappeared for a moment, thenappeared again only about 100 meters

•away. . . . . - ,Startled, Dominique swung his car

around and returned to Andelot toget his friend, Patrick Pingat. To-gether they returned .to the site andPatrick took two photographs of theUFO. When it seemed to approachagain, they fled back to Andelot.

This time Dominique got his father,and'the three returned and again saw

Magazine to reprintStar Map issue

Stephen Walther;1 publisher ofASTRONOMY magazine, has in-formed Stariton T. Friedman that themagazine will publish a 32-page full-color reprint of the article, "The ZetaReticuli Incident" by Terence Dick-enson.

The article, which originally ap-peared in the December,1975, issueof ASTRONOMY, is an excellent andcomprehensive presentation of Mar-jorie Fish's work on the Betty Hillstar map. Included in the reprint willbe all the subsequent letters, com-ments, and critiques which have ap-peared in subsequent issues.

The cost for the reprint,.due out"in a month or so," is $4.00 postpaid.It is highly recommended. Orderfrom ASTRONOMY, Suite 204, 757Broadway, Milwaukee^ WI 53202. Sendcheck or money order (no cash).

the UFO hovering over a viaduct. Itwas described as a half-globe of in-tensive orange color. 30 meters in

•.diameter and totally soundless. It wasnow 12:30.. The UFO disappeared again, so thetrio drove :toward Chantraines. En-route they encountered the UFOagain sailing above a field. They pur-sued the object for two hours, endingup in Blancheville. Finally the UFO-took off for good, and the witnessescaught their breath.

• Then, still fr ightened, they fledback to Andelot ; wi thout , incident,belatedly realizing that one of theirtires was flat . . .

Police were notified next day. and itwas learned that there .were otherwitnesses. It was reported that somespecialists were studying the photo-graphs.

1973—Year of the Humanoids

The Center for UFO Studies is pub-lishing, a second edition of DavidWebb's 1973 - YEAR OF THEHUMANOIDS. The first edition, pre-viously available from MUFON, isnow out of print.

The revised edition is to includemore than a dozen new cases to bringthe total to more than 50.

For price and other informationwrite CUFOS, P.O. Box.11, Northfield.IL 60093. ;,

AIAA papers available

Copies of the AIAA papers byHynek, McCampbell, .Vallee. Fried-

. man, .Robert M.-. Wood, Dr. AlvinLawson, Niels Sorensen, .and tenothers . are available: from . UFORI,POB 502, Union City, CA 94587.^ -

The regular price is $6.00, but: SKYLOOK readers may obtain a copy

of the 150-page nicely-illustrated vol-ume for $5.25 postpaid. , '

BOOKS FOR SALE; The,fol lowing hardcover books are from Skylook's UFO library.

Some are review copies no longer needed, spme are duplicates, etc..Most have dust jackets ( D J ) and are in good to excellent condition.Some are getting pretty hard to find. We need the space and the'money,so hrst come f i rs t served at $5.00 each', postpaid. Please include secondchoices it possible, as .most ot these are one of a kind. Please do notsend cash. '" . , ' . '1 . • ' * ». * * *-': ' • '. . .- ' .;Flying Saucers—Serious Business by Frank Edward, 1966 (DJ) 'Incident at Exeter by John G. Fuller, 1966 (DJ)Mysteries of Time and Space by Brad Steiger, 1974 (DJ) !

They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers by Gray Barker, 1956 (DJ)Flying Saucers Have Landed by Desmond Leslie and George Adamski.

1953 (:DJ). ' : , ' - -Planet in Trouble—the UFO Assault on Earth by Jerome Eden. 1973

•(DJ) - '- • - ' . ; . ' • •The Inexplicable Sky by Arthur Constance, 1956 (DJ )Is Another World Watching? by Gerald Heard, 1951 (DJ') .Aliens from Space by Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe, 1973 (DJ ) :

Flying Saucers and Common Sense by Waveney Girvan, 1955 (no 'DJ)Aboard a Flying Saucer by Truman Bethurum, 1954 (DJ ) 'Behind the Flying Saucers by Frank Scully, 1950 (cover worn, no DJ)Inside the Space Ships by George Adamski, 1955 (DJ )They Live in the Sky by Trevor James, 1958 (DJ, autographed) ;

The Flying Saucer Conspiracy by Maj. Donald E.'Kehoe, 1955 (DJ)Flying Saucers Uncensored by Harold T. Wilkins, 1955 (DJ) ' ' ' • •Flying Saucers from Outer Space by Maj..Donald E. Keyhoe; 1953 (DJ)

S K Y L O O K26 Edgewood Drive

Quincy, Illinois 62301

13

Probably of Earthly origin

from sky1 analyzedBy John L. Warren and Joseph Accetta

Los Alamos UFO Study GroupMUFON state director for New Mexico

and MUFON state director'forLos Alamos County

A Mr. Tillapaugh reported an objectwhich allegedly fell from the sky inthe morning hours of January 12, 1975on his farm in Schoharie County, NewYork near the town of Carlisle. (May,1975,SKYLOOK,page8.)

