From: Masinaigan <Masinaigan@aol.com> [Joseph Trainor]
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 12:44:22 EDT
Fwd Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 02:31:19 -0400
Subject: UFO ROUNDUP, Volume 3, Number 21
UFO ROUNDUP
Volume 3, Number 21
May 24, 1998
Editor: Joseph Trainor
SATELLITE FAILURE CAUSES
COMMUNICATIONS CHAOS
On Tuesday, May 19, 1998, at 6 p.m., the
satellite Galaxy IV suffered a failure in its onboard
control system. The backup switch also failed,
and the $250 million satellite rotated out of
position, completely disrupting communications
here on Earth.
Owned by PanAmSat, Galaxy IV was launched
in June 1993. It is positioned in a geosynchronous
orbit 22,000 miles above Kansas.
USA Today called the incident "the biggest
telecommunications failure in recent years," adding
that the breakdown "wiped out pager traffic, halted
credit card transactions and knocked TV and radio
stations off the air."
Pager service to 45 million customers was lost
when Galaxy IV rotated out of position. "Personal
pagers use less than one percent of the capacity of
the Galaxy IV satellite...The satellite's primary users
are broadcast and cable TV companies and big
telecommunications companies."
"Galaxy IV remains in orbit but is no longer
pointed at its target on Earth. PanAmSat, which
is 81 percent-owned by Hughes Electronics, says
an onboard navigational computer and its backup
failed. It can't explain why."
As of Friday, May 22, 1998, "PanAmSat still
doesn't know why Galaxy IV's spin controller and
backup failed. The satellite is beyond repair."
All 600 stations of the USA's National Public
Radio were knocked off the air when Galaxy IV
went haywire. They were served by the two channels
of NPR Satellite Service routed through Galaxy IV.
Other affected radio broadcasters included
KOA-AM in Denver, Colorado, KSJN-FM Minnesota
Public Radio in Minneapolis, Chicago White Sox radio,
KIRO-AM in Seattle, Washington, KEX-AM Trail
Blazers Radio Network in Portland, Oregon, KGIL-AM
in Los Angeles and all four channels of World Harvest
Radio International WHRI-SW short wave.
Television broadcasters affected included the
WB, UPN and CBS networks, Reuters TV, Motor
Racing Network, CNN Airport Channel, the Chinese
Television Network in Hong Kong and Soldiers
Satellite Network, the USA armed forces entertainment
network.
Private business TV stations such as Aetna,
Microsoft, 3M and the Ford Motor Company's Fordstar
service were also knocked out, as were the Ohio,
Minnesota and Texas state lotteries.
"Fred Landman, CEO of PanAmSat, knew he had
trouble when one of his company's 17 satellites failed
just after 6 p.m. Tuesday...About 90 direct customers
of PanAmSat use Galaxy IV, so Landman was shocked
when he learned 100 calls from the media had come in
by 3 a.m. Wednesday. 'That was the biggest surprise,'
he recalls."
PanAmSat is currently retargeting and shifting
customer traffic to other satellites in orbit.
"We expect that within one week of the occurrence
that virtually all service will be up in force," Landman
said. (See USA Today for May 21, 1998, "Satellite's
death puts millions out of touch," pages 1-B and 3-B.
Also for May 22, 1998, "Satellite emergency a lesson
in spin control," page 2-B. For more on strange events
in the USA's heartland on May 19, the day of Galaxy IV's
failure, see the related stories in this issue.)
(Editor's Comment: If you were on a cell phone at 6 p.m.
when Galaxy IV performed its unauthorized rotation
maneuver, your voice message is now on its way to
Alkaid, also known as Eta Ursa Majoris, and should
arrive there in 2108, about 110 years from now.)
FOUR UFOs SIGHTED OVER
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA
On Tuesday, May 19, 1998, just after 1 a.m.,
ufologist Lynn H. Taylor was just outside his home
in Bloomington, Indiana (population 60,633), checking
out his videocamera, when he heard "the barking of
excited dogs in the neighborhood, as well as the
bellowing of unseen cattle in the area."
