UNITED KINGDOM UFO NETWORK - PART 1

Mon, 25 Nov 1996 22:15:41 +0000
Source: United Kingdom UFO Network

{66} UNITED KINGDOM UFO NETWORK - part 1 - Members = 1,470

This issue comes in 2 parts. If any part is missing please mail:
ufo@holodeck.demon.co.uk with the following in the subject area: REPOST {?} PT ?,? (? = e-zine number. ?,? = part/s that are missing).

In this issue:

Editorial

(More news on the e-zines list server)
(Real Audio)
(Current issue available for download in the zipped format)
(LATEST IMPORTANT INFORMATON re: LIST SERVER)
(Change of IRC servers for the UK.UFO.NW Saturday meetings)

United Kingdom News

[U1] Britain lends America an ear in the hunt for alien life
[U2] XTerminators on your doorstep
[U3] Minister smashes saucers!
[U4] 'Intelligent' clause may cost Helston gambler 5 thousand pounds.
[U5] Cosford - An Enduring Mystery
[U6] Strange Signals!
[U7] Cheese hound hunted

World News

[W1] Are we all Martians?
[W2] Star Of Gold
[W3] The Martian update
[W4] So is this the way the world will really end?
[W5] By Jupitor, it's lifeless
[W6] The Weird World This Week - raining slime in Southern Tasmania.
[W7] Statement from NASA Administrator
[W8] Hypersonic waveriders take off
[W9] So what's new, shrug the watchers on ET Highway
[W10] It's space, Jim, but not as we know it
[W11] Mars update before the launch
[W12] Author brings theories to BBC (Richard Hoagland)
[W13] NASA to take world to Mars via Internet
[W14] The Weird World This Week - Pakinstan International Airlines

Editorial

More news on the e-zines list server.

Our thanks go out to St John's University in New York City for allowing us to use their list server. We are currently testing the system and are hopeful that everything will be ready to go within the next couple of weeks.

When the time is right those of you wishing to continue receiving the uk.ufo.nw e-zine will need to re-subscribe, but to a new address. Full details will be given well before the change over time.

Real Audio

New on the groups www site are the following two Real Audio files:

Bob Lazar

This is a collection of recordings from Bob Lazar, the man who claims to have back engineered flying saucers at S4 - Area 51 - Dreamland. This is collection ver 1. If anyone has any Real Audio files of Bob Lazar that are not part of this collection, please mail us.

Running time = 13 minutes - File size = 734Kb

Bonnybridge in Scotland - UK hot spot!

A short trip to Bonnybridge and a few interviews with witnesses there. Also a brief input by Nick Pope. All done in tv's inimitable way.

Running time = 9 mins - File size = 502Kb

Current issue available for download in the zipped format

The current issue and every future 'current' issue will not only be available (as now) to read on our web page but also down loadable as a zipped text file. Just follow the new link on the web page.

LATEST IMPORTANT INFORMATON re: LIST SERVER

Testing of the new list server is now complete. In approximately 3 to 4 weeks the UK.UFO.NW e-zine will be posted via the new list server. Those of you wishing to continue receiving the e-zine will need to re-subscribe using the below instructions. Please DO NOT unsubscribe to the current address i.e. ufo@holodeck.demon.co as you may lose one or two issues before the change over.

Type the below text only in the main body of the mail:

subscribe ufo firstname lastname

(f/name l/name being your first name, last name)

Mail to the following address:

listserv@sjuvm.stjohns.edu

You will then receive a message asking you confirm your subscription. This is in order to check that e-mail addresses for posting the e-zine are correct.

This will probably be a learning process for most of us to begin with. Please bare with us for the moment. You will receive several small messages over the coming weeks advising you about the change and how to go about it.

Change of IRC servers for the UK.UFO.NW Saturday meetings

The uk.ufo.nw IRC meetings are now being held on a new server. Currently I only have the address for one of the servers:

irc.mirage.co.uk

A full list of world wide servers will be posted in a future e-zine. For help with connecting to our irc meetings please mail our advisor at:

ufo-irc-advice@crowman.demon.co.uk

[U1]******

Source: The Times newspaper
Date: 12th August 1996

Britain lends America an ear in the hunt for alien life

By Anjana Ahuja

Britain is about to join the United States in the hunt for alien life. Scientists at Jodrell Bank, site of the country's largest radio telescope, are holding talks with the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Inteligence Institute in California, which wants to search the skies above Britain for alien radio signals.

