Info-ParaNet Newsletters Volume I Number 510 Thursday, December 12th 1991 Today's Topics: Mysterious Object Re: Omni ONLINE Omni Online UFO BOOK ON COMPUTER Ray Stanford UFO Research (NSW) Tasmanian Tiger UFO Research in Australia & New Zealand Re: Welcome back! Mystery Object of 12/5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael.Corbin@p0.f428.n104.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Michael Corbin) Subject: Mysterious Object Date: 10 Dec 91 17:01:00 GMT * Forwarded from "Fido UFO Echo" * Originally from Bruce Fairbanks * Originally dated 12-07-91 20:45 Here is a story I read in our local paper today (Sacramento Bee- Sacramento,CA): UFO SLIPS BY EARTH,REMAINS A PUZZLE By David L. Chandler Boston Globe BOSTON - The unidentified object that hurtled past Earth before dawn on Thursday remains a mystery, astronomers said Friday, and it apparently slipped by without them getting a good look at it. A week ago astronomers had decided that the tiny object, which passed slightly farther away from Earth than the moon's distance of 240, 000 miles, was probably an asteroid - a chunk of interplanetary rock probably less than 30 feet across. But observations on Monday by European astronomers working in Chile showed dramatic variations in brightness, which suggest an irregularly shaped, tumbling object with great variations in its surface reflectivity, much more so than expected for a natural object like an asteroid, said astronomer Brian Marsden. Marsden said Friday that the variation in brightness "means we are dealing with some very peculiar object. I would say man-made. I think it would be hard to explain this kind of variation with a natural object, even a small one." But Marsden and others are still puzzling over what kind of man-made object it is. Marsden said two weeks ago that it was probably the leftover Centaur rocket used in 1974 to launch a solar satellite called Helios. But more precise calculations of the object's orbit, based on the latest observations, show that, traced backward, it never quite meets Earth as it should if it had been launched from Earth. There is a possible explanation for that discrepancy, Marsden said. Centaur rockets sometimes contain leftover hydrogen fuel after they reach orbit, and this fuel could continue to leak out, perhaps for years. This could propel the rocket in unpredictable directions. During its closest approach to Earth on Thursday, the object was too far south to be visible from anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory in Chile tried to get pictures of it shortly after its closest approach in order to get more precise data on its exact path and to make further measurements of its brightness varations. But as of Friday, they were unable to find any sign of the object in their pictures. Because of the difficulty of the observation and the faintness of the object, astronomers Richard West and Oliver Hainaut at the observatory in the Chilean Andes continued to examine their images carefully Friday. These observations are essential to guarantee the success of a planned radar observation of the object when it returns to visibility in the Northern Hemisphere next week. A successful radar observation "would clinch it" as to whether the object is natural or artificial, Marsden said. Because of the uncertain movements of a rocket leaking leftover fuel, however, it may never be possible to identify it as a specific rocket. If it is artificial, but not a known rocket, that might explain the astronomers' inability to locate it in their pictures, Marsden joked. "Maybe that's why they couldn't be found last night," he said. "Maybe they landed." -- Michael Corbin - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Michael.Corbin@p0.f428.n104.z1.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael.Schuyler@f201.n350.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Michael Schuyler) Subject: Re: Omni ONLINE Date: 11 Dec 91 04:12:00 GMT In a message to Peggy Noonan <11-30-91 16:30> Jim Speiser wrote: JS> JS> How's about a mention of ParaNet somewhere in the AntiMatter column? JS> I recall that there was a brief story done on Dale Goudie's old CUFON JS> system, but that system went over like an 1890's airship. It may be JS> time to update OMNI's readers on the state of online ufology. Jim, CUFON is back up and running with a Seattle-area BBS with files only and refuses ANY echo mail connection. (206) 776-0382 is the number. I've talked with him on the phone a coupla times; rather, I listened to him on the phone a coupla times. His main thing is to get Congress to open an investigation. --Michael -- Michael Schuyler - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Michael.Schuyler@f201.n350.z1.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Peggy.Noonan@p0.f150.n30163.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Peggy Noonan) Subject: Omni Online Date: 11 Dec 91 07:01:02 GMT John, that was an excellent message. The best way for me to get that info across is to quote you -- send your own words to them. It's a clear and informative picture anyone can grasp. Thanks very much! ==Peggy== -- Peggy Noonan - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Peggy.Noonan@p0.f150.n30163.z1.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bill.Chalker.UFORA.Associate.NSW@f8.