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From: Jerry Cohen <rjcohen@li.net>
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 1997 19:19:15 -0500
Fwd Date: Wed, 05 Feb 1997 22:11:55 -0500
Subject: Oberg/Cooper rebuttal.2
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Oberg/Cooper rebuttal.2
continued from 1b
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A researcher's response to James Oberg's:=20
"IN SEARCH OF GORDON COOPER'S UFOs"
by Jerry Cohen
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At this point I'm going to present what I believe qualifies as a=20
tantalizing, solid piece of "documented evidence." It certainly=20
qualifies as data. I think it will give us all something to think=20
about in the background as we journey through my next six essays. =20
I am fairly certain it has a connection to Cooper's Edward's AFB=20
claim even though it (the incident in the articles below) occurred=20
approximately three years later.
We will eventually discover, if Mr. Oberg's date is correct, this=20
episode has an apparent connection with a similar incident which=20
occurred in 1957, approximately six months *after* the Edward's=20
claimed event. [Oberg =B6 46 When I called John ("Jack") Gettys,=20
one of the witnesses, he sent me a file of material on the=20
sighting, which had occurred on May 3, 1957.]
The following articles, occurring 18 years prior to our=20
aforementioned UN discussion on UFOs, were reported quite=20
accurately in the media and apparently gave scientists "pause for=20
thought." They are reprints from two Long Island, NY newspapers. =20
I had cut them out of the papers as a teenager expecting to=20
eventually find some rational answer. I never did.
I gave this incident the name, "SKY THING (occurred 1960),"=20
derived from Bob Caro's title, when I posted it on alt.paranet.ufo=20
earlier this year. No one having any explanation replied to the=20
post at that time, so I thought I'd try it here in this forum. =20
Perhaps I had missed someone's posted answer.
(Readers can check the articles for accuracy by going to your=20
libraries and examining microfilms on same. Some of you in various=20
parts of the world may have supporting articles of your own. If=20
you do, please let me know. I believe you will be contributing to=20
something really important here.)
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SKY THING (occurred 1960)
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Newsday 8/31/60 & 9/1/60
Long Island Press 9/1/60
[Brackets] and interior CAPITAL LETTERS are mine.
* * *
Article #1: 8/31/60 THEY WONDER WHAT'S UP (Newsday)
Chicago (AP) New sightings of a mysterious unidentified object=20
circling the earth were reported yesterday.
Data concerning the object was being compiled by Robert L.=20
Johnson, director of Chicago's Adler Planetarium, who sighted the=20
object for the first time Friday with two assistants. Johnson=20
said he had received reports of sightings Saturday and Sunday=20
nights from Georgetown University observatory, Washington, and=20
semi-official space associations. Amateur astronomers from coast=20
to coast and from Michigan to Missouri have reported seeing the=20
object, Johnson added.
He said [ "the object appears to be 1/10 the size of the Echo I=20
balloon satellite and traveling about twice as fast. It isn't an=20
artificial satellite or a meteor" he asserted. ]
* * *
Article #2: 9/1/60 EXPERTS CLOUDY ON IDENTITY OF SKY THING=20
(Newsday)
By: Bob Caro
It's not a satellite and it's not a meteor. Any astronomer can=20
tell you that. And he can tell you its color and, to some extent,=20
its speed.
[There's just one thing he can't tell you - what it is. He can't=20
even guess.]
That's the status at the moment of the "week-long nationwide=20
attempt to identify the mysterious REDDISH object that has been=20
circling the earth since last Thursday." Astronomers all over the=20
country admit that they're puzzled. One, Frank Judson of=20
Chicago's famed Adler Planetarium says "I've been watching it for=20
days and I don't have the faintest idea what it
is."
