Читать книгу The Big Book of UFOs - Chris A. Rutkowski - Страница 15
ОглавлениеThroughout recorded history, people have seen unusual objects in the sky that they could not explain or understand. The earliest ancestors of humans may have looked up and seen a multitude of bright lights that hung motionless in the sky or zipped quickly across the bowl of night. The Milky Way — our galaxy — would have been visible as a bright patch of white that extended from horizon to horizon. Some ancient peoples called it the “Backbone of Night” (as noted by astronomy popularizer Carl Sagan).
A few objects in the sky were different, however. The brightest one was blinding in its intensity, and at certain times of the year, it gave a pleasing warmth. Another, about the same size, illuminated the ground and allowed seeing things when the brighter one had fled below the horizon or fell into the ocean, but didn’t offer any heat at all.
Some of the lights in the sky were brighter than others, and some had different colours. A few were bright enough to cast shadows. It wasn’t until much later in the evolution of our civilization that some humans began systematically observing the objects in the sky and noticing patterns and periodicity to their movements. The movement of the brighter ones could be predicted over time, and they found that using a tree or stone marker to indicate the rising of a particular bright light could help determine the coming and going of seasons. This was important for knowing when to plant crops for growing food and learning the migration patterns of wild animals that were hunted for their furs.
It became very important to study the objects in the sky. Soon, some people became experts at doing it and were looked upon as wise counselors, advising kings and leaders when to go on journeys, when to get slaves working in the fields, and when to go to war.
These early astronomers were astrologers who tracked the changes in the sky and came up with imaginative explanations for the comings and goings up above. Gods were playing with us, blessing us or reprimanding us as they saw fit, and humans had very little control over their own destiny. The best that could be hoped for was to try and please the gods or at least keep them from punishing us in some way.
But who were these gods? They obviously were not human, for they had powers of flight, control of weather, and doled out heat and light when they saw fit. They were, by definition, extraterrestrial; they were truly alien beings about whom we knew very little. Did they reside in ornate palaces held high in the air? Were there other worlds like our own?
It wasn’t until Galileo demonstrated that some of the brighter lights in the sky were planets like our own, with smaller objects revolving around them, that it was realized that gods or other creatures might live on worlds other than Earth. But if so, how did they travel between there and here?
Some writers thought that such travel was done with large balloons. Others thought that giant birds could carry people between worlds. One Jules Verne story had humans travelling through the Solar System after accidentally being plucked from the air by a comet. Others suggested astral or soul travel was the way to explore the universe.
But that’s how we would get from here to there. How would aliens on other planets travel between the stars? Would they use the same methods and technology? Would we even recognize them if they were here?
This last point is one that has led to some interesting speculation. Suppose, for example, that aliens visited Earth at some point in our history, rather than contacting us right now. What would our ancestors have thought of them?
The answer is that it depends on when they came for their visit. If an alien race came to Earth before recorded history, we would of course have no way of knowing they had been here. Or would we?
Statistically, it is more likely that aliens have visited Earth in the past than they are visiting right now. This is because given the billions of years since Earth was formed, if there are any aliens out there, the window of opportunity for them to happen to be in our neighbourhood is billions of years in length. It would allow for many visits or many different aliens to visit, even allowing for the alien civilizations themselves to evolve and develop space travel over the course of hundreds or thousands or millions of years. On Earth, we’re just now starting to take our first few hesitant steps into space.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Channel Islands, California February 13, 1995
Before I state what I saw I would like to clarify that I am using UFO in the very literal sense. I, and four of my friends saw something that we cannot explain. Here’s the story.
At about 11:00 p.m. PST last night my friend called me over to his room. His room looks out on the Channel Islands and is on the 7th floor, giving it an excellent view. On the horizon I saw a line of lights. After summoning two more friends and getting a pair of binoculars was able to see it somewhat more clearly. The lights were arranged symmetrically around the axis perpendicular to us.
I will describe the lights as I saw them from left to right. The first light was slightly above the others, after a small space there was a group of four lights close together in a straight line, after another space was a single light, a larger space separated it from a pair lights in the centre, another equally large space lead to another single light, a smaller space separated this single light from a another straight line of four lights, at the end was another light above the rest at the same level as the first.
Through the Binoculars it appeared that the object was actually curved. At this point we left the dorm and went down to the beach to get a better view. As we watched we noticed it moved from East to West (The Ocean in Santa Barbara is actually to the South so it was moving from our left to our right) at differing speeds. It would go very fast for a short time and then stop. At one point I saw it bob down and then resume moving. My friend saw it tilt along the perpendicular axis as well while looking through binoculars.
