TUFOIC Newsletter - No 081 - July 1997

Magazine Overview

Title: TUFOIC NEWSLETTER
Issue: 81
Date: July 1997
Publisher: TUFOIC (Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre)
Country: Australia
Language: English

This issue of the TUFOIC Newsletter provides a mid-year review of UFO activity, focusing primarily on sightings and investigations within Tasmania and Australia, but also touching on international cases. The newsletter highlights the Centre's efforts to explain sightings and maintain a database of reported phenomena.

Mid-Year Review

The editorial notes that the UFO wheel has turned full circle, following a bumper year for sightings in 1996. While the annual report usually lists Australian sightings, this year's listing was too large to incorporate, suggesting an increase in reports, possibly due to improved contact with other groups. The full listing is available on a Microsoft Word document. For 1997, the Centre had only three unexplained cases by mid-year, with incoming calls lower than the previous year but still above average. Some interesting explanations for sightings have included the Antarctic Research Centre's green laser beam (Lidar).

The 'UFO Slime' incident, which first appeared in February, involved a Burnie resident reporting a white substance on their lawn. Andrew Mott, the North West representative, photographed the scene, but tests yielded no conclusive explanation, ruling out a UFO. The decrease in unexplained cases in 1997 is seen as putting the previous year's 'flap' into better perspective.

The Centre now has representatives in both the North and North West of Tasmania, a luxury not available early in the previous year. The Launceston Examiner has continued to cover reports, both explained and unexplained, without generating a significant 'media flap'. Indications from other Australian researchers and the internet suggest a general easing in UFO sightings, although 'Nocturnal Lights' and 'high strangeness' cases continue. A few abduction cases were reported but were difficult to investigate and could not be resolved.

The newsletter emphasizes that the 'U' in UFO still stands for Unidentified or Unexplained.

Tasmanian Sightings

Six Report Seeing UFO Over City (Launceston Examiner, January 17, 1997): Six people from Launceston reported an unidentified flying object hovering between 1:15 am and 2:30 am on January 14, 1997. Descriptions included three flashing lights and a loud noise. Clare Fisher reported a noise that woke her, and while she saw no lights, she confirmed no truck was present. Maggie Ross described three bright lights, the middle one flashing, and heard a roaring noise. Heather Whybrow also reported a weird noise and saw the object move slowly across the northern part of the city for about 15 minutes before disappearing. Northern Representative Jacob Willard investigated and found no known aircraft. The object was described as round, metallic, with flashing blue, orange, and red lights moving in sequence. It moved slowly before suddenly streaking off to the north.

Mystery Cigar Returns? (Westbury, February 7, 1997): A sighting similar to previous 'Northern Flap' events involved a white cigar-shaped object with grey below, visible in the southern sky. It moved slowly, then changed to a vertical position and descended rapidly, disappearing behind buildings without noise or vapour trail. The sighting lasted 3-4 minutes. The report notes that similar white cigar or pencil-like shapes were seen in West Tamar and Launceston in 1996, often in clear blue skies, with some disappearing instantaneously.

UFO Follows Police Car in Argentina (June 14, 1997): Three police officials in Telen, Argentina, reported an enormous, ovoidal, orange light descending from the sky and following their car for 13 kilometers towards Victoria. The light illuminated the car and surrounding trees. The UFO did not interfere with the radio. The officials reported the sighting to police in Telen and Santa Rosa.

Lights Upset Motorist (Lyell Highway, April 28, 1997): A motorist and passenger returning to the West Coast encountered unexplained lights, initially a red light with a whitish glow, which seemed to move. It descended at a 45-degree angle, revealing red and green pulsating lights. The passenger perceived a dome-shaped area above the lights. The object appeared to be about 20 meters above the trees. The witnesses became scared and drove off, last seeing the lights going down behind the trees.

Light Phenomena at Ground Level (Lachlan, June 24, 1997): Mrs B of Lachlan reported a large circle of light seemingly at ground level, about 200-300 meters east of her house, in a paddock. She could see fence posts in front of the light. She went outside but could not see any marks on the circle or hear any sound. The bright white light did not reflect onto nearby trees. A search of the area found no explanation.

Witness Reports - English Sighting of 1967

J of Wynyard reported a sighting from his time living near Warminster, England. While working a night shift in a four-storey factory, he saw a violet-blue light hanging in the sky. It moved at staggering speed in a straight line parallel to the ground for about 10 miles, then stopped dead. After a couple of minutes, it shot vertically upwards at staggering speed, stopped again, returned to its starting point at the same height, stopped, then shot vertically upwards again, stopped, and then sped away at right angles. The witness noted that man had not yet created anything capable of such acceleration and deceleration.

Skywatch

• The Planets:
• Mercury: Reappears in the morning sky, reaching greatest elongation of 18 degrees on September 16.
• Venus: Visible as a dazzling object in the western early evening sky.
• Mars: Visible in the north-western evening sky.
• Jupiter: A prominent object visible high in the eastern sky in the evenings, at its best for observation, reaching opposition on August 9.
• Saturn: Visible low in the north-eastern sky late on August evenings, becoming prominent by the end of September.

Solar Eclipse: A partial eclipse of the Sun will be visible from Tasmania on September 2nd, beginning at 8:10 AM, with maximum eclipse at 9:35 AM and ending at 11:10 AM. Approximately 65% of the Sun will be covered. A warning is issued against looking directly at the sun. Contact Paul Jackson for safe viewing methods.

Lunar Eclipse: A total eclipse of the Moon will occur in the early hours of September 17th, visible from all parts of Australia. It begins at 3:08 AM, totality begins at 4:15 AM and ends at 5:17 AM. It is safe to view with the naked eye.

Information provided by The Astronomical Society of Tasmania Bulletin - August/September 1997.

Those orange lights: what are they?

This section discusses the large number of orange lights being reported throughout Australia. While some researchers believe most are hot air balloons (citing descriptions of floating, drifting, smoke trails, slow movements, and the finding of garbage bags), others argue that the ability to stop, change formation, and apparent travel against wind directions suggest otherwise. The opinion is divided on the extent to which hot air garbage bags contribute to these sightings.

TUFOIC on the Internet

TUFOIC now has a homepage on the World Wide Web at http://server.netspace.net.au/~tufoic/. The site contains the TUFOIC Newsletter, news updates (including last year's 'Slime' reports), information on membership and publications, and links to other UFO sites. The site is under development and aims to include details on all good Tasmanian sightings.

Snails go Cosmic

By Simon Bevilacqua: The bizarre 'cosmic slime' found in Tasmania was most likely snail eggs, according to the state's UFO investigation unit. Samples sent for laboratory analysis revealed one sample to be mollusc eggs and others to be a jelly-like substance from potting mix or fertilizer. Keith Roberts, spokesman for TUFOIC, noted that a sample from near a Kempton service station, identified as mollusc eggs, sparked a series of slime reports. Ross Dowe, spokesman for the national UFO Information Hotline, believed the slime was likely man-made and deposited by a storm. News of the Tasmanian slime sparked nationwide reports, with analysis results expected before Christmas.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue include the ongoing investigation of UFO sightings, the importance of providing rational explanations where possible, and the distinction between identified and unidentified phenomena. The editorial stance, as stated in the 'Mid-Year Review', is that the 'U' in UFO stands for Unidentified or Unexplained, emphasizing a cautious and evidence-based approach to the subject. The newsletter also promotes the use of the internet for information dissemination and engagement with the UFO community. There is a clear effort to debunk sensationalism and focus on verifiable data and logical analysis.