Even taking a picture of the object hasn't helped. [ The Grumman=20
Aircraft Engineering Corp. announced yesterday that a tracking=20
camera at the Bethpage plant had photographed the object at 8:51=20
PM last Thursday. But, a Grumman spokesman added, "all the=20
picture shows is a white line, so we still can't even begin to=20
make an identification." ] The white line, difficult to detect,=20
was barely visible even after the photo was enlarged.
Expert observers and just plain citizens have been catching=20
glimpses of the mysterious object in Long Island, Chicago,=20
Washington, Boston, New Haven, Chicago and points west. But the=20
few conclusions that they are able to draw about its behavior only=20
heightens the mystery of what it is.
Judson, who has been studying the object in conjunction with=20
Robert L. Johnson, director of the Adler Planetarium sums up the=20
conclusions about the thing this way: "" "It's not a meteor=20
because it's much too slow. And it's not an artificial man-made=20
satellite, of that we're certain. THE OBJECT TRAVELS FROM EAST TO=20
WEST...EVERY ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE EVER PUT UP HAS TRAVELED FROM=20
WEST TO EAST. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY IN WHICH THEY CAN TAKE=20
ADVANTAGE OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION.""
" 'THE OBJECT,' JUDSON SAID, 'DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO=20
MAINTAIN A REGULAR SCHEDULE, LIKE ANY OTHER HEAVENLY OR MAN MADE=20
OBJECT HE'S EVER SEEN.' 'WE DON'T KNOW WHEN TO WATCH FOR IT.' he=20
says." It appears some nights, and some nights it doesn't. =20
Usually it appears at about the time (the) Echo I (balloon=20
satellite) does going in the opposite direction and about twice as=20
fast.
What could it possibly be: "Between you and me, I just don't=20
know," Judson said. Then he was asked an inevitable question: =20
"No," he replied, "Definitely not, I do not believe in flying=20
saucers."
* * *
Article #3: 9/1/60 GRUMMAN FILMS MYSTERY SPHERE (L.I. Press)
A mysterious REDDISH object circling the earth has been=20
photographed by a tracking camera of the Grumman Aviation=20
Engineering Corp., in Bethpage, it was disclosed today.
Grumman said the photograph was taken by a special tracking crew=20
which has been on watch.
[ The flying object appears to be about a tenth the size of the=20
Echo I balloon satellite and traveling about twice as fast. =20
Sightings from amateur astronomers and others have been received=20
from throughout the United States.
Robert L. Johnson, director of Chicago's Adler Planetarium, is=20
compiling data on the object. He says it doesn't appear to be an=20
artificial satellite or a meteor. ]
[ An added touch of the unusual is the east to west trajectory of=20
the object. Satellites launched by the United States and the=20
Soviet Union have followed the opposite trajectory, west to east,=20
to take advantage of extra speed provided by the earth's rotation.]
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<*>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
J.C. Again, I respectfully ask : After all these years, does=20
anyone have a reasonable explanation that the majority of us can=20
accept as to what this was? If you give an answer, perhaps we=20
can have other astronomers, aeronautic specialists, etc. comment=20
on same.
My own thoughts were: Captured meteorite? Doesn't it have to=20
come in at an angle and flow with the earth's rotation so the=20
earth's gravity can grab and hold it? I distinctly remember=20
newscasters and scientists talking at that time about how we were=20
necessarily using the earth's rotation as a slingshot to shoot=20
things out of our gravitational field to keep the weight down in=20
the rockets which had definite limits as to the weight they could=20
lift out of our gravitational field. I believe "payload" is still=20
a major consideration, even today. A side lobe? If it was, the=20
echo satellite must have had a rocket-propelled, detachable skin. =20
The description given by the tracking stations does not seem to=20
fit the definition Mr. Oberg gave regarding same. Some kind of=20
atmospheric reflection? (not much atmosphere up there by the=20
satellites and nothing to reflect off) Secret military device? =20
We were using our best equipment to get our satellites into orbit,=20
competing with the Russians....and, if it was some sort of secret=20
military device put into orbit going almost twice as fast in the=20
opposite direction of the Echo satellite, then why didn't it keep=20
a regular schedule? It was clearly stated the object did not keep=20
a regular schedule and was going the WRONG WAY, twice as fast. =20
And it was an object, not just an electronic reflection because=20
... they took pictures of it.