"I had almost reached my house when I had to look
back," he reported. "There was something there, all
right. I could barely make it out. It was so low as it
moved northward, just above the trees. All I could see
was a very faint red glow. No other runnings lights,
strobes, etc."
"When I reached my house, I turned for one last
look. There it was--a brilliant, swirling, multi-colored
light floating in the same direction as the first, only
closer to me. I quickly picked up my videocamera and
began to record. I have witnessed this light many times
before...I changed position several times as the object
passed by, trying to record as much of its flight as
possible before it moved behind some trees and out of
sight."
"A couple of minutes later, I saw another flying red
object like the first" traveling toward the east. "I stopped
and turned around to the west, to see another lighted
object moving north...apparently following the previous
three. Again, it was...red and barely detectable."
Bloomington is on Indiana Highway 46 about 50 miles
(80 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.
(Copyright 1998 by Lynn H. Taylor. Many thanks, Lynn,
for letting UFO ROUNDUP quote from your report.)
HIGH-ALTITUDE UFO SEEN
OVER HOWELL, MICHIGAN
On Tuesday, May 19, 1998, at 10:31 p.m.
(four and a half hours after Galaxy IV's systems
failure--J.T.), Doug Parrish, Michigan director of
Skywatch International, spotted "a point of light
the size of a star moving slowly across the sky
above Howell, Michigan." (population 8,184)
"The altitude (elevation) of the light was
approximately 81 degrees in the sky, almost
overhead," Parrish reported.
"Upon being spotted, the point of light instantly
started to glow brighter, and, in less than two
seconds, it became as bright as, if not brighter
than, the sun at noon. Since it was only a point
of light, it did not cast any appreciable shadow on
the residential landscape."
"Once I had acknowledged the light as having
been seen, it started to diminish its brightness,
and in a time span of five seconds, it had dimmed
into invisibility. The light was moving slowly
directly south. The actual observation lasted about
ten seconds. No noise was heard and there were
no running lights."
Howell is located at the intersection of Oakgrove
Road and Highway BL96, also known as Grand
River Road, 55 miles (88 kilometers) west of Detroit.
(Many thanks to Doug Parrish and Steve Wilson Sr.
for this report.)
UFO SIGHTINGS REPORTED
NEAR PITTSBURGH
Two UFO sightings were reported in western
Pennsylvania the evening of Sunday, May 17, 1998.
At 8:15 p.m., four people in Belle Vernon, Pa.
(population 1,213) observed a UFO for 40 minutes.
"They were looking in a north-northwest direction,"
reported Pennsylvania ufologist Stan Gordon. "The
object was about 60 to 70 degrees elevation. (The
UFO) First appeared as a brilliant star that appeared
nearly stationary. Through binoculars and spotting
scopes it looked like an 'illuminated donut.' There
was something that appeared to be hanging down
from the object. While they watched, it seemed to
suddenly 'explode' into many small fragments and
particles. And then a red sphere was observed which
minutes later reportedly split into two smaller objects."
Belle Vernon is on Interstate Highway 70 about
31 miles (48 kilometers) south of Pittsburgh.
Also on May 17, at 11:50 p.m., an observer in
Penn Hills, Pa. (population 51,430) spotted "two
luminous objects" in the clear night sky. "One was
moving and after a few minutes was gone from sight.
The remaining object appeared to move in a swirl
formation, emitting bright flashes of blue and red...
It seemed as though it was rotating, giving off various
light patterns" described as "bright colors of red, blue,
green and white."
"During the observation, the object appeared as a
seeming oval shape with a light effect that separated
the top and bottom halves...The object's light pulsated
on and off, appearing to search. Then the object
returned to its luminescent state. Almost ten minutes
later, the object gradually moved in a direction to the
north of the observer."
Penn Hills is a suburb of Pittsburgh, located
13 miles (21 kilometers) northeast of the city. (Many
thanks to Stan Gordon for these reports. Pennsylvania
readers, if you have a UFO to report, call Stan Gordon's
UFO Hotline at 1-724-838-7768.)