The collaboration will widen the net in the hunt for other civilisations, which has been given added impetus by the evidence last week that primitive life may have existed on Mars.

Professor Frank Drake, president of the SETI Institute at Mountain View, near San Francisco said: "British scientists have always been rather conservative in their views about extra-terrestrial life but they have a brillient record in radio astronomy, so we are thrilled at the prospect of doing something together."

He said that SETI researchers would visit Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, over several months to make observations with the 76-metre Lovell radio telescope. The incoming signals would be analysed to filter out Earth-based noise, such as from mobile telephones and microwave ovens.

Andrew Lyne, professor of astronomy at Manchester University, which operates the telescope, confirmed that negotiations were under way. The project would be likely to take place within the next two years, before a possible upgrade to the telescope in 1998. "We would provide the telescope and sensitive receivers, and the SETI institute would provide the experience to look at the signals," Professor Lyne said.

A joint project was muted ten years ago but, because the technology was relatively basic, it was almost impossible to distinguish genuine alien signals from terrestrial noise: "Now scientists can sort the wheat from the chaff," he said.

Professor Lyne agreed that the news about Mars last week had stirred interest in such subjects: "Our raison d'etre is to further research into th universe as a whole and the question of other civilisations is of great public interest. Now, possibly the time is right."

Nasa first proposed the idea of combing space for alien signals in the 1970s. The greatest hope of a breakthrough came in 1977, when a mysterious signal was detected by scientists at Ohio State University. It was nicknamed the "Wow" signal after an exited researcher scribbled the exclamation on a printout.

The signal was never detected again nor explained satisfactorily, although scientists are sure it was of inteligent origin.

Three years ago budget pressure let the United States Congress to withdraw funding from the search for alien life forms. The SETI Institute was set up as a distinct organisation with similar aims in 1984 and is financed by private donations.

As well as being president of the SETI Institute, Professor Drake holds a chair in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1960 he became the first astronomer to scan the skies for extra-terrestrial signals.

[U2]******

Source: News Of The World newspaper
Date: 21st July 1996

XTerminators on your doorstep

By Jan Jacques

A blast of searing heat "from nowhere" has left Laraine Davis in no doubt aliens exist.

Her experience came as she opened her back door on an icy night to retrieve washing from her line.

Laraine says: "It was like opening an oven door when your face is too close to it. It was eerie and silent to. The hair rose on the back of my neck."

Days later Laraine, 50, from Poole, Dorset, heard the contents of her neighbours greenhouse had been found incinerated - yet the structure itself was untouched.

She said: "The heat was so fierce it destroyed tools. Only two lumps of molten plastic - once a garden table and a wheelbarrow proved there had been anything in there at all.

"The glass was not cracked and shrubs alongside were untouched. Even a small fire would have lit up the area and been visible to us all. But no one saw anything.

"I have no doubt that 'they' are here."

The memory of his close encounter with an alien still makes Wayne Bryant shudder.

It came as he and his pals Mark and Rick lazed in a wood in Chertsey, Surrey.

Wayne, 31, recalls: "We heard a strange sound. It took us a few seconds to realise it was grass being flattened by some kind of downward wind.

"We looked up and saw a figure about six feet tall with red hair, bronze skin and huge eyes.

"It was in a long white gown - we don't remember seeing any fee - and in its hand held a rod.

"There was smoke coming from the rod. We sat gawping for about 20 seconds and then scarpered."

Horrible

Illustrator Wayne, who was ten at the time, went on: "We raced home to tell our parents.

"They came out and were amazed to see a patch of flattened grass exactly where we said it would be.

"There were no footprints - just as if that horrible figure had come out of thin air.

"Kids have vivid imaginations - but nothing on earth could have prompted us to dream it up.

"Thats why I have no doubt there IS something out there."

Louise Mijatovic believes she was part of another worlds experiment.

She was a young girl travelling in a convoy of family and friends on holiday when all three cars cut out at the same time.

They watched in horrified fascination as a blinding white light descended from the sky. Writer Louise, 43, from Ormesby St Michael, Norfolk said: "The white globe changed shape and looked like a rocket on its side.

"From behind it came a light show that every firework or laser display I have seen since could never compare with."

A week later Louise began having nightmares.

She says: "One night I woke to find a blister on my leg. Mum popped it and nearly fainted - I had a perfect hole nearly right through my leg. It took three years to heal and in the process turned into a black and green band around my leg. I'm pretty down to Earth. If I can be convinced aliens exist, anyone can."

