Christmas Edition
Date: 22nd December 1995 - Members = 248
In this issue:-
Galileo boldly goes into space history.
Question - UFO at RAF Woodbridge.
Aliens molested me - claims business man.
Andover Avertiser, Ken Dykes, is finding a new role as a media star.
UFO Spotting Groups. Was it an orb, Was it a plane? The man who would master the Universe.
"From: Daily Express newspaper.
Date: Saturday December 9th, 1995.
Joy At Mission Control As Probe Explores Jupitor After 2.3 Billion
Miles
GALILEO BOLDLY GOES INTO SPACE HISTORY
Space scientists whooped for joy yesterday when the Galileo probe
accomplished its mission to Jupitor.
Mission control burst into applause as a technician yelled, "We got it!"
Wesley T. Huntress, NASA's associate administrator for space science said: "What can I say? it just bubbles right up from the gut. You wait
18 years. When it gets close to that moment you sweat.
"Then tears come to your eyes, you throw your hands up. That's what makes this business so exciting."
NASA administrator Daniel Goldin added: "It's just been a perfect day, but one that has been very hard-earned."
Galileo has been spinning through space for 6 years and 2.3 billion miles.
Running exactly to schedule, it flawlessly sent a probe deep into the Jovian atmosphere. The probe picked up priceless data about Jupiters terrain and atmosphere and began beaming the data, via the mother
ship, back to mission control in Pasadena, California.
Tiny errors in computer programs could have seen the probe either
plunge too steeply into Jupiter and burn up within seconds, or
uselessly skip off the planet's atmosphere back into space.
In the event, it floated down long enough to transmit the data
before vapourising, as expected, in Jupiter's fierce conditions.
Astronomer Carl Sagan said: "It's epochal in the history of planetary exploration."
The probe only had one shot at penetrating the thick ammonia clouds of Jupiter's outer atmosphere to explore the hot, stormy realm beneath.
It salmmed into the atmosphere at 106,000 mph with its heat shield
glowing at 28,000F, or 15,500C. A parachute slowed it down to 100 mph.
Hours later, another critical operation was successfully
accomplished when Galileo fired up its engines again to send it into a new orbit.
A German-built propulsion system had to put the craft on track for two years of elliptical orbits past Jupiter and eight of its 16 moons. An engine burn of just under 49 minutes did the trick.
Galileo's success should yeild extraordinary views of Jupiter's
diverse moons, magnetic fields and swarms of particles.
Financing for the one billion pound project was only approved by
Congress in 1977, three years after the idea was first floated.
Galileo's scientists have had to live with a catalogue of mishaps, any one of which could have resulted in the failure of the entire mission.
The launch, originally scheduled for 1986, was delayed until 1989
after the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
In 1992, Galileo's main antenna failed to open properly. Scientists reprogrammed computers and used another antenna.
Most recently, a tape recorder malfunction forced engineers to
cancel spectrometer imaging of Jupiter's moon Io as the orbiter
passed by on Thursday morning.
Galileo has already captured images of the asteroids Gaspra and Ida and discovered Ida's moon, Dactyl, in 1993.
It also had a front-row seat when the comet Shoemaker Levy slammed
into Jupiter's atmosphere in 1994.
During the summer it passed through the densest interplanetary dust storm ever detected.
"From: bloc@cris.com
Subject: UFO at RAF Woodbridge
Hi,
My name is Ralph Diaz, and I'm from sunny South Florida. Anyway, I am writing to you get information on the UFO incident at RAF Woodbridge in 1980. You see, I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall back in 1980 when I was in the U.S. Air Force and I had heard stories about a UFO
incident then. I always thought it was a lot of bull until I saw a
t.v. program about it. I was a aviator in a reconnaissance squadron and sometimes when we flew on some of those long, 12-14 hour missions, things would happen to our equipment when we were over certain
locations. Being a UFO enthusiast, please provide info on the
Woodbride incident. Thank you.
UK.UFO.ML says: Hi Ralph. I do have some information you may be
interested in sending for - quote:
The Halt Tape / Documents
QP/001 5 pounds and 50 pence sterling.