We have no explanation for what it was. It disappeared behind one of the islands and did not reappear. The Islands are about 26 miles away and the thing appeared to be about an inch long from our perspective, for the distance then it must have been very large. This would rule out aircraft since 747s on approach into LA appear to be about an 1/8 of an inch and would be at roughly the same distance, if not closer. It also covered an incredible amount of space in a very short time, faster than we have seen other ships travel. Therefore we are at a loss. We have speculated that it might have something to do with Pt. Magu which is a Navy Training area S of here.
Reported by Doug A.
Source: Ufology Research
Suppose a race of spacefaring aliens visited Earth just as the first primitive life forms began evolving in the ocean. They might have considered making a note to visit in another million years or so, to see how we were making out.
Suppose they came back when apelike creatures were just developing an early kind of structured society. Would they interfere? Would they decide we were too aggressive and wipe us out so that we could start again? Would they recognize that we had reached a particular stage in evolution and just needed more time to progress?
What if the aliens arrived just when humans were in an early age of technological development, say, 5,000 years ago. We had fire and some rudimentary smelting of ore into metal by about 3000 B.C., but before that we were in the Stone Age. Our understanding of the world was limited at this time, and there were many competing mythologies to explain the forces of nature. Tribal warfare was the global pastime, and we lived in small feudal communities that were ruled by strong warriors. (Not that this has changed all that much.…)
UFOS AND ALIENS ON TV
ALF was about an Alien Life Form who crashes on Earth into a suburban neighbourhood. He is harboured by the Tanner family, who take him in as an eccentric houseguest. The little, annoying, furry creature was from the planet Melmac, which was destroyed during a nuclear war, and he wants to ensure that the same doesn’t happen to Earth. The series lasted from 1986 to 1990 and was followed by a TV movie.
Imagine what would have happened if an alien spaceship (let’s say it was a flying saucer) landed just outside a small village and the occupants got out to say hello. What would be the reaction of the humans to these visitors?
Some humans would have viewed the visitors as interlopers, threatening their territory. Perhaps they would try to attack the people from the sky.
Some would have been terrified, for early mythologies understood the gods who controlled the heavens to be powerful and not to be crossed. They might have venerated the aliens as gods, realizing they had powers and abilities far beyond the Earthly technology of the time.
From the aliens’ perspective, however, what would they have thought of the Earthlings standing before them? They may have been amused at the reaction. They may have been prepared for the humans’ response, as they likely would have considered the various possibilities as they prepared to land.
Indeed, why would they land and contact humans at all? In the fictional world of Star Trek, we are told of the “Prime Directive,” Starfleet’s General Order Number One, which forbids any interference with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture. In particular, a developing society is not to be given any knowledge or technology that is beyond its ability. Although this is a fictional law, it does make sense, as natural development should be preferred over outside intervention.
In another fictional story, Olaf Stapleton’s book Star Maker, primitive people are not told of the alien race observing them to keep their “independence of mind.”
But these laws are fictional. It would not be surprising to find that an alien race might have different ideas about interference with a planet’s development. They might view their assistance as essential to our development. Perhaps their evolution was similarly boosted.
If aliens visiting Earth were not bound by such a non-interference law, they might show themselves openly and perhaps even share technology with the primitives. They might give the chief of the tribe special weapons to defeat enemies or show the people how to smelt metals into utensils and other things. Aliens might use their own devices to help manufacture items for use in the village, or provide food when hunting is unsuccessful and crops fail.
UFOS AND ALIENS IN LITERATURE
In 1657, Cyrano de Bergerac had written the “Comical History” of his Voyage to the Moon, where he met beautiful creatures living in lush palaces in Edenlike surroundings. This was also true of the first real science fiction story, “The Diamond Lens” by Fitzjames O’Brien, published in 1858. In this story, a man uses a powerful microscope to see and communicate with a tiny female creature “of perfect beauty.” In other words, early stories about aliens pictured them as basically people like ourselves, but with remarkable powers and wisdom that surpassed our own abilities and knowledge.
If any of these scenarios happened in the past, there might be evidence of alien intervention still on the Earth. Some artefacts might exist in museums or are still buried in archaeological sites, waiting to be discovered. The premise of Arthur C. Clarke’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey is that after nudging our evolutionary development in primitive times, aliens left an artefact on the Moon, waiting for us to travel into space and eventually find it.