According to Mr. Tillapaugh, theobject crashed through some trees,glanced off his tractor, bounced to theground and landed on a patch of ice,where it produced a small cloud ofsteam and melted its way to theearth. The object, which weighed ap-proximately one pound, appeared tobe a piece of metal with a brownish

: coating.The local sheriff was unable to iden-

tify the object and was put in contactwith Mr. Ernest Jahn of NIGAP, whosubsequently requested help in identi-fication from J. Alan Hynek of theCenter for UFO Studies. ProfessorHynek had some chemical andmetallographic analysis of the objectcarried out by Chicago Spectro Ser-vice Laboratory and students of Pro-fessor Meshii of Northwestern Uni-versity. The preliminary analysis in- ;dicated that the object contains iron,has a rust coloration, is magnetic,and has experienced extreme thermalshock.

The object found its way to LosAlamos Scientific Laboratory earlyin September for further analysis.The portion of the object which wasreceived from Prof. Hynek was sub-jected to several tests in order to tryto determine its history.

Its residual radioactivity was mea-sured in a low background counter.It was x-rayed, to look for gross in-ternal structures such as voids orcracks. X-ray fluorescence was usedto determine some of its chemicalconstituents. A 4-mm section wassliced from the object parallel to facecreated by a section made by North--western investigators; This section

was subjected to metallographic ex-amination. The section'• was s'ubse-quently examined using x-ray fluor-escence, electron microprobe and ionprobe analysis. Whereas electronmicroprobe is sensitive to the lighterchemical elements, the ion probe isbetter for determining the presenceof heavier elements.

Basically, the analysis done at LosAlamos verified many of the chem-ical findings of Northwestern Uni-versity investigators, but disagreedwith some of the interpretation oftheir metallographic analysis. Theobject showed no residual radio-activity. Conspicuously absent wasradiation from Mns4 which has a half-life of 312 days.

In 1962, Los Alamos examined apiece of a Russian space capsulewhich fell in Wisconsin. The presenceof Mn54was easily detected. From thiswe would have to conclude that theobject has not recently been sub-jected to cosmic rays from outerspace. It is unlikely that it is a pieceof space junk.

X-ray examination showed no.sig-nificant voids or cracks. X-ray fluor-escence studies reveal the main con-stituent to be iron with varyingamounts of aluminum, silicon, man-ganese, zinc, copper, molybdenum,bromine, tin and lead, but no nickel.The absence of nickel would tend toeliminate its origin as meteoric. Thebrownish coating on the outside con-tained large amounts of lead and sul-fur, with iron manganese, zinc, cop-per, molybdenum, and bromine alsobeing observed. The chemical compo-sition of the main portion of theobject are consistent with knowncompositions of common cast iron,or socalled gray iron.

Metallographic examination alsoconcludes that the object is basicallyan oxidized gray cast iron with a leadbased partial surface coating. Thereis not evidence to conclude that theobject did not originate on earth.

The extensive oxidation immediate-

ly under the surface coating suggestspost heating of .the iron after it wascast. . - -

The presence of the rosette patternof cast iron plus the fact that there isa lead-based surface coating sug-gests that the post heating was notextreme, in contradiction to the con-clusions drawn by the Northwesterninvestigators. The oxidation probablyoccurred over a long period of time,certainly it would not have occurredas a result of falling through theearth's atmosphere from outer space.

The ion probe revealed that the bro-mine is probably a surface contami-nant. The lead isotope ratios weremeasured and compared with a stand-ard sample. The ratios are the sameand once again point to an earthlyorigin of the object

In conclusion, our studies lead usto believe that the object is of earthlyorigin and probably of human manu-facture, although like the sheriff ofSchoharie County, we are. unable toidentify its functional origin or ex-

. plain why Mr. Tillapaugh observed itto fall from the sky and melt ice.

If one sets aside Mr. Tellapaugh'sobservations for the moment, it mightbe suggested that the object was partof an old manufactured piece such asa container for casting or refininglead, or a lead coated bearing sur-face for a moving piece of machin-ery. If the object had been buried inthe earth some time, it might haveacquired the sulfide coating to thelead, but that is not obviously true.