NEW UFO SIGHTING ON
FLORIDA'S GULF COAST
On Tuesday, May 12, 1998, people in Fort Walton
Beach, Florida (population 21,471), spied "a triangular
shaped craft hovering over the Gulf of Mexico" just
offshore, south of town. "Three lights were arrayed
on all three points of the triangle." A bright beam of
light was seen beneath the object, spotlighting the
surface of the sea.
Minutes later, the witnesses saw four U.S. Air
Force jets approaching, and "the craft...instantly left
the area."
On Wednesday, May 13, 1998, the witnesses
reported, "'frogmen' were seen in the area where the
light had been shining down into the ocean."
Fort Walton Beach is on Highway 98 about
35 miles (56 kilometers) east of the UFO hotspots
of Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. (See Filer's Files #20
for 1998. Many thanks to C. Leigh Culver of ISUR
and George A. Filer, Eastern director of MUFON, for
this news story.)
CINCINNATI POLICE IN HOT
PURSUIT OF A UFO
On Sunday, May 17, 1998, Kenneth Young,
public relations director of Tri-States Advocates for
Scientific Knowledge (T.A.S.K.), was listening to
a police radio scanner at 5:30 a.m. when a most
unusual call came in.
Listening to 460.100 megaherz (MHz), Young
heard that "a female resident had reported a very
unusual event, claiming that there was an 'unknown
object' with lights flashing on her front porch, near
a plant."
According to Young, cruisers of District 3 of
the Cincinnati Police Department responded to the
call. The police cruisers converged on a home in
the 2300 block of Fairbanks Avenue, near Delhi,
to investigate the reported incident. At 5:35 a.m.,
the scanner broadcast a report from an officer,
"as they arrived there, 'the thing had disappeared.'"
Young telephoned the Hamilton County
Communications Center, "and they referred my call
to the Cincinnati Police Department, where they
confirmed for me that there was something reported
by a citizen and District 3 units were dispatched to
the scene."
According to the officer Young interviewed, the
woman "reported 'something flashing behind the
potted plant on her front porch...with a bright flashing
light.'"
Cincinnati (population 364,040) is a large city in
the southwestern corner of Ohio. (Many thanks to
Ken Young of T.A.S.K. for this news story.)
LOS ANGELES SUBURB SEES
HEAVY UFO ACTIVITY
For the past week, UFOs have been sighted
repeatedly in Canoga Park, California, located on
Highway 27, also known as Topanga Canyon
Boulevard, a suburb 35 miles (56 kilometers)
northwest of Los Angeles City Hall.
On Sunday, May 10, 1998, at 9:30 p.m.,
Joanne Larue "saw a strange light above the San
Fernando Valley, while traveling west on the
Ventura Freeway (Highway 101). Flying at about
a 10-degree angle of descent, at about helicopter
altitude or lower, north of the freeway, was a green
light, sort of like a traffic light."
"I watched it traveling for about two seconds
and then suddenly it disappeared into thin air. I
was right near the Balboa Freeway exit, and both
people in my car spotted it...Has anyone seen
anything similar?" (Email Interview)
On Saturday, May 16, 1998, at 9:17 p.m.,
Hank Turcotte had a strange sighting in Canoga
Park. "I don't know what's going on lately," he
reported, "Within the last two weeks, I have
sighted ten different 'star-like' objects making their
way across the night sky here."
"This night I had a few friends over and asked
them to be patient for a few minutes. Sure enough,
at 9:17 p.m., three of us watched a star-like object
making its way from the south-southwest to the
north-northeast, passing in between the star Arcturus
and the last star in the handle of the Big Dipper. The
object was spotted straight above and then traveled
in the arc I described and disappeared within 30
seconds into the haze of the evening sky at
approximately 45 degrees (elevation). The object was
Magnitude 4 brightness according to the constellation
chart."