If aliens visited Earth during the Bronze or Iron Age, they would have been here during Biblical times. How would they have been viewed by Mesopotamian peoples?
Many books have been written about the concept of alien intervention in early human history. Barry Downing, whose book The Bible and Flying Saucers set the tone for many later authors, built upon ideas from earlier writers. Some, such as Robert Charroux, wrote extensively about ancient artefacts that puzzled historians and were thought by some to have alien origins. Downing’s thesis can be summarized in the following passage:
... if beings from another world came to Earth with the intention of molding a specific religious perspective on a group of people — chosen people, the Jews — and if these beings in their UFO caused the parting of the Red Sea, provided manna in the wilderness, put on a display of power at Mount Sinai while giving Moses various instructions, and finally led Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land, hovering night and day over the Tent of Meeting, then I dare say that the people involved in this sequence, the people who were under the influence of the beings in the UFO, might very well record the events in which they were involved.
Downing’s interpretation of biblical events as being caused or designed by extraterrestrial aliens is not unique, and the idea has been explored in depth by numerous others.
One explicit work about direct alien intervention was that of Josef Blumrich, The Spaceships of Ezekiel, a detailed analysis of the “wheels” seen by Ezekiel in a vision. He believed these were actually part of a landing module similar to the one that NASA sent to the Moon. This wasn’t surprising, since Blumrich was the chief of a NASA department at the time.
The most popular writer on the theme of ancient astronauts was Erich Von Daniken, whose wildly popular book, Chariots of the Gods?, was published in 1968. It took the world by storm when it was translated into English and became easily accessible. It led to several sequels, a storm of controversy, skeptical analysis, and even the creation of a tourist theme park in Europe which has now been closed.
Von Daniken himself was preceded by several authors, including Morris K. Jessup, whose much earlier work UFOs and the Bible (1956) suggested that holy book “is a treasure house of UFO data.” Modern UFO-related books continue the theme of aliens as our ancestors and the reason for our development of civilization. Many authors are of the belief that the pyramids and other ancient monuments were either built by aliens or with their assistance. Similar claims are made about Stonehenge in England and the large ornate cities of the Aztecs in Central America.
In Peru, unusual linear markings adorn the seacoast and interior desert. These Nazca lines, as they are most often called, were created in about 1,000 B.C. by the agricultural society that was inhabiting the area at the time. Why they produced the lines and shapes is not known, but what is known is that the designs were made by removing a dark layer of surface rocks to expose lighter sand. Some of the designs include monkeys, hummingbirds, and fish, but also simple geometric shapes. In addition, the lines in some cases are several kilometres long, spanning valleys and rugged areas along the coast.
Since the largest of the designs is almost 200 metres across, it has been suggested that the designs and figures are best seen from the air, leading to speculation that they were made for aerial visitors’ benefit. In 1955, writer James Moseley suggested that the Nazca lines were markings to direct space visitors towards specific places on Earth.
Von Daniken took this a step further and suggested that the lines were actually airstrips for alien navigation and vectoring in for contact. However, because the lines run across very uneven ground this is unlikely. Would alien interstellar spacecraft even need runways?
One thing is certain with regard to monuments and other ancient artefacts preserved over the centuries. Ancient peoples, once thought to be uneducated and unaware of basic principles of science, possessed a better understanding of mechanics and astronomy than previously thought. There is evidence that many buildings and monuments seem to be aligned with celestial phenomena such as the sun and planets, and some temples show an advanced knowledge of engineering and construction. While this may suggest to some that aliens helped humans in their early development, perhaps it just shows that humans are at least a bit smarter than we give them credit for.
If we look beyond the possibility of visitation by alien civilizations in prehistory, there are many intriguing records of observations of aerial objects in documents dating back hundreds or thousands of years. Some people believe that these recorded observations are indications that aliens have been visiting Earth during relatively recent periods in history.
• Well within recorded history, the classical Chinese poet Chi Yuan, who lived around 300 B.C., wrote that one day after he had just finished visiting the grave of an emperor, a large jade “chariot” pulled by four fearsome dragons came down from the sky and landed near him. Chi Yuan climbed onto the miraculous vehicle and soon found himself being carried far to the west towards the holy Kun-Lun Mountains.
• Somewhat later, during Roman times, historian Pliny the Elder noted that in 66 B.C., a “spark” fell from a star and descended towards the Earth, grew as large as the Moon, then shank back to a small size and returned to the heavens.
• In 564 A.D., St. Gregory, Bishop of Tours in France, wrote that “golden globes” were seen flashing quickly across the sky.
