Orbiter - No 05 - 1988

Magazine Overview

Title: ORBITER
Issue: #5
Date: February, 1988
Publisher: The New England Aerial Phenomena Report

This issue of ORBITER magazine, a report on aerial phenomena, features a cover story detailing a police investigation into a reported UFO 'attack' on the Nullarbor Plain in Australia. The magazine also includes articles on UFO conferences, a commentary on government cover-up and debunking programs, a scientific model of the 'Latent Encounter Experience', and reports on unusual atmospheric phenomena.

Conference Updates

The magazine announces two upcoming UFO conferences. The 25th Annual National UFO Conference is scheduled for September 17, 1988, at the Days Inn in Cleveland, Ohio, with a list of featured speakers including Antonio Huneeus, James W. Moseley, and William L. Moore. Another unique UFO conference will take place on March 25-26 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, hosted by Bill Fitts and Ed Mazur, featuring speakers such as Air Force Major Dewey Fournet, Al Chop, and Jennie Zeidman.

Radio-TV Log

A television log entry notes that on February 24, the Geraldo Rivera show featured Phil Imbrogno, Chris Clark, and Jim Spiser discussing the Hudson Valley sightings.

Commentary: Cover-Up/Debunking Program by Jim Melesciuc

This article posits that a conspiracy exists within the government to conceal the truth about UFOs from the public. It recounts a plan in January 1953 by Dewey Fornet, Ed Ruppelt, and Al Chop to reveal UFO facts, which was allegedly thwarted by the CIA. According to the article, the CIA then initiated a national debunking campaign, planting articles and arranging broadcasts to ridicule UFO reports. Witnesses were allegedly instructed to be ridiculed if plausible explanations were unavailable, marking the beginning of a joint cover-up/debunking program.

The author claims that sincere witnesses have been treated as criminals, citing the case of Olden Moore, who was allegedly whisked away to Andrews AFB after a sighting in Montville, Ohio, and questioned repeatedly. Another instance mentioned is the FBI's visit to CAUS member Robert Todd in 1978, seeking information about a Cuban MIG-12/UFO encounter. The article suggests that many others may have faced similar harassment, leading them to avoid cooperation. It also points to repetitive reports of investigations being hampered, evidence confiscation, and unusual telephone behavior, including a discovered phone tap on Ray Fowler's line.

The cover-up program is also described as targeting UFO groups, with suggestions that mysterious individuals infiltrated organizations like NICAP and AFRO. A CIA memo dated April 26, 1976, is cited, proposing government officers and personnel monitor UFO phenomena and maintain contact with reporting channels. The author speculates that this infiltration aims to discourage, discredit, and alter public opinion by ruining the credibility and reputation of groups and individuals.

Seasoned ufologists are said to have encountered mysterious government men. Dr. J. A. Hynek and P. Imbragno were allegedly shadowed by an NSA agent during their investigation of the Hudson Valley sightings. The article also touches upon the MJ12 documents, suggesting they might be a government smoke screen to distract from the truth, and concludes that the cover-up/debunking program has been ongoing since January 1953.

Journal of Meteorology 2/78: Miniature Ball Lightning

This section describes an incident involving a ball of light observed by two ladies at a table with an open window during a rainstorm. The ball of light, described as 'about the size of a pea' with the light encircling it being 'about the size of a golf ball', moved from a knife to the tablecloth, where it 'went out with a spitting sound' without leaving a mark. The phenomenon was brief and intense, appearing white and 'too dazzling to see through'. The observation was made near Eastbourne, with reports of thunder and lightning from London, approximately 50 miles away.

The Latent Encounter Experience - A Composite Model by Joe Nyman

This paper proposes a model for the 'Latent Encounter Experience' (LE), commonly known as an 'abduction', based on the investigation of over thirty close encounter claims. The author, Joe Nyman, aims to establish a consistent pattern in these encounters.

Terminology: The term 'abduction' is criticized for being distended and misshapen by media, with debunkers focusing on the lack of FBI reports. Nyman prefers 'latent encounter' as a more neutral term, acknowledging that 'abduction' implies unwillingness and complete post-event memory, which he argues is not always the case.