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Bill Chalker UFORA Associate NSW) Subject: UFO BOOK ON COMPUTER Date: 8 Dec 91 18:35:00 GMT I thought all of you using Paranet would be very interested in the "UFO Research in Australia and New Zealand" digital book. It has over 90,000 words in more than 800 pages (computer pages) covering over 300 topics, with full search and print facility. It is IBM PC or compatible, (Hard disk) EGA or VGA. It comes as compressed files on a single standard DS DD floppy disk, which is uncompressed onto your hard disk. It is a package produced by a professional publisher (Dynamo House Pty. Ltd., 38a Murphy Street, Richmond, Victoria, 3121, AUSTRALIA. I have been looking at a review copy. I am advised by the publishers that they have just taken receipt of the first batch and distribution should begin soon. I'm not sure of distribution methods at this stage. The price is, I understand $29.95 Australian dollars. For all of you overseas we will see what can be arranged. First off this is admittedly a biased review. I am a UFORA associate and much of my own material appears in the book. However the book is a collection of material published in the UFO Research Australian Newsletter (UFORAN) with some updated material added. Even though I am very familiar with all this material, I found the search facility would make this book a real asset to any researcher and to anybody who is interested in getting reliable information on the UFO situation in Australia and New Zealand. The emphasis in the book is on case material and it is certainly rich in that. I will not give a full a full listing here of its contents (it would take too long!) but here are some highlights: Historical (pre 1947) reports from Australia & New Zealand (NZ), which includes the 1868 Birmingham "UFO vision" and the 1909 wave. The Maatsuyker Island reports (a remote lighthouse locality off Tasmania which has been the focus of some fascinating reports). The Rosedale UFO landing case of 1980, which must be one of Australia's most significant physical trace cases, and certainly is not an example of a Meaden "plasma vortex" as suggested by Jenny Randles & Paul Fuller in their CROP CIRCLES book. The BOYUP BROOK beam/car control case. A marvelous display of apparent UFO technology in an extraordinary daylight event in a close encounter in suburban Sydney in 1970. The locality is Whalan. It is this sort of case that makes even the most hardened "its all in the mind" camp think twice. Entity cases from Australia & NZ. Photographic evidence specifically 2 movie footages of particular importance. Sightings by aircraft pilots. Radar visual events. Vehicle interference cases including the extraordinary and classic "bent headlight beam" case from Burkes Flat in 1966. The Mundrabilla case in depth. Australian "interrupted journeys" (time loss cases) An extraordinary detailed account of possible telepathic contact in an Australian desert encounter. Australian abduction cases. RAAF UFO files (i.e. our Air Force files) revealed in depth. In otherwords here we have a huge amount of data for you thirsty UFO researchers and interested parties. You will have a great time just reading and even better you have a great facility for file searching and printing. I have it up on my computer and it sure beats the time waster of searching through hard copy. I certainly have no reservations in recommending this UFO book on computer to you all. It gives you an extraordinary and reliable (the last point is very important these days!) look at the UFO mystery as seen from the microcosm of Australia & NZ. It also comes with a 12 page illustration file booklet referenced to the computer text, much of it in colour. This well worth the money. You will also be helping a professional UFO research outfit at the same time, namely UFORA which needs no introduction to Paranet users. The package is not totally free of errors -a few slipped through. eg. On the box cover "John Johnston, Joan Knapman" should read "John Knapman, Joan Johnston" ) sadly passed away this year. The booklet lists "UFO's and the Royal UFO's Air Force" which will be amusing for the Royal Australian Air Force. Also it is not clear from the text that Bruce Harding was the original investigator and writer in the 1944 Christchurch NZ case - a wonderful CE3 event. However these gaffs overall do not take away from an excellent product. GET OUT THERE AND BUY IT. YOU WON'T REGRET IT. Best regards from Bill Chalker. -- Bill Chalker UFORA Associate NSW - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Bill.Chalker.UFORA.Associate.NSW@f8.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bill.Chalker.UFORA.Associate.NSW@f8.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Bill Chalker UFORA Associate NSW) Subject: Ray Stanford Date: 8 Dec 91 18:50:00 GMT A number of years ago Ray Stanford's PSI group announced it had some UFO spectra for which they were seeking funds to study. Ray's group broke up. I did bump into him at the Washington MUFON conference in 1987, but unfortunately there was only time for a hello and little else. Now Ray has had an extremely varied career. I was a member for a while of the AUM group, which published his "Source" material - ahead of his time given the current in vogue channelling craze. But it was Ray's PSI activities that interested me the most. I gather Ray is now resident in Washington DC area. The reason I'm asking is that I have a University associate here in Australia with a specific interest in UFO spectra and who would be willing to examine credible evidence for UFO spectra. Now, I cant believe or hope that the spectra has not been examined by now by some hopefully responsible crowd in the US but I have not heard anything about it. Besides this side of it I would like to renew contact with Ray. Thanks in advance for anyone who can help. I saw recently ghe had helped Bob Oechsler in Washington/Maryland investigations!!! Regards, Bill Chalker. -- Bill Chalker UFORA Associate NSW - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Bill.Chalker.UFORA.Associate.NSW@f8.