The actual tape recording made by Lt. Colonel Charles Halt, USAF,
following the crash of a UFO in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, close to RAF Woodbridge in 1980. 18 minute audio tape plus 45 documents. A
classic. Available from:-
UFO Magazine, Dept UFO Directory, 1st Floor, 66 Boroughgate, Otley
Near Leeds, LS21 1AE, United Kingdom.
Tel: (Int No. I think it is 44) 01943 850860
It doesn't mention postage costs to abroad. May I suggest you give
them a call. Get them to send you their catalogue as well. It's very interesting. It is called 'The UFO Directory'. The same goes for all you other members. They sell some really good stuff.
Is there anyone else out there who could post info to the group about this incident, plus any www sites that might cover the subject.
Ralph, is there any other info you can send us?
"From: Gloucester Citizen newspaper.
Date: 22nd June 1995.
'ALIENS MOLESTED ME' CLAIMS BUSINESS MAN
A City businessman has told psychic experts how he was abducted and sexually molested by aliens in a spacecraft.
The business man, who wishes to remain anonymous, is one of a growing number of people in Gloucestershire who claim to have come face to
face with creatures from outer space.
Now a group of county psychics are setting up a helpline to deal with people who have had close encounters of the third kind.
The Psychic Research Group will meet at Cheltenham tonight. Spokesman Chris Romer said: "We will be setting up a UFO contact service. If you have had an unusual experience we have trained experts and councillors who can help people work through their experience."
Mr Romer said there had been three recent cases where people from
Gloucestershire had encounted aliens. The first involved a "well-known business man."
Mr Romer said: "He is a successful local business based in Gloucester.
He is well known throughout the county and has very good connections throughout society. He claims to have been abducted by tall grey
figures who have subjected him over a number of years to physical
examinations which have sexual overtones. Trained psychiatrists who have spoken to him say this certainly has some root with a real event.
We also have a lady from Gloucester who claims she was taken into a flying saucer and sexually examined. And a couple from the south of the county say they saw an alien spacecraft as they were driving along and cannot remember what happened for the next two hours. All these stories are very consistant in their detail. We have been working with respected academics to see what is going on."
The meeting will take place at the St George Hotel in St George's
Road, from 7.30pm.
"From: Andover Advertiser newspaper.
Date: 30th June 1995.
EDITOR'S ASIAN TV ROLE
Andover Avertiser, Ken Dykes, is finding a new role as a media star.
He has already appeared several times on Andover's Town TV programmes, highlighting the local scene, but will now appear on screens in Asia.
Crop circle expert, Colin Andrews, now living in America, has returned to Andover, his former home town, to start eight weeks of strenuos
investigation of the phenomenon.
For several weeks he is being accompanied by a camera crew from the World College of Journalism sited in Taiwan, along with Professor
Hoang Yung Chiang, chairman of the Taiwan UFO Science Association.
Because of the journalistic connection, Colin Andress asked for an
interview with Ken Dykes, especially as the Editor had expressed some scepticism in a leader column over who creates the crop circles.
Also taking part in the interview was Reg Presley, lead singer of the famous rock group, The Troggs. Reg has been following Colin Andrews investigations for several years and is a confirmed believer.
There is a massive amount of 'evidence' the year for the
investigators. Circles have appeared locally and Colin Andrews feels developments, also involving the head of The Mars Mission, NASA
consultant Richard Hoagland who is in this country with him, could
make this a 'make or break year' for unlocking the mystery.
In England Andrews is lecturing at Harwell Atomic Research
Establishment next month, in New York in November and in Japan a huge UFO and space museum is opening in a years time. The Andover
Advertiser reporting of five circles appearing at Longstock in 1985 will be featured.
Ken Dykes is pictured welcoming Colin Andrews, Reg Presley and the
film crew to the Advertiser newsroom.
"From: Cornishman newspaper Penzance
Date: 22nd June 1995
UFO SPOTTING GROUPS
From: Arthur Straffon, 51 Carn Bosavern, St Just.
Sir - I read about the Penwith Psychic Research Group in the
Cornishman of 15th June.