It should be noted that a quickcheck at the New York HistoricalAssociation in Cooperstown (about50km from Carlisle) reveals no his-tory of iron smelting in SchoharieCounty, but does record the establish-ment of a foundry in 1846 to produceplows.

The object has been returned toNICAP and a full report acknowledg-ing the efforts will be compiled with-in the next month. (Submitted by WaltAndrus)

14

V

Man reportsdaylight disc

' By Eugene T. LundholmSeptember 15, 7:00-7:20 p.m.

Garner Hadland, Bayfield, WI,owner of local Gable.TV station, re-ported that he had seen a circular

-UFO hovering over the hills of Bay-field in daylight.

It appeared to have no windows,looked like it was made of "castaluminum,"- had a dome on the topand a hump on the bottom, size about .100 feet in diameter. It was tilted,which allowed a better view. Had-land also stated that there were"vapor trails" leading upward intothe sky. It was hovering down overthe trees and one side of it, the sideaway from the sun, was brightorange...

He went home to get his camera,but his wife and son become.so ex-cited that they hurried.out forgettingthe camera, for which he is still kick-ing himself. When the arrived at thescene the UFO had moved, but theyfollowed it until it zoomed off;

He mentioned in his telephone con-versation that one other man had ob-served the vapor trails in the sky butapparently did not see the object. Ihave asked him to check for any otherobservers.

He has the book, THIS BAFFLINGWORLD, by John Godwin, and told methe object he saw resembled a pictureon page 84, the picture in the lowerphotograph being observed by twopeople. I have asked Hadland for awritten report.

Humanoid reports wantedby MUFON study group .

A catalog of humanoid cases byTed Bloecher is to be published by theCenter for UFO Studies during 1976.Bloecher and David Webb are co-chairmen of MUFON's HumanoidStudy Group.

Information regarding humanoidcases, especially those not previouslypublished, should.be sent to Bloecherat 317 E. 83rd St., New York, NY 10028,or to Webb at 64 Jacqueline Rd., Apt.10, Waltham, MA 02154.

Australian UFO groups activein checking numerous reports

By Richard HallMUFON International Coordinator

Keith Basterf ield, , research of-ficer for a group called UFO Re-search in South Australia,. has con-tacted MUFON desiring to establishan exchange of information. He re-ports that an Australian CoordinationSection (ACOS) has been set up inNew South Wales, combining the ef-forts of various Australian groups tohave liaison with Dr. Hynek's Centerfor UFO Studies.

MUFON has personnel in NewSouth Wales, including Representa-tive for Australia Michael Guider, inQueensland, and in Tasmania. Mr.Basterf ield has been invited to repre-sent us in South Australia.

A copy of Newsletter No. 12 pub-lished by UFO Research included thefollowing reports:

Nov. 5, 1974, at Wyoming, N.S.W.,Harry Pinhorn was eating his lunchoutdoors at 12:15 p.m. when he no-ticed that all the birds had stoppedwhistling.

Looking up, he saw in the NE sky asilvery-gray egg-shaped object travel-ing east in a straight line. It stoppedto the east of him for a few seconds,then rose vertically until it was lostto sight. The sighting lasted abouta minute. The sky was clear, noclouds, no wind. No sound was heardand the UFO left no trail.

Dec. 13, 1974, at about 11 p.m. awoman in .Ainslie, Canberra, was inher bedroom when she noticed abright circle of white light on thebedspread. Looking out the windowshe saw a vivid red sphere with conesor spikes of lighter red projectingfrom it.

The woman went into the kitchento inform her husband, and togetherthey watched the object move slowlywestward through an arc of about 20degrees. Then it suddenly changedcolor to brilliant white and acceler-ated away almost instantaneously tothe southeast. The night was calmand clear.

A summary of 1974 reports in Tas-

mania indicates a total of 133 reports,37 of which were considered "Un-known." Astronomical objects, satel-lites, and aircraft are indicated tobe the cause of most mistaken re-ports. , . . . ... ..

A separate report from Paul Jack-son, MUFON research associate inTasmania, included notice of anAustralia-wide UFO conference heldOct. 4-6 in Terrigal, New South.Wales.Participants included six UFO groupsfrom five states, all part of the Aus-tralian Co-Ordination Section, (ACOS)for the Center for UFO studies.Agenda items included investigationmethods and techniques, and discus-sion of present and future .develop-ments. . r •• •.

Jackson,.who is correspondence of-ficer for the Tasmanian UFO Investi-gation Centre (TUFOIC), enclosed acopy of their News Sheet No, 16 indi-cating that October 1975 is the 10thanniversary of the founding. ofTUFOIC.. . . _ . - :

The newsletter notes a large num-ber of close-range sightings in recentyears, including car pacings, electro-magnetic effects,, and landings. .

