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Category Archives: UFO’s

It’s interesting that the number of reported UFO sightings seems to be going down.  There was a time when everybody and their aunt had a UFO story, which would be faithfully printed in the national news.  Governments around the world had military projects to investigate the sightings, UFO “experts” had regular slots on national television, and many movies (from E.T. to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind) were made about the various UFO experiences.  The problem with these sightings was that the reports were jumbled, confused, stitched together from memory with no evidence or record of what had actually happened. 

 
Nowadays, though, everybody has a camera.  Whether it’s a dedicated digital camera, or the increasingly capable units built into our cellphones, nothing happens anymore without a witness who is capable of recording it.  And then uploading it to youtube.  It’s telling that, as more people are capable of producing actual proof of their experiences, fewer experiences are happening.  Still, when people are able to take advantage of modern technology and produce video fotage, it’s that much more impressive and convincing.  As these events come to my attention, I’ll document and analyse them in these pages.
Be warned, though.  I’m pretty skeptical of UFO stories.  I will never claim that there is no life ‘Out There’, since such a claim is for all intents and purposes unprovable.  But I’m going to require a LOT of convincing that such life is a) intelligent, b) interested in us and c) capable of breaking the laws of physics as we know them to d) harass rednecks and tabloid journalists.

X37-b Launch

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on 8 Feb, 2013 by Allen Versfeld

Mysterious light spotted in the sky – evidence of “Secret” US Airforce spaceplane. Image Credit: Greg Roberts On Tuesday 11 December, at around 8:40pm SAST, people across the Cape Town area looked up and saw something marvelous in the sky.  A shining apparition of light, spreading out from a point and slowly fading, prompting many to phone their local observatories and astronomy clubs to ask about UFO’s. The story reminds me of a similar event several years ago, in Norway … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Bad Science, UFO's and Modern Myths, UFO's | Leave a reply

Fireballs over Harrismith

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on 18 Nov, 2011 by Allen Versfeld28 Jun, 2016
Harrismith Fireballs. Image Credit: Riaan van Greuning

Harrismith is a small town in the agricultural heartland of South Africa.  On 30 October 2011, resident Riaan van Greuning saw balls of fire drifting through the sky at high speed, appearing in the sky to the north of his home and heading south before vanishing in the clouds.  Here is an excerpt from his email to Urban Astronomer, providing a lucid and detailed description: They were all moving approximately at the same speed, I would say according to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Bad Science, UFO's and Modern Myths, UFO's | Leave a reply

28 January 2011: UFO over Jerusalem

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on 30 Jun, 2011 by Allen Versfeld18 Jul, 2016

UFO over Jerusalem According to the caption on this video, the two witnesses were standing on the promenade of Armon Hantziv in Jerusalem when they saw a bright light in the sky at about 01h00 in the morning.  They started filming and were in time to capture the light descending rapidly to hover very close to the ground, directly over the Dome of the Rock in the Jerusalem old city, a site of religious importance.  After hovering for a while, … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Bad Science, UFO's and Modern Myths, UFO's | Leave a reply

The Hottel Report

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on 13 Apr, 2011 by Allen Versfeld

The incident referred to in the buzz surrounding the Hottel Report is probably the most familiar UFO story ever:  Roswell.  Many books could be written (and they have) on the Roswell incident, on what happened, on what really happened, on what “They” don’t want you to know, and more.  It’s been confirmed, debunked, studied, de-debunked, re-debunked and ridiculed.  There are so many versions of the truth out there that hardly anybody takes it seriously anymore.  Roswell is a cultural phenomenon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Bad Science, UFO's and Modern Myths, UFO's | Leave a reply
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