RESEARCH DIGEST

ISSUE 37 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1993

Compiled by Keith Basterfield
UFO RESEARCH AUSTRALIA
PO BOX 2435, CAIRNS,
QUEENSLAND 4870

(C) COPYRIGHT 1993 - UFORA


CASES FROM THE NETWORK

ORANGE LIGHTS CONTINUE!

Several past issues ofthe Research Digest have recorded the increased number of reported observations of orange lights, or clusters of orange lights. These observations have been very evident in Sydney, and Perth; and have also been reported to a lesser degree in Adelaide and Tasmania I have therefore brought together, below, another collection, as reported by the Network

UFORA93092 TA93048 29 May 1993 Launceston TAS 0100hrs Low Level B S3/P4
Two witnesses noted two orange lights moving in unison from the north The witnesses moved to a local look-out and watched the lights pass over the city centre in complete silence. The weather at the time was overcast withdoudbetween400-700m. Asthe lights moved south, the witnesses followed them for several kilometres in their car. Eventually the lights just moved up into fog. No aircraft were in the area.
(TUFOIC)

UFORA93075 S Jun 1993 Thornlie WA 2300hrs Med Level B S3/P4
A group of people sighted an orange light travelling from east to west at a fairly quickpace. It crossedthe face ofthe full Moon while they watched. It was like a rotating 44 gallon drum in shape with an antenna-like structure on front. They estimated its heighttobe 600m. No sound was heard.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93084 11 Jul 1993 Broome WA 2350hrs Low/IFO Level B S2/P4
Three people watched abright, star-like object travel from north-east to north west. The light was orange and pulsed from bright to dull. It travelled in an undulating fashion.
(John Kernott / UFORUM)

UFORA93090 22 Aug 1993 Keperra QLD (1900-2000hrs) Low Level B S3/P4
Standing at the front of her property, a woman was facing west, when she suddenly saw three bright red lights in an “L” formafion. They were orange/red and appeared to be at a high allitude. There weretwo lights at the bottom with a third light on the left hand side. Stationary for 10 minutes they then drifted away slowly to the left and gradually disappeared. Checking with the weather bureau, AMF and RAAF, the observatory, TV stations and SES, plus Civil Aviation revealed no causes forthe lights.
(Mick Stott/UFOIN Inc)

UFORA93082 28 Aug 1993 Chidlow WA Low Level B S3/P4
Three people facing north-east on a clear night spotted two lights. They were orange-yellow in colour, one travelling behind the other from west to east. The rear light stopped for a few moments then accelerated towards the first one, before stopping again. These manoeuvres continued for some 15 minutes before the lights were lost due to distance.
(Brain Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93087 2 Sep 1993 Adelaide SA 1950hrs Low Level B S3/P4
An amateur astronomer saw an unusual object appear at about 20-25 degrees south-west, travelled almost over- head and was lost to view at about 20-25 degrees in the north-eastern sky. Total durationwas 1 1/2 minutes. The object was actually a cluster, some 1/2 degree across, of 5 objects. A central one and four others which moved about it, as it travelled across the sky in a straight line.

The colour of the 5 objects was yellow/orange. There was no sound, trail or tail. However, there did seestobeahaze around it. It was of constant luminosity and appeared to be emitting its own light. There was scattered light cloud at 1000m, and the objects passed behind these clouds. Each of the five objects had a circular shape, and was larger than a point source. Adelaide radar reported noth- ing and the local Adelaide Advertiser also reported no other sightings. The reporter advised he has witnessed satellite re-entries and that this was not one. His wife, called out to observe it, also saw the last 30 seconds of the event
(Keith BasterfieldJ

OTHER REPORTS

UFORA9073 1 Jun 1993 Myaree WA 0010hrs CE2 Level B S3/P4
A computer technician was driving when he suddenly noticed moving green, red and blue lights shaped like an inverted bunsen burner. After dropping behind some trees, the object rose and headed towards him. At this point the car’s engine died. The man got out of his car and telephoned friends to tell them what had happened. He said that a plane vas following the object. After some 12 minutes the object left to the south-east and the plane also left.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93074 2 Jun 1993 Karratha WA 2010hrs Low Level B S3/P3
A man reported sighting a bright, white light, travelling west to south-east at 30-40 degrees elevation. At the end of its course it seemed to drop vertically downwards.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93076 7Junl993 Rivervale WA 1800hrs Low Level B S3/P4
A policeman and his son saw two very bright lights in the sky, at 45 degrees in the north-west. The lights appeared stationary, and there appeared to be two light planes circling them, with a third aircraft some distance away. A possible cause is aircraft landing.
(Brian Richards/ UFORUM)

UFORA93077 19 Aug 1993 Perth WA 1855hrs Low Level A S3/P4
On a clear, dark night a woman travelling by car saw a formation of three lights close together, no more than one block away from her.- There was a slight high pitched alternating resonant hum audible. Sight of the object was eventually lost due to puildings and trees.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93078 23 Aug 1993 Mullaloo WA 2300hrs Med Level B S3/P4
A large triangular shaped object, with a pinkish glow, was seen by a woman, moving slowly above her at 45 degrees.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93079 24 Aug 1993 Wilson WA 2030hrs Low Level B S3/P4
While hanging out her washing, a woman saw in the north east, abluelightwhichtravellednorth-eastto south in about 8 seconds. It was lost to sight behind trees, but when it emerged it was white in colour. A roar like a jet was heard.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM.)