On June 26, 1975, near^Runnymede,a motorist 'noticed some lights overa roadside paddock about'7 p.m. andstopped to investigate. He .saw a darkgray oval object with red flashinglights around its base an estimated400 yards off the road and 40 feet up.When the object started to approachhim, the witness drove away.

Jackson also enclosed data on3/6/75 Mt. Gambier; S. Australia air-line pilot sighting which seems tohave been a satellite re-entry; How-rah movie film case of 5/12/75 inwhich UFO maneuvered in vicinityof a rainbow, but he says the film isof very poor quality due to faultyzoom lens; Campbeltown, Tas.,7/16/75 case in which drive of a milktanker saw a UFO estimated to beas large as his tanker make passesover highway; what looked like doorhatches and windows were clearlyvisible along the object.

15

Burned areas, imprints, etc.

Several possible traces reported in 1975By "Ted Phillips'

JAN 01 1975 (0625) Quintanaortuno(Burgos, Spain). Four soldiers weredriving to the Army EngineeringAcademy in Burgos when one of-themen/saw a light moving;toward theground, at high speed. The fourstopped the car and watched a brightyellowish object near the groundsome 1200 feet away. The object ap-peared as a "truncated cone," 7 feet

.. high and 11 feet long. It emitted whitebeams 6 f , light towards the ground.They watched the object for sometime and there were other witnesses.Two parallel burned areas werefound 210x42 feet and 105x42 feet, 52feet apart. There were several holes

,. in the burned areas. (Vicente-JaunBallester Qlmos—Catalogue of 200type l.UFO events)

, JAN 02 1975 (2330) Air Force FiringRange, Arguedas (Navarra, Spain).Members of a military patrol ob-served very intense lights movingslowly then stationary on the ground.After being notified, officers watcheda'half-sphere which ascended. Theobjects were seen by about 30 peoplefor 3 or 4 minutes. Traces were found.(Vicente-Jaun Ballester Olmos-Cata-logue of 200 type 1 events)

JAN 04 1975 Mariemont, Ohio. Two

MUFON103 Oldtowne Rd.Seguin, TX 78155

Phones:

512-379-9216(MUFON headquarters and

Walt Ahdrus' home)

512-379-8850(Director Walt Andrus'place .of employment)

witnesses heard weird sound outsidewindow; one witness awakened froma deep sleep. Next morning a 10 ft.long, semi-circular track found onlawn. (LenStringfield)

JAN 12 1975 Carlyle, New York.Object seen flying over field, frag-ment hit tractor. (NICAP Investiga-tor, March and June, 1975) '

FEB 10 1975 (1900) Annadale, NewYork. Two witnesses saw a glowingorange light 400 ft. away, shaped likea football. Thin trees broken 4 to 5 ft.above ground, bark charred and blis-tered, thicket tangle pushed toground. (Staten Island Advance, ;2-14-

. 7 5 ) " ; ,. . MAR 03 1975 Laurieton, Australia.

12 ft. circle, shaped like a washer,grass dead. Six other circles found inarea. (Laurieton Advertiser, 03-05-75)

MAR 13 1975 Mellon, Wisconsin. Ob-ject seen to land some distance away.Four imprints found. (Center for UFOStudies) '

MAR 13 .1975 (1300) Gilroy, Cali-fornia. 14-year-old Ronda Ridge saw around silver object with a band ofyellow lights approaching her home.Object stopped, hovered a few sec-onds and moved away. Sighting dura-tion of 20 minutes. Area of depressed

..grass found. (Gilroy Dispatch, 03-21-75.) . . . ' - '

MAR 27 1975 (0054) Aritioch (orBrentwood), California. Two wit-nesses, 14 .and 16, saw an oval objectwhich made 90-degree turns and hov-ered over trees. A tube emerged fromthe object with a nozzle at the end. Anorange ball of light descended, lev-eled off over a field. While hovering,the object rotated and they could seethree portholes. It finally flew be-tween two pine trees to the NE. Thearea -between the two trees wasdamaged and a depression IVz feetlong, several inches wide was foundin the field. (Antioch Ledger, 03-29-75)

APR 06 1975 (1715) Pembroke,North Carolina. Seven witnesses sawfive circular red lights descendinginto a field behind trees. Six burntareas found. (Ted Phillips investigat-ing for the Center for UFO Studies)

APR 26; 1975 (0200). Chomeday,Lavah;vQue., Canada. Two young wit-nesses saw a bright light descendingbehind a school building for a fewseconds. A piece of metal and a holefound. (Howard Gontounick to LenStringfield)

MAY 01 1975 Manche,,France. Nottranslated. (LDLN)