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bill.Chalker.UFORA.Associate.NSW@f8.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Bill Chalker UFORA Associate NSW) Subject: UFO Research (NSW) Date: 8 Dec 91 19:21:00 GMT I have been associated with UFO Research (NSW) since 1977 when I helped form it from the UFO Investigation Centre (UFOIC). During the latter part of the 1980s & up to now I have kept it going as its director on an intentionally low profile and informal networking basis, mainly because of the lack of keen workers and my distaste for UFO group politics. During that time I have preferred to network my group and my own research findings through other wider networking facilities such as the Australian Centre for UFO Studies (ACUFOS) and UFORA, rather than publish my own newsletter. I found this to be a good working arrangement and a great deal of useful information was circulated this way. Unfortunately UFO politics have taken a rather negative turn lately with a new style of ACUFOS which seems to prefer to promote the claims of Bieleck, Lear, Cooper etc. I have made my views clear to the current ACUFOS management (Martin Gottschall) and have completely dissociated myself from its activities. Perhaps related to this, the new ACUFOS set about trying to get a UFO group (of its persausion) going in New South Wales (NSW). Although I do not agree with much of what the new ACUFOS and UFO Research (Queensland) are doing, this is a democracy and new breakthroughs are possible through all sorts of avenues, no matter how bizarre. So I was not concerned about a new group in NSW - plenty of room for that. However I did not expect this new group, which had its inargural meeting in November, 1991, to take my group name! This is what they have done and they have registered it as a business name, something I found unnecessary to do since 1977! This leaves me with not much room to move re group names. A name change has been forced on my informal NSW network group. This message is designed to alert you to these confusing and rather disappointing developments. As of November, 1991, my UFO Research (NSW) group (formerly known as UFOIC), will be known as the UFO Investigation Centre (UFOIC), the ORIGINAL UFO RESEARCH (NSW). Please understand that I have nothing what so ever to do with the new UFO Research (NSW). My UFOR(NSW) activities span 1977 to 1991 and my UFOIC involvement goes back to 1969. UFOIC itself goes back to 1955, when it was reformed from the original Australian group AFSB then run by Edgar Jarrold. Some of the principles of the NEW UFO Research (NSW) group are Bryan Dickeson, Moira McGhee and Paul Sowiak-Rudej. I repeat I have no connect with this group and they have no connection with my UFOR(NSW) (1977-91) activities, other than brief and limited involvement from some of their members. They did not maintain any involvement since the early 80s. I should point out that my group has close ties with the national network UFORA. I can be contacted via this folder, through my box address: P.O. Box W42, West Pennant Hills, NSW, 2125, AUSTRALIA or on voice line: Sydney (02) 484 4680. Regards from Bill Chalker. -- Bill Chalker UFORA Associate NSW - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Bill.Chalker.UFORA.Associate.NSW@f8.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Pony.Godic@f7.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Pony Godic) Subject: Tasmanian Tiger Date: 11 Dec 91 05:46:00 GMT The following is recorded purely for your interest. It more than likely is mundane in nature. However, a discussion with Bill Chalker in which Bill said the unusual tail carriage of the creature I saw is very typical of Tasmanian Tigers prompts me to relate the following just in case I did in fact see something unusual: On November 13, 1991, my husband Vladimir and I left Adelaide in South Australia and spent 5 days in transit to Cairns in Far North Queensland where we now live. We have literally moved from one end of Australia to the other. On the first day we were travelling from late afternoon through to around midnight on the particularly desolate stretch of highway between Broken Hill and a little service station come truck stop area called Neferti. This road runs through thick, flat scrubland. The whole area is infested with kangaroos and wallabies. The road was like a slaughterhouse with kangaroo carcases every few hundred metres or so, the victims of mostly trucks. Anyway, we were literally on the edge of our seats because there were kangaroos and wallabies grazing along the side of the road in enormous numbers. They're pretty but not very bright and you never know which way they're going to jump, so you have to slow right down when they're at the edge of the road. Consequently we were travelling between 40-60 km/h with our eyes constantly scanning for the closer of these creatures. Being grey they were inclined to blend with the scrub, especially in poor light. Anyway, during the late afternoon mostly crows and eagles were eating at the dead kangaroos on the