Fish merchant Stewart Bradley thought he was being followed by a helicopter as he made a delivery in the early hours - until he realised it was silent.

Stewart, 29, was driving on a remote road near Cranleigh, Surrey, in November 1991 when the craft appeared in his driving mirror.

He continued for a mile with hovering behind. Stuart said: "I couldn't understand why a helicopter was following me. I pulled over, turned the radio down and stuck my head out of the window. It was then I realised it was making no noise. It was quite eerie. I put my foot down and got out of there."

A friend of Stewart's confirmed that he and his son had seen the same thing a week later.

John Rosser's blood ran cold when he picked up his holiday snaps - and saw he had captured a strange saucer shaped object on one of them.

John, from South London, took the pic in Abbotsbury, Dorset, in the summer of 1994. He says: "It is not a plane or a helicopter. So what on earth is it?

"Something like this makes you question if there are other life forms out there."

[U3]******

Source: News Of The World newspaper
Date: 21st July 1996

Minister smashes saucers!

Tory Defence Minister Nicholas Soames has scoffed at the idea of little green men.

And he insists flying saucers are no threat to Britain. But the Government is watching - just in case.

Mr Soames told MPs that no UFO had ever been investigated, despite the fact that a Government unit logs 300 sightings a year.

"There is no evidence to indicate that UK air defence may have been compromised," he said.

[U4]******

Source: West Briton newspaper
Date: 15th August 1996

'Intelligent' clause may cost Helston gambler 5 thousand pounds.

By Ed Hoskin

Hopes were raised for a Helston man this week who placed a 5 pounds strling bet at odds of 1,000-1 on the discovery of life on Mars.

The recent discovery of a Martian fossil, which sent shockwaves through theological and scientific circles worldwide, may not be enough for the Helston pensioner.

A clause in the bet requires that the Martian life must be "intelligent". NASA scientists define "intelligent" as being capable of playing Lego.

This clause may cost the Cornish novelty gambler 5 thousand pounds.

The Helston man who placed a 5 pound bet in 1981 on the discovery of life on Mars before the year 2000 said he is less than hopeful of collecting the 5 thousand pounds winnings.

Despite the recent discovery of a Martian meteorite that may reveal evidence of past life on the planet, the man, who does not want to be named, believes conclusive evidence will not be found in time and perhaps not at all.

He said the bet 15 years ago at the Church Street bookmakers Helston Racing, attracted by the novelty of the bet and the odds of 1,000-1 rather than any firm conviction. But even if scientists conclude that the meteorite does contain evidence of primitive life on Mars, bookmakers will only pay out if the lifeform is "intelligent".

A spokesman for William Hill said NASA had defined this as being able to work out logic. This meant that plants and bacteria would not qualify, although there was still hope for the Helston man.

Following the discovery of the meteorite, called Allen Hills 84001, US President Bill Clinton has promised to launch further missions to Mars, with three unmanned spacecraft departing in late October.

But it is the Russian Mars '96 project, scheduled to leave on November 16th, that will shed most light on the possibility of life, on the Red Planet.

Mortar-like shells will be fired ten metres deep into the planet's surface to analyse soil and perhaps give Helston Racing a clearer indication of whether to expect a visitor of their own claiming a substantial amount of money.

But doubters should beware. William Hill said that a man was laughed out of the building in 1962 after placing a bet for 10 pounds at odds of 1,000-1 on man walking on the moon before the end of the decade!

[U5]******

Cosford - An Enduring Mystery

by Nick Redfern

Nick Redfern is perhaps the UK's leading researcher into Government involvement with UFO cases. This is slow, often tedious, work but which is invaluable if ufologists are to unearth the nuggets of information which can help demonstrate a case was mundane after all or to provide the necessary bait to continue the search for further documentation.

In 1995, the Royal Air Force facility at Cosford, near Wolverhampton, is probably known for its huge museum which is home to an impressive collection of vintage military and civil aircraft. More than thirty years ago, however, Cosford became briefly famous for an entirely different reason.

At around 11.30pm on the evening of December 10, 1963, a dome-shaped UFO touched down on the base, bathed the surrounding area in a beam of green light, and was seen at close quarters by at least two RAF apprentices. At least, that has been the accepted story for the last three decades.

In accordance with the British Government's 'thirty year ruling' the Ministry of Defence's eighty page file on the case has recently been declassified and is now available for inspection at the Public Record Office. Its contents make for interesting reading.