Methodology: The model is based on information from percipients' conscious memory and, more significantly, from attempts to relive unresolved experiences in a relaxed state, forming chains of associations. The author has gained insight into the motivations of individuals willing to expose themselves, primarily fear for their sanity and the need for an explanation of puzzling experiences.

The Eight Stages of the Latent Encounter Cycle (Table 1):

1. Characterized by Memory or Image: Anxious anticipation, forewarning.
2. Transition of Consciousness: From normal awake state to a state of calmness, acquiescence, and limited mobility (CA state), often accompanied by physical and mental effects.
3. Psycho-physical Imposition and Interaction: Bizarre imagery, emotion-filled stage involving mental communication and involuntary submission to physical procedures (e.g., 'table', 'scar', 'needle', 'probe', 'ova', 'sperm', 'baby').
4. Physical Procedures Completed: A positive bias (e.g., 'recognition', 'explanation', 'love', 'life review') is mentally imposed as the lasting emotional remnant.
5. Seamless Transition to Normal Waking: An afterimage or cover story explains unusual occurrences, with a prohibition against discussing the experience.
6. Memory Latency: Within minutes of waking, conscious memory becomes latent, superseded by routine or sleep.
7. Anxiety-Provoking Fragment: A lingering anxiety or incongruous image remains, forcing itself to mind repetitively, serving as a 'marker memory' from which investigations begin.
8. Cycle Repetition: LEs occur at specific intervals, possibly related to the formation and maturation of human sexual function.

Indications of the LE Cycle in the Percipient (Table 2):

1. Fuzzlement: Puzzled or upset by marker experience(s).
2. Puzzle Solving: Attempting to resolve incongruity without success.
3. Decision: Reaching the point of needing to resolve the incongruity.
4. Readiness: Willingness to come forward to find out what happened.

Difficulties in Bringing the LE to Memory (Table 3):

1. Fear of admitting the experience equates to admitting insanity.
2. Fear of others' unkind reactions.
3. Repression of trauma and helplessness.
4. Difficulty remembering experiences from altered states of awareness.
5. A feeling of prohibition against remembering.

Nyman suggests a test involving two groups (with and without marker memories) subjected to association-inducing procedures. He also mentions a study proposal by a psychologist to survey percipient transformative effects related to Stage 8 concepts.

Police probe UFO 'attack' on the Nullarbor

This news report from THE AGE (January 21, 1988) details a serious investigation by South Australian and Western Australian police into a reported UFO sighting on the Nullarbor Plain. A woman and her three adult sons reported that an orange object, resembling an 'egg in an egg cup', tracked their Ford Telstar car for about 10 minutes, lifted it from the ground, and dropped it back facing the opposite direction. The incident allegedly caused interference on the car radio, distorted voices, and left the car with a dented roof and covered in a film of ash. Tyre marks on the Eyre Highway, 40 km from Mundrabilla, indicated that 'something occurred out there'. Detectives took the ash to Adelaide for analysis. Sergeant Jim Furnell of Ceduna police stated that after interviewing the family for two-and-a-half hours, they had no reason to doubt them and were taking the incident seriously. The family, initially skeptical of UFOs, now believe differently. A truck driver reportedly witnessed the incident. The report also mentions a similar claim from five years prior by another man who did not report it at the time.

How and Why: Mars Approach

A reader asks about an important event on Mars. The answer explains that Mars will make its closest approach to Earth in 17 years, offering an exceptional opportunity for amateur astronomers to observe its features, including clouds and polar ice caps, during the summer and fall. The closest approach is on September 21, and Mars will appear about one-sixtieth the size of the full moon. The column also notes that the Boston Globe's Sci-Tech section invites science questions.

Stargazers' Imbalance

This brief note highlights that most major astronomical installations are in the Northern Hemisphere, despite many astronomical points of interest being in the Southern Hemisphere. The recent installation of telescopes in South America and Australia is noted as helping to correct this imbalance.