MAY 03 1975 (1200) Mexico City,Mexico. Pilot of light aircraft sawthree metallic discs pacing aircraft.One object struck .bottom of aircraftleaving dents and scratches. Con-firmed by radar. (Dr. J. Allen Hynek)

MAY 10 1975 Carman, Man., Can-ada. "One UFO is said to have; landedin a field. The Winnipeg Planetariuminvestigated and found radioactivityfour times higher than that of the sur-rounding land:" (Center for UFOStudies from Dan Bjarnason, CBC)

MAY 12 1975 (2330) Peesane, Sask.,Canada. Two witnesses saw an objectwith green light for 10 to 15 minutes.It moved aWay to the E. Perfectlyround circle found 5 ft. in diameter,ring width of 6 inches. Samples andphotographs taken by RCMP. (ResBureaux)

JUN 06 1975 (Ottawa, Ohio. Five in-dentations found in farm field, 2-3inches deep. (Mutual UFO-Network): JUN'12 1975 (2200) NE West Vir-ginia. Four witnesses saw extremelybright lights over tree tops, a , redflashing light and two bright spot-lights. They lost sight of the lights fora brief time, rounded a curve in theroad and saw a disc 40 feet away justoff the edge of the road. Base of ob-ject was dark, spotlights at top. Fourimprints found 19 ft. 6 inches apartand charred grass: (Ted Phillips in-vestigating for the Center for UFOStudies) -JUN 16 1975 (0022) Greensboro, NorthCarolina. Three witnesses reported adisc which descended vertically, hov-ered for eight minutes, moved up anddown, then landed. Ascended again,moved up and down, lights went out.Depressions found in grass.- (TheGreensboro Record, 06-20-75)

JUL 1975 Sharon, Ont, Canada. Ring

16

•^>wfe <'v®S^

_ iM&SiKenneth Arnold, the man most responsible for the term "flying

saucers," points to a sketch of one of the nine UFOs which he reportedlyobserved while flying near Mt. Ranier, Washington, on June 24, 1947.He described the objects as looking "like pie plates skipping over thewater." He estimated that the objects, moving in a chain-like; step-downformation about five miles long, were flying at 1,000-1,700 miles perhour, based on the time it took them to cover the 50-mile distancebetween two mountains. The objects flew erratically as they movedaround lesser peaks. (Photo courtesy Joe Brill)

found, 19.75'xl6.50'. (Center for UFOStudies)

JUL 06 1975 (1700) Mt. Pleasant,Ont, Canada. Joe Borda saw a metal-lic cylinder in a field some 800 ft.away. Area 50 ft. across was slightlyburnt, an oily substance was found.(Ted Phillips investigating for theCenter for UFO Studies)

AUG 06 1975 (2050) Rochester,Minnesota. At least two farmers sawa blazing object descend into analfalfa field. A brown patch 15x30 ft.found. (Center for UFO Studies)

SEP 07 1975 (Cisne, Illinois. IvanPhillips found a 6 ft. ring in his frontyard. Ring width of 6 inches, surfacecovered with a black oily lookingmaterial, but not oily to the touch.Another ring, 30 inches in diameterfound on SEP 10. (Ted Phillips in-vestigating for the Center for UFOStudies)

SEP 10 1975 Starbuck, Minnesota.10 ft. ring found, width of 8 inches,powdery substance on surface. Sam-ples to Thomas Straw, University ofMinnesota. (Starbuck Times, 09-17-75)

OCT 16 1975 (0000) Central Texas.Three luminous discs seen by twowitnesses for 7 minutes. One or allthree discs struck the ground leavinga 60 ft. long tranch with charredstones. (Ted Phillips investigating forthe Center for UFO Studies).

NOV 02 1975 (2130) Medford, Minne-sota. Several people saw a brightorange-red light approaching theground. Object disappeared behindbuildings and trees some 300 feetaway. Seen leaving the area, passingover a ridge to the NE. Light wasfollowed by one family for. about 15minutes. Dried area 13.5x12.0 feetfound. (Investigation at site by Dr.J. Allen Hynek and Ted Phillips forthe Center for UFO Studies)

CUFOS hotlinebeing misusedby investigators

Dr. J. Allen Hynek of the Centerfor UFO Studies (CUFOS) would liketo remind MUFON investigators thatthe UFO Central telephone is not fortheir use. Says Hynek:

"Apparently, the use of UFO CEN-TRAL is not clear to some investi-gators. We have received calls from ••investigators, telling of cases in theirarea. Also, we have received mes-sages irom investigators. This is notthe purpose of UFO CENTRAL.