Rumours that something extraordinary had occurred at the base surfaced almost immediately, but it was not until early January 1964 that matters escalated. On January 9, Wilfred Daniels, a UFO investigator from Stafford, had the opportunity to speak with Reverend B.G. Henry, the Chaplain at RAF Cosford, and duly put to him a number of questions relative to the alleged close encounter.

We cannot be sure what was actually said during the course of their brief conversation (both men recalled their 'chat' in markedly different ways), but a controversy was created which raged for months.

In an April 13, 1964 letter to Waverney Girvan, editor of Flying Saucer Review magazine, Wilfred Daniels reported: "Flight Lieutenant Henry said that publication of his name would cause him trouble; that it was 'more than his job was worth' to arrange a meeting between me and the two RAF apprentices; that he really ought not to be talking to me about it at all; that security had dropped right down on the whole thing."

For his part, Reverend Henry's recollection were somewhat opposed to those of Daniels. A letter from Flying Officer R.A. Roberts at Cosford, to the Air Ministry at Whitehall, stated that Flight Lieutenant Henry "categorically denies all statements attributed to him". Flying Officer Roberts further added that the chaplain was "seriously considering taking lefal action".

To his credit, Waverney Girvan resolved to get to the bottom of the mystery, and fired off a barrage of letters to both Cosford and the Air Ministry. As Girvan pointed out to the staff at Cosford, several contradictory explanations had been offered by the authorities to explain the encounter: 'Nothing at all', 'two drunk apprentices', 'a hoax', and, somewhat amusingly, 'a British Railways steam train' were the various theories mooted by the Air Ministry in its attempts to squelch interest in the case.

Smelling a rat, Girvan gave the incidemt pride of place in the next issue of Flying Saucer Review, and write a lenghty article on the case in the Kensignton News and West London Times. Commenting on the Government's 'self-contradictory explanations', Girvan said: 'What is it that the Air Ministry is trying so desparately to hide?'

Preferring to keep its head down, the Air Ministry fumed behind closed doors. Of particular concern to the Air Ministry, the media persisted in promotong the case: '...the Express and Star of Wolverhampton, in spite of seeking the Station's views, reported the boys' claim....,' grumbled the Ministry in an internal memorandum of March 12, 1964.

By May of that same year, the controversy had begun to die down and normality returned to RAF Cosford. The pro-UFO facrtions continued to champion the case, while the Air Ministry was more than happy to play the matter down.

So, what exactly did happen on that long gone winter's evening in December 1963? On the plus side, Waverney Girvan was a much-respected individual, well-known for his diligent researches. In addition, Wilfred Daniels had served in the military at the level of Captain - an equally credible source. Moreover, it is a proven fact that the Air Ministry did offer a variety of contradictory explanations in its attempt to dismiss the case.

On the other hand, the negative aspects of the case have to be addressed. Flight Lieutenant Henry was adamant that he had been mis-quoted by Wilfred Daniels; the possibility of him taking legal action was discussed in inter-departmental memos. Furthermore, a hand-written note which originated with the Air Ministry stated that with respect to the two apprentices who reported seeing the UFO: 'I believe the two boys in question wanted to get out of the servive - and we should not have been sorry to see them go.'

However, if nothing untoward occurred, why did the Air Ministry feel the need to offer a variety of ever-changing explanations as it sought to diffuse both public and media interest in the event?

In the final analysis, whatever truth lies behind the alleged 1963 UFO encounter at RAF Cosford, of only one thing we can be truly certain: with the release of the Government's eighty page file on the incident, the decades-old controversy looks certain to re-surface.

[U6]******

Source: Shortwave Magazine.
Date: August 1996.

Scanning section

Strange Signals!

Strange signals now! I have run a pretty loose mention of any unusual airband activity that may have been picked up by listeners and the next two letters confirm that odd goings on do happen. MR asks if anyone has heard signals on 40.325 f.m. MR says it was an audio tone, that varied in frequency, dropping every minute or so and with audio harmonics present. The signal appeared to come from the south of his QTH in Bedford. Anyone any ideas? It has not re-appeared since. He uses an MVT-7100 on its own telescopic whip. MR also asks if UFO activity is present, has anyone noticed variations in radio signals?

>From SH, a request for identification on a message heard recently. He asks what is 'Red Code 2 frequency' - this overheard after a report of a UFO around the Southampton area. Anyone any ideas on this? I wou/d go into further details on this one but it is a bit delicate!

