Potpourri News No 198

Magazine Overview

Title: POTPOURRI NEWS
Issue Date: August 2, 1979
Volume: 380
Issue Number: 198
Publisher: New Scientist
Country of Publication: USA
Original Language: English

Reveille's Phantom Spaceship

The lead story, 'Reveille's phantom spaceship', discusses a sensational front-page report by the British tabloid Reveille, which reprinted a story from the American weekly National Enquirer. This story claimed that Soviet space experts had been tracking wreckage from an alien spaceship that broke up in orbit around Earth nearly two years before the launch of Sputnik.

According to the report, science fiction writer Alexander Kazantsev, described as a professor, stated that the spacecraft was at least 200 feet long and 100 feet wide, with small domes housing telescopes, antennae for communication, and portholes. Alexei Zolotov, a geologist, estimated the alien's maximum height at nine feet, with a possible range of three to nine feet. Kazantsev and Zolotov are known proponents of the theory that the 1908 Siberian explosion was caused by the crash landing of a nuclear-powered alien spacecraft.

The report further quoted Sergei Boshich, described as a 'top Soviet astrophysicist', and Vladimir Azhazha, a 'top Moscow physicist', who allegedly agreed that the wrecked spacecraft exploded into 10 pieces, each up to 100 feet long, on December 18, 1955. They claimed these pieces are orbiting the Earth at a height of 1240 miles.

However, Western experts have expressed skepticism. Desmond King-Hele of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, stated that if objects of the size and distance suggested by the Russians existed, they would be tracked by radar and visually. He asserted, "We have seen no such objects." King-Hele also pointed out that US Airforce radars can track objects as small as one yard across, and that a 100-foot object at 1000 miles would be as bright as the Echo balloon satellites, visible to many people. He concluded, "There are no alien spacecraft knocking around in orbit."

The article suggests that the Russian report might be based on a 10-year-old misunderstanding originating from a 1969 paper by American scientist John Bagby. Bagby claimed that Earth possessed at least 10 moonlets formed when a parent body broke up on December 18, 1955. Bagby's evidence relied on sudden changes in the published orbits of certain Earth satellites, which he attributed to near encounters between artificial satellites and his moonlets.

Belgian astronomer Jean Meeus, in a critique published in Icarus, dismissed Bagby's evidence as erroneous, stating that the satellite data used was approximate and grossly in error, making the apparent orbital changes illusory. Meeus concluded that "Bagby's story on the Earth moonlets thus appears groundless," and the objects cited by Bagby do not exist.

The article implies that the Russians have now transformed these 'phantom moonlets' into a 'phantom spacecraft'.

Experts to Study UFO Evidence

A separate article reports that experts from 14 countries are gathering in London to study what they term mounting evidence of "close humanoid encounters," alleged CIA cover-ups of UFOs, and other Unidentified Flying Objects. The British UFO Research Association is organizing the two-day conference, expecting around 300 delegates.

Scheduled speakers include Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a leading Ufologist. Delegates are expected from Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, West Germany, and Yugoslavia.

The organizers stated that the congress aims to "discuss ways of improving the study of UFOs and re-examine the mounting worldwide evidence for close humanoid encounters." A controversial issue expected to be addressed is the growing unease in the United States over the CIA's involvement in UFO reporting. Ufologists have repeatedly accused authorities of concealing knowledge of UFOs despite mounting evidence of their existence.

Other sessions will cover "humanoid cases in Spain" and "the unprecedented wave of UFOs reported in Italy and Sicily."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The issue primarily focuses on UFO phenomena, presenting both sensational claims from tabloid journalism and more skeptical scientific analysis. The editorial stance appears to favor critical examination of evidence, as demonstrated by the detailed debunking of the 'phantom spaceship' story through scientific and astronomical perspectives. The upcoming international conference on UFOs highlights the ongoing interest and investigation into these phenomena, including concerns about government transparency.