While it is always good to see the growing interest in the subject, your readers might like to know that for those interested in UFOs
there is already a Penwith UFO Research Group in existance which meets on the first Sunday afternoon of every month at the Acorn and has
regular skywatches throughout the area, and for those interested in unusual phenomena at ancient sites the Cornish Earth Mysteries Group has been in existance for the last five years and meets regularly at the Acorn every month in the winter, with monthly site visits and
investigations in the summer.
Both groups welcome any interested people, including those from the newly formed Penwith Psychic Group!
If anyone would like more details, please contact me at the address above, or phone Pz 787612.
"From: Evening Sentinel newspaper Stoke-on-Trent
Date: 10th July 1995
WAS IT AN ORB, WAS IT A PLANE?
Two friends watched in amazement as a bright red light flashed across the sky in front of them.
The 'orb-shaped' UFO had been hovering low above the ground when it suddenly shot off.
"It moved so fast," said eye witness Lee Oakes, 20, of Weldon Avenue, Weston Coyney.
Travelled...
He was walking with his friend, Mark Hollinshead, also 20, of Bath
Street, London, late at night through Caverswall.
Lee said: "I thought at first it was a plane, but it moved so fast, it must have travelled three miles in a second. It did not make a sound."
Within minutes three military type jets shot across the sky as if in pursuit.
His friend, Mark, said: "I could see a flash of red and then green
lights. Whatever it was moved really fast."
Eric Morris, director of the British UFO Studies Centre based at
WInsford, said other almost identical sightings had been reported in Nottingham, Wales and Chester.
"We have had several similar incidents when it has been reported that military jets appeared to be pursuing some sort of craft."
He said he had heard the Government may be carrying out secret tests on an experimental craft which has also been undergoing trials in
Arizona in America.
Mystery...
"We do not really know what they are. It is a mystery," said Mr
Morris, who will give a talk on Wednesday on UFOs to members of the Green Dragon Mysteries Society in Leek at 7.30pm at the Swan pub in St Edward Street.
"From: The Times newspaper Interface section.
Date: November 8th, 1995.
THE MAN WHO WOULD MASTER THE UNIVERSE
The next few days will be the most nerve-wracking of Martin Kessler's life. As Project Scientist for the European Space Agency's latest
venture into space, he has spent the last ten years of his life as
part of a team devising and perfecting one of the most extensive and finely timed scientific explorations or our age.
On Friday at 11pm local time, Kessler, 41, will watch in the stifling heat of French Guiana as an Ariane rocket blasts off from the Kourou space centre. Tucked into the fairing of its third stage is what
Kesslerdescribes as the "Swiss Army Knife" of satellites - the
Infra-red Space Observatory. Packed with instruments capable of
peering into the darkest, coldest depths of space, it will execute
thousands of tasks, fulfilling the dreams of hundreds of scientists from Europe, America and Japan.
Back home, the tension will be shared by his wife Marie - one of the many astronomers who have designed projects for ISO - and their son Christopher, 6. "He is excited," says Kessler. "He spends all his time drawing rockets. But his only comment is 'Daddy, be home early
tonight'!"
Not much chance of that for some time. After the launch, Kessler will return to the agency's ground station at Villafranca, west of Madrid, where he will spend at least the next 18 months monitoring the
satellite's progress - particularly the data and images that will show space in a new light.
"People are used to seeing the universe in visable light," said
Kessler. "ISO will be working at longer wavelengths, looking at cool objects - the dark, hidden universe."
Somewhere in the stream of information eagerly awaited by the
scientific world may be found evidence to support or destroy entire theories about the creation of stars, planets and galaxies. In his
wildest dreams, Kessler hopes even to find definitive evidence of
other solar systems.
Astronomers have queued around the block to take advantage of ISO's unique capabilities: more than 1,000 put forward 60,000 separate
observations to be carried out during the mission - four times more than could be accommodated. ISO's lifespan is limited to between 18 months and two years by the very technology that will open our eyes for the first time to some of the deeper mysteries of space -
cryogenic cooling by evaporation of 2,000 litres of liquid helium.
>From Earth, there is a limit to what can be seen by even the most
powerful telescopes - only a very narrow range of wavelengths gets
through the atmosphere. Another problem on Earth is sensitivity:
infra-red telescopes are looking for cold objects, and the heat
emitted by equipment is enough to ruin the picture. That's why ISO's telescope has to be kept cool.
