APCIC - Vol 08 No 01 - 1983

Magazine Overview

Title: UFO NEWS
Issue: Volume 8, No. 1
Date: January 1983
Publisher: AERIAL PHENOMENON CLIPPING INFORMATION CENTER
Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

This issue of UFO News presents a collection of recent UFO sightings and related incidents from various locations, primarily in the UK and USA, spanning late 1982 and early 1983. The magazine highlights witness accounts, investigations, and explores themes of potential government cover-ups and the nature of unexplained aerial phenomena.

Contents and Articles

Flying puzzle in our skies (Morecambe Guardian, Dec. 10, 1982)
This article reports on multiple sightings of strange objects in North Lancashire, UK. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Towers spotted something with red, blue, and white lights while driving on the M6. Two other sightings occurred around the same time: Mrs. Susan Adderley saw a white light falling and levelling out, and two work colleagues, Mrs. Doris Davis and Mrs. Sue Barker, described an object made of bright red, white, and blue-green lights that initially hovered before moving away. The article also discusses meteors and artificial satellites as possible explanations, quoting Mr. Denis Buczynski of the Lancaster and Morecambe Astronomical Society.

UFO report puzzling (The Light, San Antonio, Texas, Dec. 15, 1982)
This report from Nebraska City, USA, details a puzzling sighting of a hovering purplish-pink object and a brilliant flash of light. A couple reported the object hanging in the sky, and their neighbor also saw it fly over a highway. Law enforcement officers in Johnson, Nemaha, and Cass counties saw a flash of light but no objects. The Otoe County Sheriff's Office had investigated similar reports years ago using a helicopter.

UFO sighting (Whitby Gazette, North Yorkshire, Dec. 17, 1982)
In Whitby, UK, Mr. John Young reported seeing a "flying saucer type" shape with flashing white lights. Whitby police had only this one report, and RAF Fylingdales had no record of unusual activity.

Is there a cover-up? (Slough Observer, Bucks, Dec. 16, 1982; Kentish Times, Dec. 9, 1982)
This feature, compiled by UFO investigator Mrs. Margaret Fry of "Contact (UK)", discusses numerous UFO sightings in the Kent and SE London area. Mrs. Fry rejects psychic phenomena explanations and believes some UFOs are interstellar spacecraft monitoring earth installations, leading to government clampdowns for national security reasons. She also suggests a threat to vehicle industries as another reason for a cover-up. The article details several "close encounters," including a young woman who fainted after three "beings" emerged from a spaceship on Plumstead Common, Mrs. E. M. Clark seeing two men near a helicopter, and an anonymous man describing a cigar-shaped UFO lifting a derelict car. Thirty people witnessed a large, cigar-shaped object with portholes emitting orange flames near Bexley Hospital. The article also mentions a "fleet of stationary airships" and questions why no official body addresses such widespread sightings. The Earl of Clancarty alleges a general government cover-up.

TERROR DRIVE (Slough Observer, Bucks, Dec. 16, 1982)
This account describes a nightmarish car drive where two sisters were pursued by a half-moon shaped UFO, "the size of a car," from Dartford to Barnehurst. The object followed them, waited at their parents' home, and continued to pursue them when they drove back. The sisters were terrified and reported seeing the object lurking over the garden, beaming light into their room.

MYSTERY LIGHT RETURNS (Hartlepool Mail, Dec. 17, 1982)
Reports of strange lights in Hartlepool, UK, led to a new UFO sighting by hospital porter Stan Coburn. He saw a lighted object travelling towards the sea, followed by another lighted object. He described it as looking like the bottom of a helicopter but partitioned, emitting yellow and green lights, and moving eerily.

Glowing UFO seen (Burton Daily Mail, Dec. 15, 1982)
Mr. James Price reported seeing a huge, pear-shaped, brilliantly lit yellowish glow in the northwestern sky for approximately six seconds, without noise, in the Barton-under-Needwood area.

DRIVER REPORTS SEEING A UFO (Isle of Thanet Gazette, Margate, Kent, Dec. 17, 1982)
A Margate man, Mr. Nigel Davies, spotted "a ball of bright white light" in the sky, described as looking like a torch-light. RAF Manston staff suggested it might have been a light aircraft circling while waiting to land.