"UFO CENTRAL should never beused by investigators, since we as-sume they are already investigatingthe case. It is primarily for reportswhich need immediate investigation,where no investigator is available oraware of the report. Since we mustpay for each of those calls, and all ofus in the UFO field are well awareof the lack of funds syndrome, I hopethat possibly through SKYLOOK, abetter understanding can be reached.

"We attempt to answer all investi-gators letters as soon as possible,and to reply to reports submitted. Icertainly want to thank ai! of theMUFON people who have generouslycooperated with the Center.

"So, though we hope all investi-gators would let their local lawagencies know about UFO CENTRALand supply them with the number,we hope it can be made clear thatthis number should not be used toreport cases which are under investi-gation."

Registry hotline available

A toll-free 24-hour UFO hotline hasreportedly been established by theInternational UFO Registry, P.O.Box 1004, Hammond, Ind. Callersmay, at times, receive a tape re-corded message directing them todescribe their sightings for taping bythe IUFOR answering device.

IUFOR North American DirectorWilliam Hauak reportedly views thehotline as a supplement to the policehotline utilized by the Center for UFOStudies.

17

Director's Message1976 Symposium Speakers

Dr. J. Allen Hynek, director of theCenter for UFO Studies, and RayStanford, director of Project Star-light International, have already beenconfirmed as speakers for the 1976MUFON UFO Symposium in AnnArbor, Mich., on June 12,1976.

New MUFON TreasurerWith the relocation of MUFON's

"administrative offices to 103 Old-towne Road, Seguin, Texas 78155, ithas been deemed desirable to elect anew treasurer who.was located in ornear the same city for convenientfinancial management. At the AnnualCorporate Meeting in Des Moines,la.,;on July 6,1975, Fields F. Freeman,.Quincy, 111., was re-elected treasurer.until such time as a new person couldassume this post.

We are extremely proud to an-nounce that Mr. John^Donegan, 1901Mt. Vernon, Seguin, Texas 78155, hasaccepted this responsibility effectiveprior to Jan. 1, 1976. John is presidentof the First National Bank of Seguin,.and one of the city's leading citizens.His accomplishments and credits asa civic leader" and businessman are.too extensive to list in this message.

•New State Section DirectorsMUFON's coverage of the United

States has been extended to 46 stateswith the appointment of Juan J.Magrans, Salem Village, 551-1, Oak-dale Road, Newark, Del., 19713; tele-phone: '(302) 366-1524 as state sectiondirector for New Castle County. Juanhas a Master of Science degree and isk chemist with ICI United States, Inc.in Wilmington, Del.

Mark D. Ward, state director forIndiana, is proud to announce that thefollowing two gentlemen have ac-.cepted positions as state section di-rectors: Dennis W. Hauck, 114 GostlinStreet, Hammond, Ind. 46327; tele-phone: (219) 932-4760, for Lake, Porter

, and LaPorte counties. Dennis re-ceived his M.A. from the Universityof Vienna, and is director of Inter-

By Walt Andrus

national UFO Registry. Charles L.Tucker, Box 228, Nappanee, Inc.46550,: telephone (517) 278-5945; hasbeen assigned the leadership for Elk-hart and Kosciusko counties. Mr.Tucker attended the recent Ft. Smith,Ark.,;. UFO Conference hosted by Bill-Pitts.

Wisconsin has shown solid growthwith the following selection of statesection [directors by Ronald M. Ander-son: Robert Gqrsiski, 1123 DavidStreet, Racine, Wis. 53404; telephone(414). .634-7085i for Racine andKenosha counties; and Hank Kaul,1209 Andover. Avenue, Eau Claire,Wis. 54701; telephone (715) 835-4540to cover Eau Claire, Trempealean,Clark, and Jackson counties. Bob is acentral office repairman with Wis-consin Telephone Company and ama-teur radio operator WA9BDX. Hank ischief engineer for Radio StationWEAQ and a ham radio operatorWB9DWL.

The Lone Star State is expandingrapidly with the following state sec-tion director assignments being an-nounced by William A. Dexter, statedirector for Texas: Ray Stanford,P.O. Box 5310, Austin, Tex. 78763;telephone: (512) 441-8882, has the re-sponsibility for coordinating theMUFON activities in Travis, Bastrop,Caldwell, Hays, Williamson, Burnet,and Blanco counties. Ray is directorof Project Starlight International, anorganization devoted to the detectionof UFO's and a serious attempt atcommunication with UFOs throughinstrumentation.

Ray Welhausen, P.O. Box 4, Shiner,Texas 77984; telephone: (512) 594-3875, will represent the counties ofLavaca, Gonzales and DeWitt. Ray, amerchant and banker, was recom-mended by Arlen R. Zander, Ph.D.,consultant in Nuclear Physics andstate section director. The new statesection director for Bandera, Kerr,Kendall, Medina, and Real countiesis Elmer J. Romigh, Jr. (USAF

colonel, retired), Route 2, Bandera,Tex. 78003. Elmer, an active amateurradio operator (WA5CTJ), has been"checking-in" on the MUFON net eachSunday at 1300 DST on 14,280 KHZ.