"It's basically a giant Thermos flask," said Kessler. "We use it for keeping things cold, but if you were to fill ISO's helium tank with piping hot coffee it would take five or six years to to cool to
drinkable temperature."
He has another analogy to describe the hopelessness of peering into space from Earth in the infra-red spectrum: "It's similar to forcing an optical astronomer to work in broad daylight, using a luminous
telescope filled with disco lighting."
The 700 million pound ISO mission is building on the work carried out ten years ago by the IRAS satellite, a joint US, Dutch and British
venture. Whereas that had a lifespan of only ten months and captured primarily a general view of space in the infra-red spectrum. ISO could last as long as two years and has a long list of specific targets.
Each day's programme will be finalised three or four days in advance and computers will execute it, using guide stars to make sure ISO is pointing in the right direction. For around 20 hours a day,
information will stream down to one of two ground stations -
Villafranca and Goldstone in California. The information will, for the first time in such research, be pressed into unique CD-roms, each
containing an individual scientist's data. The legacy of IRAS is an infra-red map of the entire sky that left astronomers hungry for more knowledge. "Most people are familiar with the constellation Orion. If you look at that, in between the stars it is just black. On the IRAS map there are huge explosions and implosions going on, triggering a new generation of stars."
ISO will peer into unexplored regions of the universe, examining cold objects in great detail - be they very old or very young stars,
distant galaxies, or even planets. "The sensitivity of the telescope is always difficult to understand. If you take a one-inch ice cube
from the fridge, ISO would easily detect its heat radiation from a
distance of more than 100km."
This sensitivity will be used to test various theories about how the planets were formed. One of the key indicators is thought to be the proportions of hydrogen (which must come first) and heavy hydrogen - deuterium. ISO will focus on the atmospheres of the giant planets - Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. "For the first time we will be able to
measure the ratio of hydrogen to deuterium in such detail that it will enable us to rule out some of the possibilities."
Another subject of ISO's gaze will be Titan, one of the larger moons of Saturn. Its methane-based atmosphere is thought to have
similarities to the Earth's before the evolution of life.
Further out, ISO will examine the secrets of the comet belts, thought to be material left over from the formation of the solar system, to learn more about the formation of that system. ISO will also probe the stellar nurseries concealed in the dense clouds of gas and dust, to learn more about how stars form.
The search for other solar systems is one of the main preoccupations of the mission, which has scheduled about 200 hours for this purpose alone. "Theories of how our solar system formed would easily allow for there to be many others in the galaxy. It is one of our major goals;
from IRAS onwards there has been increasing evidence of other solar systems. With ISO we hope to find the smoking gun," says Kessler.
Far, far away from home, ISO will be taking a peek into the hearts of other galaxies, and the perculiar objects, the so-called
ultra-luminous galaxies, that appear to have huge amounts of energy in the infra-red region - possibly huge black holes gobling up stars.
Looking backwards in time, ISO will be making deep surveys to search for young galaxies in the process of forming. Man has surveyed space pretty thoroughly, but the picture at infra-red wavelengths remains sketchy. ISO will fill in the details: "To understand what is
happening in the universe, you need to look at it with the widest
possible range of wavelengths and the most sensitivity. ISO will bring us a multitude of new information on the formation and evolution of planets, stars and galaxies, but one of the most exciting things about ISO is what it is going to bring us that we can't anticipate. We just hope for surprises."
On Friday, Kessler will watch as the fruits of the past ten years of his life shudder heavenwards at the top of the tried and tested Ariane
4 rocket. "It will be extremely nerve-wracking," says Kessler. I think the worst time will be the minutes after liftoff, when it is climbing through the atmosphere, and ten days later when the cryostat cover is removed and the telescope opens its eyes for the first time. We have done many predictions and tests, but the proof of the pudding will be up there in space."
[The progress of the mission can be followed on the Internet, via one of ESA's home pages http://www.estec.esa.nl]
"Dave.
UNITED KINGDOM UFO MAILING LIST
ufo@holodeck.demon.co.uk
The groups WWW page has now closed.
I am hoping to have a new up to date
WWW site starting within the next
couple of months.
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