Flying Saucers I Have Known by J. Allen Hynek

Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Chairman of Astronomy at Northwestern University, discusses his years of service as a civilian consultant to the Air Force on Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) reports. He notes the continued flow of UFO reports, even fifteen years after they first hit the headlines in 1947, contrary to initial expectations that it would be a temporary fad.

Hynek observes that while the daily press may no longer extensively cover UFOs, numerous 'saucer groups' and publications continue to document cases not officially reported to the Air Force. He finds these unreported cases particularly interesting due to the lack of critical reporting. He cites an example from 'Flying Saucer Review' (January-February 1963) which contained five pages of sightings not reported to the U.S. Air Force.

He expresses the view that there should be scientific 'monitoring of the noise level' to assess if the pattern, geographical distribution, content, or types of people reporting UFOs are changing. He questions whether there is any scientific value hidden within these reports for physical sciences, psychology, or sociology. Hynek acknowledges that some reports may describe phenomena like ball lightning or unusual atmospheric events, and draws a parallel to how meteorites were once dismissed as 'old wives' tales'.

UFO Report Procedure: Hynek explains that in military parlance, a UFO is any craft whose origin and mission is not immediately discernible. Military personnel are required to report such objects. He distinguishes between 'noise' (misidentifications by personnel) and 'signal' (truly unidentified objects), emphasizing the need to monitor the 'noise level' to avoid losing the signal.

Observer Limitations: He notes that people, including military personnel, are often not trained observers and lack scientific instruments to measure phenomena like angular velocity or spectral composition. Reports are often incomplete, like jigsaw puzzles, making evaluation difficult. Cases are categorized as 'insufficient information', 'possible', or 'probable'.

International Prevalence: UFO sightings are not exclusively American, with reports from England, France, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada, and Iron Curtain countries. He defines a flying saucer as 'any aerial sighting or phenomenon which remains unexplained long enough for someone to report it'.

Typical Reporter: Hynek describes a typical reporter as an honest, sincere, and reliable person who may report with diffidence, often after a delay, fearing to be considered odd but believing the report might be important.

Analysis of Reports: While many cases are resolved as misidentifications of conventional aircraft, balloons, or birds, Hynek acknowledges a handful of 'unknowns'. However, he concludes that these unknowns are too varied in content, pattern, and circumstance to suggest extraterrestrial visits. He suggests some may be of interest to meteorology, atmospheric physics, and geophysics.

Paraselenic Circle Over Tucson

This article by D. O. Staley describes the appearance of a paraselenic circle over Tucson, Arizona, on the evening of November 14, 1975. A paraselenic circle is a reflection phenomenon requiring ice crystals with vertical faces, observed less frequently than halo phenomena. The occurrence caused considerable consternation among astronomical observers. The circle is white, passes through the moon parallel to the horizon, and has its center directly overhead. Its size increases with the zenith angle of the moon. The geometry of this occurrence is noted as being nearly identical to that shown schematically for a parhelic circle and 22° halo. The photograph was taken by staff at the Grace Flandrau Planetarium on the University of Arizona campus.

Sparkling Rain

This brief report describes an uncommon phenomenon of rain that crackles and emits electric sparks upon touching the ground. An instance was reported from Cordova, Spain, by an electrical engineer. The weather was warm and undisturbed by wind, followed by an overcast sky and lightning. Electrical rain drops emitted sparks and crackles upon contact with surfaces, continuing for several seconds.

Now You Know!

A trivia fact states that one square inch of the sun's surface shines with the intensity of 300,000 candles.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the persistent nature of UFO phenomena, the alleged efforts by governments to control or debunk public knowledge of UFOs, and the psychological and experiential aspects of UFO encounters. The editorial stance, particularly in Jim Melesciuc's commentary, strongly suggests a belief in a government cover-up and a deliberate effort to suppress the truth about UFOs. The inclusion of scientific perspectives, such as Dr. Hynek's analysis and the description of atmospheric phenomena, provides a counterpoint, though the overall tone leans towards the unexplained and the potentially suppressed. The detailed exploration of the 'Latent Encounter Experience' by Joe Nyman indicates a focus on the subjective, psychological, and experiential dimensions of UFO encounters.