[U7]******

Source: Daily Express newspaper.
Date: Saturday July 27th, 1996.

Cheese hound hunted

British hoilidaymakers have joined French tourists and servicemen in a hunt for the Hound of the Massif Central which is endangering the production of Roquefort cheese. The wolf-like creature is killing sheep that produce France's world-famous delicacy and so scaring the rest that they are giving poor milk. Armed with wooden staves, the volunteer beaters aim to drive the creature into the open where it will be shot. But the beast has one celebrated supporter - Brigitte Bardot. The former film star has offered a 1,300 pounds sterling reward, provided it is captured unharmed.

uk.ufo.nw says: A French Chupacabras? Surely not ;-)

[W1]******

Source: The Express newspaper
Date: Tuesday 29th October 1996

Are we all Martians?

Humans may be related to the fabled little green men from Mars, a scientist revealed yesterday.

U.S. astronomer Joseph Burns says the Earth has been peppered by meteorites that were once part of the Martian landscape, until volcanic upheaval sent them shooting into space.

And he reckons we may all be descended from cosmic hitch-hikers who happened to be on the Martian rock when it started its journey and ended up on Earth. This bombardment has been going on for millions of years, Mr Burns told a group of scientists in the U.S.

He added: "Life on this planet may be descended from microscopic life that once thumbed a lift on a meteorite from Mars."

So far, 11 meteorites out of 17,000 found on Earth are known to have come from Mars.

And experts know that bacteria are able to survive in space. In a recent test, bacteria from Earth were sent into orbit on a rocket and were found alive after more than a year when the satellite was retrieved from space.

"A form of life may have reached the Earth by meteorite," Mr Burns told a conference of scientists in Tucson, Arizona.

"If there was once life on Mars, then it is possible that it reached Earth millions of years ago and since spread its seed.

"It could be that we human beings are related to the little green men from Mars."

[W2]******

Source: The Express newspaper
Date: Tuesday 29th October 1997

Star Of Gold

There's gold in them thar galaxies - or at least on one distant sun.

Astronomers in America have just discovered a star so rich in precious metals that if you owned only an acre of it you would be an instant billionaire.

Chi Lupi, in the constellation of Lupas, has a gold and platinum-plated surface. It could be mined, but there is one small problem - it's 222 light years away. That means it would take more than 222 years to get there at the fastest speed possible.

Shaun Hughes of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, said: "The gold could be just one kilometre thick or it could go right through the planet."

[W3]******

Source: Daily Mail newspaper
Date: 1st November 1996

The Martian update

Life might still be out there, say scientists

By David Derbyshire

Scientists revealed new evidence yesterday to suggest life may still exist on Mars.

Three months ago, experts from the U.S. space agency Nasa claimed a Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1984 showed there could have been life on the Red Planet millions of years go.

Now a second meteorite from Mars has been found to contain significant amounts of organic material, a conference of British scientists heard yesterday.

The scientists believe this new rock is much younger. If their findings are accepted, it could mean life existed on Mars as recently as 600,000 years ago.

A spokesman for the conference on extra-terrestrial life, said: "Geologically speaking, this is sufficiently recent for there to be a good chance that life may still exist in protected areas on our planetary neighbour."

The new meteorite, which was found in Antarctica in 1979, was formed 1.3 billion years ago but was catapulted off the surface into space by an asteroid 600,000 years ago.

It is essentially significant because it contains complex hydrocarbons, and organic 'soup' produced when living material is subjected to high pressure and heat.

Hydrocarbons take different forms. Those in the meteorite contained complex molecules highly suggestive of life. Nasa said in August that the meteorite found in 1984 contained fossils of micro-organisms. The grapefruit sized chunk of rock which is around 3.6 billion years old, was smashed of the surface of Mar by an asteroid. It crashed to Earth millions of years later.

The find, which Nasa described as 'arguably the biggest discovery in the history of science', provoked a furious debate.

Other scientists dismissed the evidence, claiming the sausage-shaped features found in the rock were caused by a chemical, rather than biological, reaction.

Yesterday's conference at the Royal College of Pathologists in London heard, however, there was now more evidence that the original meteorite contained fossilised life.

(Continuing in part 2...)


All rights reserved to WUFOC and NÄRKONTAKT. If you reprint or quote any part of the content, you must give credit to: WUFOC, the free UFO-alternative on the Internet, http://www.wufoc.com