Jack Cortright, 3504 E. Oaklawn,P.O. 3662, Victoria, Tex. 77901; tele-phone: (512) 573-9971, has agreed torepresent MUFON in the followingTexas counties: Victoria, Calhoun,Jackson and Goliad.

New ConsultantJoining the Advisory Board of Con-

sultants is Eugene N. Zavodny, Ph.D.,392 Herrick Road, Riverside, 111.60546; telephone: (312) 447-5957, as aconsultant in mechanical engineeringand field investigator. Gene is asenior research engineer with MGDGraphic Systems, Rockwell Inter-national.

Field Investigators ManualIn order to secure maximum ef-

fectiveness from the new "Field In-vestigator's Manual," all state di-rectors are encouraged to arrangefor statewide training meetings withtheir state section directors so as toinstruct them in the techniques of in-vestigation, communications, andteaching. Using the manual as ateaching aid and a guideline for theproper techniques in reporting andinvestigating UFO sightings, .each ofus will not only be prepared for thenext "flap," but we will have enlargedour scientific knowledge of thephenomenon.

This 132-page manual, punched forthree-ring binders, is readily avail-able from MUFON for $2.00 for mem-bers, $3.00 to independent inves-tigators for the Center for UFO Studiesand $4.00 to all others.

As a visual teaching aid in theserecommended meetings, a set of six-teen transparencies or vu-graphshave been prepared by Ray Fowlerto provide an outline of the FieldInvestigator's Manual. A trans-parency projector that will handle8V2"xll" size transparencies is re-quired and a suitable screen. Please

18

Four witnesses, two incidents

Objects, light cones reported in SwedenBy Bertil Soderquist

MUFON Representative for Sweden

Observers: Mr. Paul Hellberg andhis fiance Miss Elisabeth Segelstrom.

Date: 25 November, 1973.Place: Smedjebacken, a small com-

munity about 10 km east of the townof Ludvika, in the central part ofSweden. The approximate geograph-ical position of Smedjebacken wouldbe longitude 16 degrees east, latitude60 degrees, 50 minutes north.

Narrative: It was at 1:25 a.m. in themorning of Nov. 25, 1973, that Mr.H. and Miss S. happened to look outof the window. Then they saw a bril-liant white-yellowish light, seeminglyoriginating from the ground andwidening upwards into conical shape,formed like a searchlight beam.

They opened the window in order tohear any engine sounds (none men-tioned). They observed a dense fog,restricted to the light cone. After afew minutes, they discovered a simi-lar light cone in bearing northwest.

Some 4-5 minutes later, a third ob-ject came (flying) straight throughthe fog from the west (obviously theyhad earlier observed .two objects al-though none is mentioned in the re-port). The object decelerated, stoppedseemingly in the first light cone, andagain accelerated in an easterly di-rection.

Shortly afterwards, they saw athird light cone to the east, in shapelike the two first ones. The distancesbetween the lights were about twokilometers. After a time space ofabout 5 minutes, all three (objects)started to vibrate simultaneously,alight from the ground, and slowlydrift east.

The fog remained awhile, and thendissolved slowly. The whole sequence

contact the International Director ofMUFON to schedule this set for yourmeetings at no cost except for post-age. A UFO slide/tape recorded lec-ture with 160 slides has been preparedby the MUFON/Nebraska Section,and is also available from MUFONby advanced reservation for postagecosts.

of events took about 20 minutes.The objects were round in shape

and seemed to be of light-grey color.Their diameter was estimated to be10-12 meters. No sounds could beheard. The weather was clear andfine (the witnesses mention that thestars could be seen).

There is another observation bytwo other witnesses that ties in withthe above observation. I relate itbelow.

Observers: Mr. Gunnar Eriksson,and Miss Linda Skalberg.

Date: 25 November, 1973, and 24April, 1973.

Place: Grangesberg (Grangesbergis a small mining community, locatedapproximately 20 kilometers westand 8 kilometers south of Smedje-backen).

Narrative: The witnesses wereseated at the kitchen table whenthrough the window they noticed abrilliantly lit object. The time of ob-servation was from 1 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.

A brilliant light, greenish-blue,moved in an arc away towards thehorizon. The light returned, seemed tocircle, then to disappear in an easter-ly direction. At times, a fixed (sta-tionary) point could be observed thatseemed to be a "source" of the light.The distance to the light (object)could not be estimated.

