Boletín Informativo

Magazine Overview

Title: Boletín Informativo
Issue: No. 16 (Volume 18)
Date: January - June 1975
Publisher: Centro de Investigaciones en Cohetería y Astronomía (CICA), Santiago, Chile.
Document Type: Magazine Issue

Editorial and Organizational Information

The Boletín Informativo is published by CICA, an organization founded in 1961 with legal status granted by a decree on September 5, 1966, and affiliated with the Latin American League of Astronomy. The issue details the CICA directory, with Sergio Cusnan Burgos as President, Rodolfo Hurtado Vitig as Vice President of Rocketry, and L. Celis as Vice President of Astronomy. Juan Aguillon Meres is the Director of DIOVNI. Correspondence is directed to DIOVNI - CICA at Padre Prado 4580 - Macul, Santiago (11), with ordinary meetings held on Saturdays at 6:00 PM.

An ordinary election of the Directory was held on March 17th of the current year. The new board includes the President, Vice Presidents, and also Fernando Deltrin Lopez (Public Relations Officer), Juan Aguillón Meres (Treasurer), and Alberto Barnal Bark (Secretary). Colonel Guillermo Navarro Vicencio was officially presented as the delegate of the Chilean Air Force to CICA, appointed by Ministerial Order EADN Depto.VI N° 97 on December 19, 1972.

UFO and UAP Investigations

Conversations are underway between the UFO-Chile and DIOVNI-CICA groups to establish permanent collaboration in collecting data on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). Despite differing methodologies, the aim is to standardize the use of statistical forms, questionnaires, and common codifications to facilitate rapid cross-referencing of specific cases. As a preliminary collaboration, this issue and the next will include data obtained by UFO-Chile from interviews with witnesses of two recent cases in Santiago. The bulletin reminds readers that it has previously published works by the secretary of UFO-Chile, Pablo Patrowitech S., who emphasizes the importance of considering the numerous events occurring in Chile in international statistical studies.

Case Reports:

• Case I: On December 15, 1972, at 5:02 AM, a luminous object was observed by Viceprimaro Juan Alejo Sapim and a Carabineros patrol in San Clemente, Talca province. The object was described as having a diameter of about 15 meters and emitting a light similar to a desk lamp. It flew about eighty meters away, stopped for approximately four minutes in the Baños Cauquenes sector near the Maule lagoon, and then disappeared heading north. The same object was reportedly seen at 4:55 AM by two employees in Talca, near kilometer 257 of the Longitudinal highway. North American scientist James Richard suggested it might be a passage of "gaseous matter," which was also reportedly seen in La Serena, though on December 12th.
• Case II: On the night of December 11-12, 1972, four students (Bernardo and Rafael Delano, Jaime Concha, and Cabriel Vilches) camping near the Pollanco stream in the precordillera of San José de Maipo, Santiago, observed a luminous spherical object about one hundred meters away. Initially mistaken for the moon, it was later realized the moon was behind them. The object, described as a pinkish sphere with a darker circumference and slightly larger than the moon, appeared to move away from El Volcán towards San José. After a few minutes, the object reappeared with a smaller, more brilliant sphere, and both crossed over the observers before disappearing. The following night, around 9:30 PM, the two objects were observed again on the same route, with their distance constantly varying. This information was supplemented by data from the UFO-Chile group.
• Case III: On Sunday, January 28, 1975, a luminous object was observed moving northwest over the Balneario Las Salinas in Viña del Mar, reportedly plunging into the sea. It was established that it might have been a meteorite, which produced a smell of sulfur upon hitting the water, although the connection between the two phenomena was not confirmed.

Astronomy Section

Eclipses - Second semester of 1975:

• Partial Lunar Eclipse: On July 15, 1975, visible in Chile only in its initial phase, starting at 6:50 AM and ending at 8:28 AM.
• Total Solar Eclipse: On December 24, 1975, visible in Chile from Coquimbo northwards. It began at 8:01 AM and ended at 2:05 PM.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The magazine focuses on UFO/UAP reports and astronomical observations within Chile. There is a clear emphasis on scientific investigation and data collection, as evidenced by the collaboration efforts between CICA and UFO-Chile. The editorial stance supports the systematic study of unexplained aerial phenomena and encourages the inclusion of Chilean cases in international research. The inclusion of astronomical data, such as eclipses, suggests a broader interest in celestial events and phenomena.