road. In the night feral cats and other small creatures were feeding on them. During dusk we approached a kangaroo carcass that had just one creature eating at it. As we drove up, the creature looked up, saw us, decided to get of the road, sort of trotted, sort of sauntered to the side of the road, right to left, and then stood on the side of the road, its nose pointing towards the scrub, as it waited patiently for us to pass. As it stood there I particularly noticed its tail. It was extremely long and held dead level and straight with the back. I figure all told I saw the creature for a full 8 seconds or more. First I was taken with the way it moved, it was sort of cat like in that it was stealthy, but it wasn't slinky like a cat. It was sort of dog like in that it trotted, but it wasn't the jarring movement that one sees in a dog. On the side of the road, I got a good long look at the creature. As stated I was particularly taken with its tail, but I'll start at the other end. It had a head like a dog's, except the ears were either small and rounded like a cat's or else they hung over at the tips. It had a medium sized dark eye. Its mouth was open but it wasn't panting so I couldn't see its tongue. Its head carriage was like a dog's although a little lower. Its neck was about as long as a dog's. It had noticeable withers and a rib cage but they were not pronounced. Its legs were rather strong and slender looking. Even though its body was so long, the legs did not look short or out of proportion. The animal was about as tall as a cattle dog, but easily twice as long in body length. Its tail was really long, as long as the body, maybe as long as the body and head combined. I was particularly taken with it not only because it was so long and held in such a peculiar way, but because it was round and tapered down to a rounded end. Starting on the shoulder and going almost as far as the end of the rib cage were stripes, I estimate around 6. They were frayed at the edges and appeared about 3 centimetres wide. They were slightly bowed like so (. They were slate grey i.e. they weren't dark enough to call black and not light enough to call grey. The rest of the creature was a dun or camel colour. While I was watching this I thought it must be a bandicoot, then, noticing the stripes I wondered if it could be a Tasmanian Tiger. I then replayed from memory the short piece of news footage of the last Tasmanian Tiger which, as I recall was in Taronga Park Zoo in the 1930s. This poor creature was pacing up and down. It had a longer snout than the creature I saw. It had a more pronounced wither and deeper chest cage. I think it was shorter in body length and overall its lines were chunkier and thicker than the animal I saw. Having made this comparison I then decided that I must be looking at a bandicoot. It was only after that it occurred to me that bandicoot are much smaller creatures, although I'm no expert and could very well be wrong on this point. Anyway, I'd obviously have to see the footage on that last Tasmanian Tiger again to decide how valid my comparison was. I don't recall its tail or ears at all, and am unclear on its stripes. Anyway, the above is included only for interest, I'm definitely not claiming to have seen a Tasmanian Tiger, but I may have seen something unusual. Pony Godic, UFORA Secretary. -- Pony Godic - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Pony.Godic@f7.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Pony.Godic@f7.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Pony Godic) Subject: UFO Research in Australia & New Zealand Date: 11 Dec 91 06:00:00 GMT "UFO Research in Australia & New Zealand" a compilation of material, dealing with the small residue of unexplained cases, has been released. The book was compiled by UFO Research Australia. Pony Godic typed the manuscript. She and husband Vladimir were involved in numerous proof readings as well as approaching publishers. The book contains material published in the "UFO Research Australia Newsletter" and all contributors have agreed that any and all profits will be put back into the magazine in an effort to increase its frequency. We are especially pleased that so many good Australian researchers have had their work showcased in the book and congratulate them all in their own right and express our pleasure that rational sane research is getting in the spotlight for a change. The book is on computer disk with accompanying booklet of photos and diagrams. It was released with 2 other titles and this is the first time that digital books have been published in Australia. Our publisher believed in the book and didn't want any changes. However, in the middle of a recession he found it hard to publish in hardcopy and so requested permission to do the book digitally. For further information see Bill Chalker's review. Pony Godic, UFORA Secretary. -- Pony Godic - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Pony.Godic@f7.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Vladimir.Godic@f7.