Mr. Hellberg and Miss Segelstromnext observed something on April 24,1974. The place of observation was thesame as at the first sighting.

Narrative: They could see the ob-jects for 15 minutes, between 4:15a.m. and 4:35 a.m., as it passed fromnortheast towards southwest. It hada light, lead-grey surface, about 12meters in diameter. The shape wasdisc-like. A cuplike protusion was vis-ible on the upper surface, and a simi-lar one below, although larger.

The object seemed to shimmer, asif it had been very hot (the word aurais used in the description). Estimateddistance 1100 meters, estimatedground height 900 meters.

At the same time, a weather bal-loon was found in the vicinity. How-

ever, (the witnesses could see no con-nection between the balloon and theirobservation, since the (observed)object had a very strange shape, andin addition seemed to emit some sortof radiation.

****Comment: It seems likely, that all

four witnesses observed the sameobject on Nov. 25, 1973. The story issimilar to that reported in the June1975 issue of SKYLOOK.

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19

Recapping and commentingBy Richard Hall

(This month's column isdirected toward articles ap-pearing in the October, 1975,issue of SKYLOOK).

A feature common to theOct. 7, 1975, Ontario UFO andhumanoid report, the Nov. 5Arizona abduction case, theMarch 1966 "swamp gas" case,and many others that come tomind is the "irregular andcrinkled" surface. Words like"waffled," "faceted," and"cross-hatched" have beenused to describe texturedsurfaces, as opposed to thestereotyped "smooth, shiny"surface of the classic "fly-ing saucer."

It would be a good projectfor someone to compile a cat-alogue of UFOs with texturedsurfaces, since this is afeature not easy to accountfor in terms of conventionalobjects, a feature that im-plies close-range observation(if not optical illusion),and a feature of interestaerodynamically.

* * * * * * *My friend Ann Druffel has

done a superb job of checkingout and reporting a typical"light in the sky" case andof illustrating the essentialweakness of such cases.

The lesson here is thatunless the witnesses showevidence of having made ele-mentary checks (lining up theobject with a landmark suchas a pole and timing its mo-tion, noting whether it movesin relation to the star back-ground, etc.), such data aretotally worthless. A durationof several hours for a "UFO"sighting is almost an abso-

lute guarantee that it was aplanet, bright star, or bal-loon.

Dvight Connelly's accountof the Ft. Smith UFO confer-ence is a good summary of"where we are" in UFO re-search. The question is,where are we going? I do notthink cooperation betweenmajor UFO groups can, prag-matically, take the form ofdividing up types of casesfor "major emphasis."

However, I see no reasonwhy there couldn't be cooper-ation on fundamentals. As twoexamples of "fundamentals,"major groups ought to be ableto cooperate (1) in poolingdata to compile catalogues oftypes of UFO reports and (2)in sharing data on known phe-nomena and conventionalevents that are causing falseUFO reports. Both of these

CUFOS selects 138for tentative meeting

The Center for UFO Studies is ten-tatively considering the advisabilityof scheduling a meeting in the spring,possibly April 15, to bring together aselected group of qualified persons tolook at "the state of UFO research."

A list of 138 persons invited to themeeting was circulated in late No-vember. According to Dr. J. Allen Hy-nek, director of the Center, it is ex-pected that no more than one-fourthwould be able to attend.

Dr. Hynek told SKYLOOK that thelist represents only a portion of per-sons in the field who meet the criteriaestablished for participants: "thosewho have seriously investigated andreported on many UFO cases in thefield, and those who have written ser-iously on the subject . . . in an un-prejudiced manner."

would be in the common in-terest of all concerned,.

Another possible means ofbeginning some cooperationmight be a monthly or bi-monthly scheduled exchange ofbasic data among CUFOS, APK0,MUFON, and NICAP. This datamight include number and'types of reports received,;statistics on geographicaldistribution, and similar inSformation.

The fact of doing thisroutinely, and gradually ex-panding the scope -of the ex-change, would be a riefnthreat-eniiig approach to cooperationfor a common cause. At a time'when international coopera"-tion seems vitally important,one would hope that e couldget it together domeS't'i,eally.

By Mark Herbstritt

January SkyMereury—is an evening "star" Jan.

1-19. The rest of the month it istoo close to the sun to be wellseen. ,

Venus—is in the evening sky, risingabout 3 hours before- the sun afmid-month.

Mars—is in Taurus. It is well placed -for evening observing and setsabout 5 a.m.

Jupiter— is in Pisces. It is near themeridian at sunset and sets aboutmidnight.

Saturn—is in Cancer. It rises aboutone hour after sunset. The ringedplanet should be visible air night.

20