More strange night-sightings (Ashbourne News Telegraph, Derbyshire, Dec. 16, 1982)
Following a previous report, the Nottingham Unidentified Flying Object Investigation Society received two more reports from the Fenny Bentley to Tissington road area. A motorist saw an apparently stationary, square-shaped object with grey color and two bright headlights. Another witness reported a stationary, rectangular object with illuminated windows and a smaller light, about the size of a mini-bus.

Mysterious happenings in night skies (Ashbourne News Telegraph, Derbyshire, Dec. 16, 1982)
This article discusses blue flashes seen in the sky, with Mr. Syd Henley of the Nottingham Unidentified Flying Object Investigation Society reporting a "ribbon flash." Possible explanations include touching overhead power lines, a satellite in space, or laser beam communication. The article also details a specific sighting on November 27th of a square-shaped object with grey color and two bright headlights, moving slowly and low to the ground.

'seen landing in Sidcup' (Slough Observer, Bucks, Dec. 16, 1982)
Eyewitness accounts in Sidcup, UK, suggest UFOs have been sighted and some claimed to have landed. Mrs. Margaret Fry of "Contact (UK)" has received numerous reports, including one from a mother and her three children who saw an oval-shaped object with bright lights hovering over Marlborough Park, which they believed may have landed.

... and a visit from space? (Lancashire Evening Post, Preston, Dec. 11, 1982)
This report describes a UFO mystery in North Lancashire, UK, where several police officers and others witnessed three diamond-shaped craft moving slowly across Morecambe Bay. The objects were reportedly moving slower than a plane or helicopter and emitted a slight humming noise. An initial theory of powered handgliders was not established.

UFO Sightings Are Reported (Coudersport, PA., Potter Enterprise, Dec. 15, 1982)
The Pennsylvania UFO Center received reports of unidentified flying objects in the Coudersport and Genesee areas. A group reported seeing a bright object crossing the sky, described as looking like a stingray. State police were also contacted by a woman reporting a strange object. Another report mentioned an object with red and white lights sighted between Coudersport and Port Allegany.

Exploding object puzzles some Marysville Residents (Idaho Falls ID Post-Register, Nov. 3, 1982)
This article details an incident where an unidentified object exploded over the Snake River near Marysville, Idaho, on August 15th. Mrs. Derrald Baler and others witnessed flashing blue and green lights, followed by a "boom." Two teenage boys recovered five pieces of "rock" from the river, described as having an ash-like outer crust and a green and yellow glassy central core. The geology department at Ricks College suggested it could be part of a meteor, but noted meteors are usually heavier and metallic.

Strange light may have been a UFO, Ketchumite reports (Hailey, Idaho Wood River Journal, Dec. 9, 1982)
Alan Pennay reported seeing a strange light in the sky near Ketchum, Idaho, which he couldn't identify. He described it as a bright light coming from the northeast, which stopped and hovered. A small light ejected from it, then reversed and moved back. The incident lasted about seven or eight minutes, and the company that provides airplane services denied causing the lights.

Cow Killing UFO Related? (Cheyenne, Wyo. Wyoming Eagle, Dec. 20, 1982)
Former gubernatorial candidate Pat McGuire claims he saw a disk-shaped craft with lights pick up a live cow from about six feet off the ground and has seen mutilations around the same area where he has seen crafts land. He stated that these incidents reportedly occurred in 1976, but he has seen alien crafts more recently.

Two UFO sighters may be 'regressed' (Eastern Suburbs Reporter, Perth, Australia, Wed. Sept 22, 1982)
This article discusses two Esperance women, Mrs. Maggie Yeend and Mrs. Frances Collins, who claim to have had a close encounter with a UFO. UFO researchers are interested in hypnotically regressing them to see if they actually came in contact with aliens, as they cannot account for a 30-minute period on the South Coast Highway. The object they saw was bright and swooping, and chased their vehicle for about 100 km before hovering over Esperance Bay.

A reliable source tells his UFO story (Vancouver, WA Columbian, Nov. 11, 1982)
Jim A., a former county commissioner, recounts an incident where he saw a large yellow light descending to the Columbia River, about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. The object hovered and appeared to test the gravity pull before touching the water and then rising in a zigzag. It then moved at high speed, making sharp zigzags before disappearing. He contacted the sheriff's office, who asked him to continue watching.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue of UFO News are the prevalence and variety of UFO sightings across different geographical locations, the detailed descriptions of observed phenomena (shapes, lights, behaviors), and the persistent question of whether there is a government cover-up regarding UFO information. The editorial stance appears to be one of open reporting and investigation of these phenomena, providing a platform for witness accounts and exploring various theories, while also acknowledging the skepticism and difficulty in obtaining official confirmation. The inclusion of foreign correspondents suggests a global perspective on UFO activity.