"As my friends and I talked about it, my other
friends said to look above us once again, and this
object appeared directly above us and traveled north-
northwest and disappeared into the cup of the Big
Dipper. The object was a Magnitude 5 brightness
but this one 'faded away' halfway into the cup. The
sighting lasted 20 seconds." (Many thanks to Jim
Hickman of Skywatch International and Errol Bruce-
Knapp for this report.)
HOVERING UFO SPOTTED
OVER A TOWN IN SWEDEN
On Wednesday, May 13, 1998, at 10:30 p.m.,
Mrs. Bergman and Mrs. Blomquist were standing
near the docks in their hometown of Stromstad,
Sweden when a flash of light out to sea caught
their attention.
The women described the UFO as "a large
object floating 500 to 600 meters above the
sea. It was elongated. The object was emitting a
tremendous light like a great spotlight."
The UFO let its bright beam drift along the
sea to the shore. Then the beam played over
the docks, the warehouse and the people in
the area, including both women.
"The object came from the northeast, but we
were unable to guess its speed of approach,"
Mrs. Bergman reported. "The shape of the object
was somewhat elliptical and it was luminous.
There was no sound, not even when it departed."
"It just hovered for a while," Mrs. Blomquist
reported. "There was no trail or smoke, and the
object headed northeast when it departed. The
whole sighting took about ten seconds."
"One second the object hovered almost above
us," Mrs. Bergman added. "Then, in the next
second, the object was not more (larger) than a
star in the sky."
Stromstad is on the Kattegat, on Sweden's
west coast, approximately 190 kilometers
(114 miles) north of Goteborg. (Email Interview)
FRENCH COUPLE SIGHTS A
UFO OVER NORMANDY
On Wednesday, May 13, 1998, Robert Martel and
his girlfriend stopped at a gas station in Verneuil, a
city in the department Eure, in northwestern France.
While he was filling the gas tank, Martel heard the
roar of a jet afterburner. Looking up, he saw a jet
interceptor of Armee de l'Air (French air force--J.T.)
"pass at a very low altitude."
Hours later, at 11:30 p.m., Martel and his lady
friend were driving down a two-lane road between
La Chapelle Montligeon and Mauves-sur-Huisnes
in the department Orne et Basse Normandie, about
170 kilometers (102 miles) west of Paris, when
sighted a UFO.
"Suddenly, atop a small hill, I noticed an unusual
object a short distance away, perhaps 300 to 500
meters," he reported. "At a low altitude, perhaps 30
to 50 meters. The speed of my vehicle was between
50 and 70 kilometers per hour (30 to 45 mph)."
Staring at it through the windshield, Martel said,
"That is what it is. But it's as white as a cloud. It's
an OVNI." (French acronym for UFO)
"I thought it would be interesting to close in and
observe it a bit better," he added, "Unfortunately, the
sinuous road swerved to the right, and I found that
the object was no longer visible...But as soon as the
road placed us more to the straight, the object was
moving parallel to me."
In vain Martel tried to point out the UFO. But
"now it was perpendicular to us and was starting to
move very rapidly. The object became increasingly
difficult to observe. Soon it was a silhouette of a
sphere on the horizon. Impossible to distinguish
because of the color" which was the same color as
the sky. (Merci beaucoup a Thierry Garnier pour
ces nouvelles.)
UFO FLIES OVER ADELAIDE
IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
A UFO overflight was reported in Adelaide,
capital of South Australia, on Monday night,
May 18, 1998.
According to Emma B., "An object was seen
in the skies over Adelaide." The unknown object
"was flying south and it was at about a 30 degree
angle above the horizon and it moved from right
to left. The witnesses have seen the (Mir) space
station pass over, and it (the UFO) seemed much
closer to the earth than this. It was the color of the
stars and looked like something entering Earth's
atmosphere" and "glowed like it was burning."
(See Filer's Files #20 for 1998. Many thanks to
George A. Filer for this news story.)
from the UFO Files...