It seemed impossible but.......the documented record shows it was=20
photographed and analyzed by the aforementioned minimum of three=20
tracking stations: Adler Planetarium, Grumman Aviation Engineering=20
Corporation (famous for building the lunar module and various=20
types of military hardware), and Georgetown University=20
observatory, Washington D.C. If one were to consult newspapers=20
from other parts of the country around the dates in question, one=20
might possibly find other tracking stations that observed this as=20
well. Perhaps others reading this might supply this too.
Now, when it comes to reprints of stories that add details without=20
substantiation, I am as suspicious as the next person. But...when=20
three major tracking facilities report something of this sort, if=20
someone doesn't have a really good answer as to what it was after=20
all this time (35 years later), I would say that it definitely=20
qualifies as documentation of a verified UFO, just outside our=20
atmosphere. Granted, this alone does not prove what UFOs=20
are....only that they certainly exist and we have, at the very=20
least, seen and photographed them. If still unsolved today, it is=20
one of a growing number of pieces of evidence which must be=20
considered in the total picture.
Additionally, in =B6 24 & 25 Dr. Oberg states:
Oberg =B6 24: By 1967, Frank Edwards gave these details of=20
the event (in Flying Saucers -- Here and Now!, Lyle Stuart, New=20
York). To the question, "Who was the first astronaut to see a UFO=20
in orbit?", Edwards responded: "On the record it was Major Gordon=20
Cooper, over Muchea Tracking Station near Perth Australia, on his=20
final orbit of Earth on a night in May of 1963. The object which=20
approached him was also seen by the two hundred persons at the=20
tracking station. It was reported twice on the NBC radio network=20
before Cooper had been picked up by the rescue craft. He was not=20
permitted to comment on it."
Oberg =B6 25: Other details appeared in Is Something Up=20
There (Dale White, Scholastic Book Services, Doubleday, 1968):=20
"The astronaut radioed the tracking station that he had sighted a=20
greenish object moving east to west. This is contrary to the=20
orbits taken by man-made satellites. Nearly one hundred persons,=20
some of them technicians, saw the UFO appear on the Australian=20
radar."
Even if the above statement was "story-built" the above "SKY=20
THING" articles prove there was a legitimate reason for one to=20
assume, rightly or wrongly, that the story reported was true. As=20
I said, I was amazed to discover later, the above "SKY THING" case=20
was preceded by a similar incident that happened in 1957. I'll=20
detail both this and how I found it as a finale to everything else=20
I will be presenting. It should suffice to say at this time that=20
Dr. Hynek had been in charge of satellite tracking for the=20
Smithsonian and probably was aware of those tracked events=20
previously mentioned. Combining those events with anomalies=20
scientists had observed in the Baker Nunn network (I'll present=20
this next), information he already had from Blue Book cases, and=20
the fact that an object had actually been photographed, it would=20
have been a logical assumption on his part that the accounts=20
regarding Cooper were probably accurate. Therefore, this=20
indicates, at least to me, that any mistake on Hynek's part was=20
most likely *not* premeditated.
I'll give everyone some time to ponder this, go to the library &=20
check out the articles I presented and also perhaps come up with a=20
plausible solution to "SKYTHING (occurred 1960)", before I focus=20
on Dr. Hynek's career, proof of the Baker-Nunn anomalies, and=20
Hynek's significance to our accumulated knowledge concerning UFOs=20
and what the Air Force most certainly knows about them.
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End: Oberg/Cooper rebuttal.2
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SKYTHING (occurred 1960)
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Respectfully submitted,
Jerry Cohen
E-mail: rjcohen@li.net
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