UFORA93080 26 Aug 1993 Willagee WA 2310hrs Low Level B S31P4
Three white lights, slightlyfuzzy, were seen movingfrom east to south-west. They were in a triangular formation led by one light. The two rear lights kept separating and then coming back to their original positions. Total time 8 seconds. No sound was heard.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93081 28 Aug 1993 Doubleview WA 1917hrs Low/IFO Level B S2/P4
A father and daughter were facing north-north-east in a vehicle when a greenish-white object with a tail shot from north to south, split into three pieces and disappeared Probably a meteor.
(Brian Richards/UFORUM)

UFORA93083 26 May 1993 Broome WA 1930hrs Low/IFO Level C S2 / P4
An amateur astronomer saw three lights in a triangular arrangement travelling in the same direction. They were visible only through a telescope view-finder. After 20-30 seconds they were lost near Iota Centauris. Satellites?
(John Kernott/UFORUM)

UFORA93085 1987 KununurraWA 1830hrs Med Level C S3/P4
Whilst a group of people were delivering a building kit to an Aboriginal community they saw what looked like a bus in the desert with rows of lights. They took’some photos of the object. 30km further on they saw a large, domed object. They took more photos.
(John Kernott/UFORUM)

UFORA93086 11 Jul 1993 1830hrs Broome/Kimberley area Low/IFO Level C S21P4
Dozens of people described seeing a burning, bright, green ball of light hurtle through the skies towards the eastern horizon. It was probably a meteor.
(John Kernott/UFORUM)

UFORA93088 26 Apr 1993 Goomeri QLD 0425hrs Low Level B S3/P4
A 39 year old man was driving a truck, with two passen- gers aboard. The load was 3 tons of steel and metallic objects. He sighted abrighblight over Goomeri. The light proceeded to follow his vehicle. After 10 minutes he stopped and noted the light also stopped, hovering some 100m away, 45 degrees up. The group shone a torch at it and it retreated.

Moving on, the lightpassed them some 100-200m away, following the ,contours of the road. Some 10-15 minutes later they stopped again, so did the light They shone the torch at it and it seemed to loop over a cloud. Off they went. onlv to stoD a third time at 5 a.m. with the obiect 200m in front of them. No noise had been heard from the object during all this time. By 5.25 a.m. it had gone out of view high in the sky. However, 5 minutes later it returned for a final time to pace them for a while.
(Helen Chapman/UFOIN IncJ

UFORA93089 29 Jun 1993 Lutwyche QLD 0450hrs Low Level B S3/P4
Woken by the need for a drink, a man noticed a white Wstar” at 45-55 degrees east-south-east He got up to loek further and in fact used a pair of 7 X 35 binoculars to view it It was moving south and was last seen at 10-15 degrees above the southern horizon. He went back to bed. Neither the Police or Met Bureau reported other sightings.
(Helen Chapman/UFOIN Inc)

UFORA93091 TA93042 10 May 1993 Bicheno TAS 1845hrs Low Level B S31P4
A witness was taking tourists to see penguins on a local beach A bright light was seen moving low over the sea to the east. It curved up, then spiralled downbefore perform- ing a figure of eight movement. It then moved back and forth before being lost to view.
(TUFOIC)

NEW SOUTH WALES UPDATE

Bill Chalker, UFOIC Sydney, has forwarded a copy of that group’s reports log for Jan early July 1993. There were 103 reports during that time.

Forty five out of these were of orange lights. Readers will recall that Sydney has been experiencing an outburst of these orange lights, for about a year now.

Twenty two were classed as “interesting” events, with 13 being potential CE4-abduction-events. Bill advises these more interesting cases are being followed up and promises to forward details for the Digest in due course.

RESEARCH NOTES

1. ABDUCTION RESEARCH

A recent edition of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology carried an article by Dr Nicholas Spanos of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. The article reported on a battery of psychological tests which had been given to 49 people who had either obsened or claimed to have been onboard a UFO. Their results were compared to a control sample of 127 non-UFO reporters. Items examined were intelligence, imagination, paranormal beliefs and mental health. The results indicated that the reporters were no different from the control group in intelligence, in ten- dency to fantasize or in suggestibility. The only signifi- cant difference found was that the reporters were more likely to have had a previously established belief in the existence of UFOs.

2. FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME

A hot topic of discussion at the moment in abduction research is the relevance of False Memory Syndrome (FMS) to our research FMS is where supposedly long repressed memories of childhood abuse emerge which in fact are not real.

The usual scenario for FMS is that a person goes for treatment to a therapist. It could be a marriage problem, or a psychological disorder. During the sessions, memo- ries come to light which were not consciously previously recalled. The therapist and the patient come to believe that the patient has retrieved memories which were suppressed in some way, due to trauma. These memories are of abuse at the hands, of say, a family member. The patient goes on to sue/have police charge the individual family member for sexual etc abuse.

In some instances,on the stories which have emerged in children, childcare centre staff have been jailed for sexual abuse.

The problem with this is that in certain cases the recov- ered memories of events involving other than the patient, can be shown to have never happened. The memories have in fact, in some way, been generated by the patient and the therapist.

3. EXPLODING HEAD SYNDROME

A rather bizarre phenomenon has been recently scientifi- cally documented. It seems that some abductees have been reporting hearing load noises which seem to have no identifiable causes.

However, now the medical literature has identified the same sorts of noises occurring to non-abductees. The noises are nocturnal and usually occur in the hypnagogic/ hypnopompic areas, i.e. when on the boundary between sleep and wakefulness. It is described as a tremendous roar or bang, but is not associated with any pain It can also be reported as a thunderclap or an explosion. There may be an associated flash of light. One individual was connected to an EEG machine when one of these episodes occurred and it was recorded on the EEG.

The exact cause is not known

For further details consult:

• Pearce, J. M. (1989.) “Clinical Features ofthe Exploding Head Syndrome. n J. of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 52.907-910.

• McOurie, R (1993.) “Richter Scale-Like Readings Reveal Reality of Exploding Head Syndrome.” Medical Pact 17/R/9t

• Pearce, J. M. (1988.) “Exploding Head Syndrome.” Lancet Jul 30. 2(8605): 270-1.

• Sachs, C. & Svanborg, E. (1991.) “The Exploding Head Sydnrome:Polysomnographic Recording & Therapeutic Suggestions.” Sleep 14(3):263-266.

4. ABDUCTION “MARKS”

Some abductees report transient “rashes” or other marks on their bodies which they associate with aMuction experiences. Some researchers have suggested a psycho- somatic explanations for these, i.e. they are internally generated by the human mind. Others argue that they have been made bs aliens during an aMuction.

It has long been known, but not medically accepted, that there have been instances of the mysterious appearance of marks on stigmata, on human non-abductees. Circular wounds seemingly just appear and commence to bleed. Issue 71 of the UK Magazine NFortean Times.” report of a woman in the UK, Heather Wood, who this year was filmed by a TV crew. On film they captured the stigmata forming. Round marks appeared on her body and in the course of a day became moist and then bled

This documented instance may well lead to an under- standing of the cause of these instances and perhaps also throw some light on abduction marks.

5. ASTEROID DATA

One of the issues frequently raised by sceptics is if UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft, why don’t astronomers pick them up? The debate refreshed itself in my mind, when I recently read that in May of this year, a 10m diameter asteroid was picked up on photographs only some 144,000km from Earth, closer than the Moon.

If we can pick up a body ofthis size at this distance, why have no alien ships been detected in this way. Does it mean, as Budd Hopkins has written, that UFOs can make themselves inyisible? Or, as Jacques Vallee has often asked, that the phenomenon is interdimensional and they do not need to pass through open space to reach us?

NEW BOOKS

Turner, Karla. (1992.) “Into the Fringe.” BerkeleyBooks. New York Paperback 242pp.

Karla and her husband, a computer consultant were secure, but both had developed physical symptoms of stress for no apparent reason. Exploration led them to MUFON and then to regression hypnosis sessions. Fol- lowing these they embarked on a discovery tour of abduc- tion literature and their own freshly recalled experiences. Their son David, and his girlfriend became embroiled in the adventure. Physical marks of unknown origin turned up on the bodies of family members.

This work is a most welcome addition to the few books so far written by aMuctees firsthand. It details the uncover- ing and exploration of a series of abductions, and provides some insight intothe effects on the individuals concerned.

Fowler, Raymond. (1993.) “The Allagash Abductions.” Wild Flower Press, PO Box 230893, Tigard, Oregon 97281, USA. Paperback. 347pp.

In the tradition of his earlier works, Fowler brings us his investigation into four men, Jack, Jim, Chuckand Charlie who uncover a joint abduction whilst on a camping trip in 1976. All four recall a typical abduction scenario under regression. Two of the men find they have scoop marks on their bodies. This is another well researched book by Fowler. An excellent investigation into an illuminating multiple abduction.

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