1931: WEIRD LIGHT FLASHES
SEEN ON THE MOON
During the next three weeks, UFO ROUNDUP will
present three cases from the little-known Flap of 1931.
Here's the first case, featuring Mr. and Mrs. N.J. Giddings
of Riverside, California, one of the most unusual
documented incidents of the pre-Roswell era.
"During the evening of 17 June 1931, I was working
in the yard near our home at Riverside, California, and
happened to glance at the moon. It was an unusually
fine, clearly outlined new moon, and as I stood looking
at it, suddenly some flashes of light streaked across
the dark surface but definitely within the limits of the
moon's outline."
"Since this was a phenomenon which I had never
seen before, I continued to watch it and saw similar
flashes streak across the moon again in a moment or
two."
"Without mentioning what I had seen, I called my
wife's attention to the new moon. She admired it.
When I asked her to watch it closely to see if she
noticed anything strange, she said, 'Oh, yes, I see
lightning on the moon,' adding that it appeared to be
confined to the moon."
"We watched it for some 20 or 30 minutes during
which the phenomenon must have occurred at least
six or seven times. The facts were recorded in my
notebook as of approximately 7:40 p.m. 17 June
1931. At the time, I was inclined to attribute the
phenomenon to some sort of sunlight reflection from
mountain peaks on the moon or possibly some sort
of electrical activity. I wrote the Mount Wilson
Observatory regarding the phenomenon, and the
reply very courteously discounted my observations."
(See Science, volume 104, page 146, for August 9,
1946. Reprinted in THE UNEXPLAINED: A
SOURCEBOOK OF STRANGE PHENOMENA
by William R. Corliss, Bantam Books, New York, NY,
August 1976, page 124.)
FUN UFO WEBSITES:
The British UFO Research Association (BUFORA)
is back online with a new, improved website. Check
it out at http://www.bufora.org.uk
For additional UFO reading, drop in at the
Magonia ETH Bulletin. They're at http://www.magonia.
demon.co.uk/ethbull/index.html
Artist Jeff Westover, who does sketches of aliens
for Michigan MUFON, has a website, Alien Alley,
with detailed drawings of all the aliens reportedly
seen by UFO witnesses. Alien Alley is at this URL,
http://www.alienalley.com
Arline La Zolle has a UFO website up and running.
It's called D-Hopper's World of the Paranormal, and
it features UFO pictures, sightings reports and other
news. Drop in at http://www.geocities.com/area51/
chamber/5781/index3.html
One of your editor's favorite websites is Bill
Corliss's Science Frontiers. I can't recommend it
highly enough. Got an hour to spare? Visit
http://www.knowledge.co.uk/frontiers/ and learn
about the strange phenomena encountered by
scientists themselves.
The big news this week is what's happening at
our parent site, UFO INFO. Webmaster John Hayes
added search engines to the site a few days ago.
Now you can use these search engines to hunt up
items in both the UFO ROUNDUP and Filer's Files
archives. Come and try them out. Just drop in at
http://ufoinfo.com.
Back issues of UFO ROUNDUP are available
at our webpage. We're at http://ufoinfo.com/roundup
On this date, May 24, in the year 289 A.D., two
teenaged Christians, Donatien and Rogatien, were
killed by their religious enemies in Nantes, France.
The martyrs are known as the Children of Nantes.
Unfortunately, their tragic deaths were only the
beginning of a series of religious massacres in that
city. On April 24, 1572, two hundred Huguenots
were slaughtered on St. Bartholomew's Day. On
November 16, 1793, 4,800 Roman Catholics,
including 158 elderly priests, were drowned in
the river Loire on the orders of an alcoholic
Illuminatus named Carrier. Between November 7,
1942 and June 10, 1944, the Nazis carried out
their long-running pogrom against Nantes's Jews.
Is Nantes all finished with those senseless
religious massacres? I certainly hope so.
Join us next weekend for more saucer news
from "the paper that goes home--UFO ROUNDUP."
See you then.
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1998 by Masinaigan
Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post
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of issue in which the item first appeared.
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