This issue of GLOBE, dated January 18, 1983, features a sensational cover story claiming the discovery of a massive UFO base beneath the Antarctic. The report is attributed to a leading UFO expert and NASA scientists, based on a satellite photograph of a mysterious warm-water lake.

UFO Base Found Under Antarctic

The main article, written by Bob Borino, details the alleged discovery of a vast UFO base housing alien creatures. Lane Childress, a retired physicist and UFOlogist from the University of California at Los Angeles, asserts that NASA has found the aliens' primary base on Earth. He claims it has remained undetected for centuries until a NASA satellite photograph revealed a massive, warm-water lake in the Antarctic.

Mathew Gargan, one of the NASA scientists involved, expressed astonishment at the discovery of the 186,000-square-mile lake in the middle of the Weddell Sea, which remained completely unfrozen despite the extreme Antarctic winter conditions. Gargan noted that typical polynyas, which are unfrozen areas in icy waters, are usually formed by high winds or ocean currents bringing warm water to the surface. However, he contends that no wind on Earth could keep an area as large as the Weddell polynya free of ice, suggesting an inexplicable force is at work.

An investigative team of 26 American and Russian scientists had previously explored the Weddell Sea ice pack but found no polynya, only strange blobs of warm water. Gargan stated, "We ended up with another mystery. What causes the strange blobs?"

Childress offers a simple explanation: UFOnauts have built a giant undersea mother-base, and the heat rising from their city melts the ice in the years they utilize it. He compares it to heat rising from industrial cities, warming the surrounding areas. He suggests that when the polynya does not form, the aliens might be inactive or away from Earth.

UFOs: Do They Exist?

This section, from the Eastern Suburbs Reporter dated September 22, 1982, explores the question of UFO existence, inspired by popular science fiction films. It introduces Mr. George Hume, a 72-year-old bachelor of lawrence Street, Bedford, who investigates UFO sightings through the 'Perth UFO Research Group'.

Hume explains that while many calls are about lights in the sky that don't prove much, each sighting is investigated, and details are filed. He mentions that the air force, police, and meteorological offices refer public sightings to them. Hume recounts a personal sighting of a bright white light over Bedford in 1979 that moved slowly before disappearing.

The article notes that similar sightings have increased significantly since the 1930s, leading to the formation of UFO groups worldwide and numerous books and documentaries on the subject. Scientific studies have explained away 90% of sightings, but 10% remain unexplained.

The Perth UFO Research Group meets every second Wednesday of the month at 'Willard House', 14 Aberdeen Street, Perth. An annual subscription of seven dollars (three dollars for students and pensioners) allows membership. Activities include investigating landing sites and working on scientific data. The article cautions that researchers often lean towards 'man-made' theories rather than extraterrestrial visitors.

Mysterious Lights Leave Two Thinking UFO

This article from the Lewistown, PA. Sentinel dated December 18, 1982, reports on two separate incidents involving mysterious lights.

In Ort Valley, Thelma Stricker and Fred Close reported seeing lights coming down over trees, with the object's outline visible before it disappeared. Close described seeing a light coming down over the trees and landing on a ridge. He noted that the trunks of the trees, not the tops, were illuminated, and he believes he saw a flying saucer several years prior in the Milroy area.

Mrs. Harpster, a dispatcher, mentioned receiving numerous reports of UFO sightings and recalled a previous investigation where an anonymous caller reported an unidentified flying object. She expressed a personal belief that seeing is believing.

Officer Don Roberts investigated the Ort Valley complaint and interviewed Close, but could not offer an opinion on the cause of the lights. Tom Skillman, Granville Township police chief, heard the conversation on the police radio and jokingly suggested it was Santa Claus.

Fred Gadomski of the meteorology department at Penn State University offered a scientific explanation, suggesting that the descriptions of lights are consistent with meteor showers, specifically the Geminid meteor shower, which peaked earlier that week. He explained that atmospheric conditions, such as partly cloudy skies or lifting clouds, could create optical illusions resembling shooting stars or flares.

Light on the Darkness

This piece from The Guardian, London, dated January 7, 1983, reports on astronomical discoveries.