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Vladimir Godic) Subject: Re: Welcome back! Date: 12 Dec 91 05:48:00 GMT > Glad to see you are enjoying the weather there. Ours isn't too > bad, either. When I was in Greece in the summertime, I'd always > meet Aussies trying to get away from the winters! Hi Linda, Well there will be no more winter for us. If we go visiting friends and relatives, down in Adelaide, it will be during their summer. > In that part of Australia where you are now, is there enough > farming and growing of grains to get some crop circles? We're > all waiting to see what develops in your neck of the woods! No, there is no farming and growing of grains in Far North Queensland. They only grow sugar cane as well as bananas and tropical fruit. I don't remember of any reports of circles seen on sugar cane fields. However, there was famous Tully (not far from Cairns) report, back in 60s, where an object left a large circle on reeds in a swamp. > Keep your eyes on the skies, I sure will. As a matter of fact, as soon as we've settled down here, we'll be helping our associate - UFO Research Far North QLD - with their reports and investigations. We also intend to go for night drives in case we can see something ourselves. Vlad -- Vladimir Godic - via FidoNet node 1:104/422 UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name INTERNET: Vladimir.Godic@f7.n1040.z9.FIDONET.ORG -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: kether.webo.dg.com!tom Subject: Mystery Object of 12/5 Date: 11 Dec 91 18:33:12 GMT From: tom@kether.webo.dg.com (Tom Sullivan) I've seen nothing on the net regarding this, but I found this in the Globe: Without permission from the Boston Globe, 12/7, page 13: Mystery object eludes astronomers By David L. Chandler, Globe Staff The unidentified object that hurtled past Earth before dawn on Thursday remains a mystery, astronomers said yesterday, and it apparently slipped by without them getting a good look. A week ago, astronomers had decided that the tiny object, which passed slightly farther away from Earth than the moon's distance of 240,000 miles, was probably an asteroid -- a chunk of interplanetary rock probably less than 30 feet across [BUT, read on!]. But observations on Monday by European astronomers working in Chile showed dramatic variations in brightness which suggest an irregularly shaped, tumbling object with great variations in its surface reflectivity, much more so than expected for a natural object like an asteroid, said Brian Marsden, an astronomer. Marsden, director of the Cambridge-based International Astronomical Union's Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams and Minor Planet Center, said yesterday that the variation in brightness 'means we are dealing with some very peculiar object. I would say man-made. I think it wold be hard to explain this kind of variation with a natural object, even a small one.' But Marsden and others are still puzzling over what kind of man-made object it is. Marsden said two weeks ago that it was probably the leftover Centaur rocket used in 1974 to launch a sun-observing satellite called Helios. But more precise calculations of the object's orbit, based on the latest observations, show that, traced backwards, it never quite meets Earth, as it should if it had been launched from Earth. There is a possible explaination for that descrepancy, Marsden said: Centaur rockets sometimes contain leftover hydrogen fuel after they reach orbit, and this fuel could continue to leak out, perhaps for years. This could propel the rocket in unpredictable directions, like air escaping from a balloon that send it careening aound a room. During its closest approach to Earth on Thursday, the object was too far south to be visible from anywhere in the northern hemisphere. Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory in Chile tried to get pictures of it shortly after its closest approach in order to get more precise data on its exact path and to make further measurements of its brightness variations. But as of yesterday, they were unable to find any sign of the object in their pictures. Because of the difficulty of the observation and the faintness of the object, astronomers Richard West and Oliver Hainaut at the observatory in the Chilean Andes continued to examine their images carefully yesterday. These observations are essential to guarantee the success of a planned radar observation of the object when it returns to visibility in the northern hemisphere next week. A successful radar observations 'would clinch it' as to whether the object is natural or artificial, Marsden said. 'I was hoping it would be natural,' said Marsden, because that would make it a very unusual type of asteroid and the smallest ever detected, and therefore interesting to astronomers. But because of the brightness changes seen this week, he is now '90 percent sure' that it is artificial. Because of the uncertain movements of a rocket leaking leftover fuel, however, it may never be possible to identify it as a specific rocket. If it is artificial but not any known rocket, that might explain the astronomers' inability to locate it in their pictures, Marsden joked. 'Maybe that's why they couldn't be found last night,' he said. 'Maybe they landed.' Tom ********To have your comments in the next issue, send electronic mail to******** 'infopara' at the following address: UUCP {ncar,isis,csn}!scicom!infopara DOMAIN infopara@scicom.alphacdc.com For administrative requests (subscriptions, back issues) send to: UUCP {ncar,isis,csn}!scicom!infopara-request DOMAIN infopara-request@scicom.alphacdc.com To obtain back issues by anonymous ftp, connect to: DOMAIN ftp.uiowa.edu (directory /archives/paranet) Mail to private Paranet/Fidonet addresses from the newsletters: DOMAIN firstname.lastname@paranet.org UUCP scicom!paranet.org!firstname.lastname ******************The**End**of**Info-ParaNet**Newsletter************************