WASHINGTON: A team of astronomers has discovered what they believe to be the largest stellar black hole yet detected, named LMC-X3. Located about 180,000 light years from Earth, it has a mass between eight and 12 times that of the sun. Stellar black holes are thought to exist at the heart of galaxies and orbit companion stars, sucking gases from them at high speeds. Dr. Roger Bell, a researcher at the national science foundation, stated this is the best case for the actual discovery of a stellar black hole.

LMC-X3, believed to be less than 50 million years old, was discovered by three astronomers at the Inter-American Observatory in Chile. They detected a stream of powerful X-rays emitted by hot luminous gases being siphoned from a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The unusual orbital pattern of the star led scientists to conclude the presence of an invisible gravitational force.

The article also mentions a Soviet newspaper report about unidentified flying objects (UFOs), stating their existence should not be ruled out. It revealed that a Soviet fighter plane encountered a "fiery ball" 16 feet in diameter in 1981. While initially assumed to be ball lightning, the damage to the plane did not align with this. The Soviet Union is reportedly working on plans for a long-distance, unmanned space mission to track signs of civilization on distant planets.

Global Radio Search for Other Worlds Urged

This report from the Atlanta Journal, dated October 22, 1982, covers a call for international cooperation in searching for extraterrestrial life.

WASHINGTON: Scientists from the United States, the Soviet Union, and 10 other countries are advocating for a global effort to detect radio signals from potential extraterrestrial civilizations. While making no claims about the existence of advanced civilizations, they emphasize the importance of a long-term search for intelligent life elsewhere, stating that positive or negative results would profoundly impact humanity's view of the universe. The scientists noted that current technology allows for the reception of radio signals from extraterrestrials up to thousands of light years away.

Researcher Scans Skies for UFOs

This article from an unspecified publication, dated January 4, 1983, profiles Bill Sanderson, a field investigator for the Canadian Unidentified Flying Object Research Network (CUFORN).

Sanderson, an 8-year resident of Richmond Hill, describes CUFORN as a "sounding post" for people who have spotted unusual objects in the sky. He defines a UFO as anything not readily recognizable to the observer. His interest in UFOs began in high school when he borrowed a book on the subject for a speech assignment.

Sanderson acknowledges that some reported sightings turn out to be hoaxes, while others remain unexplained. He notes that York Region, where he investigates, has a "strange silence" regarding UFO reports, with only one recorded sighting in Richmond Hill. He also points out the lack of sympathy for UFO observers from the public and military.

CUFORN was established in 1977 to provide a place for people to report sightings. They operate a telephone hotline manned by qualified personnel. Sanderson himself has seen two strange objects that appeared to be UFOs, but cautions that seeing a UFO doesn't necessarily mean it's a spaceship.

Sanderson's personal experiences include mistaking the planet Venus for a UFO and seeing a noiseless light that turned out to be a single-engine aircraft. He explains that Richmond Hill's proximity to four small aircraft airports means a lot of night traffic.

CUFORN classifies UFO sightings into three types of "close encounters": Type One (within 500 ft.), Type Two (environmental changes like burn marks or power surges), and Type Three (including seeing an occupant).

The continuation of this article on page 14 discusses Sanderson's healthy skepticism and his approach to investigating UFOs. He admits he is curious and that there is evidence supporting both the existence and non-existence of UFOs. He likens the mystery of UFOs to reading an Agatha Christie novel, where he would be driven to find out "whodunit" but not be afraid. Sanderson and his CUFORN colleagues emphasize that they investigate only serious sightings and encourage those with valid beliefs to report them. The CUFORN hotline number is 886-2345.

Philip J. Klass, author of "UFOs Explained," is mentioned as being so sure that UFOs do not exist that he is willing to pay $10,000 to anyone who can prove they do. Interested parties must sign an agreement with Klass and pay an annual fee. The article also notes that sightings come in waves, with significant "flaps" reported in 1947, 1952, 1965, and particularly in 1975.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this collection of articles revolve around the unexplained phenomena of UFOs, their potential origins, and the scientific and public response to sightings. There's a clear division between sensational claims, such as the Antarctic UFO base, and more grounded investigations by UFO research groups and scientific inquiries into astronomical anomalies and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The articles highlight the enduring mystery surrounding UFOs, the challenges in proving their existence, and the varying degrees of skepticism and curiosity they evoke. The editorial stance appears to be one of reporting on these diverse claims and investigations, ranging from the extraordinary to the scientific, without necessarily endorsing any single viewpoint, though the sensational nature of the GLOBE cover story is prominent.