• More than 500 years later in Switzerland, in 1104, objects described as “burning torches, fiery darts and flying fire” were seen in the air, along with “swarms of butterflies and little fiery worms” that “took away the light of the sun.”
• From 1211, there is a story that during Sunday mass in Kent, England, the congregation watched in amazement as an anchor dropped from the sky and caught on a tombstone. They looked up to see a strange ship hanging in the sky, with odd people looking over its side. One of these people jumped overboard and seemed to float downward as if swimming in water. When the churchgoers ran to grab him, he swam back up to the boat, cut the anchor rope and flew away. The anchor left behind was said to have been taken by a blacksmith and turned into scrollwork on the church pulpit.
• In November and December of 1388, historian Henry Knighton recorded that in Leicester, a “burning and revolving wheel” was seen moving in the sky.
Flying wheels are said to have been seen over the pyramids in ancient times.
• Strange lights and objects were seen by many residents of Nuremburg on April 4, 1561 — about 450 years ago. Records of the event suggest that a veritable “invasion” by a plethora of lighted objects created fear and trembling among peasants and lords alike. What actually was seen is impossible to guess at this late date.
Observations of fiery shields are recorded in historical documents.
• Only five years later over Basel, Switzerland, one morning the sky filled with black globes that danced about and became flame-red. They seemed to burn up and disappear before the eyes of many amazed residents.
• In Sheffield, England, on December 9, 1731, a “dark red cloud” appeared around 5:00 p.m. Underneath it was a second object, but this one was very bright and gave off bright rays of light. The rays moved about the sky and emitted a great amount of heat, forcing one observer to take off his shirt even though it was the middle of winter.
• When was the first flying saucer seen? On January 2, 1878, farmer John Martin was doing some hunting outside of Denison, Texas, when he saw a round, dark object hanging in the bright blue sky. He watched as the baseballsized object grew larger as it approached him, then looked away to rest his eyes. When he looked up again, the object was overhead, still continuing on its way, but was now, in his words, the size of a large “saucer” at a considerable height. It flew on and away from him until it was lost to sight.
• On July 30, 1880, a large bright object flew over St. Petersburg, moving in a triangular formation with two smaller objects. They moved together, without making any sound, across the city, remaining in view for three minutes.
UFOS AND ALIENS IN LITERATURE
War of the Worlds (1898) may be the best-known alien invasion story, depicting profoundly alien aliens bent on conquering Earth. Orson Welles’ radio broadcast of it in 1938 sent people running panicked into the streets, and the several movie versions of it have done reasonably well in the cinema. The technologically superior Martians are defeated not by humans, but by something unexpected: the invaders all die when their immune systems fail to protect them from Earth bacteria and viruses, from which the Martians had no protection.
North America experienced what has come to be known as The Great Airship Wave between about 1896 and 1898. Many unusual aerial objects were reported floating or hovering in the skies, usually with accompanying descriptions of airships or gondolas suspended underneath large balloons. The reports were well-documented, with many articles and some books devoted to the phenomenon.
Accounts of observations of these objects appeared in literally hundreds of small-town newspapers across the continent. Some of the stories included personal narratives of meetings with the occupants or inventors of the vehicles. The strange craft often had bright lights or “headlights” that dazzled their observers, noiselessly sailing overhead and leaving as mysteriously as they came. Many of the stories were eventually determined to have been hoaxes written by newspaper editors in an attempt to boost circulation.
The first sightings considered part of the wave were reported in the fall of 1896. The Sacramento Bee carried a story on November 17, 1896, that a bright light was seen by hundreds of people. The light was too distant for most observers to distinguish its shape, other than that it resembled a globe and travelled on an undulating course through the sky, against the prevailing wind, “like a ship through water.” Other witnesses described an oblong or ovoid shape with propellers or a fan with a moveable light that swung back and forth, playing on the ground below. The witnesses were divided on whether the passenger cabin was on top or beneath the craft. Whatever it was, the strange craft remained visible for nearly half an hour. Embellishments and speculation abounded, with some people claiming they heard voices coming from the craft, either laughing or giving orders to whoever was at the controls. The builder of the aerial vehicle was thought to be an inventor who lived in the Sacramento or San Francisco area and was highly secretive about his remarkable machine because his device had not yet been patented.
The Decatur Daily Republican of April 16, 1897, noted that on the previous night, an airship landed near Springfield, Illinois. Farmhand John Halley and local vineyard owner Adolf Wenke said that it landed five kilometres west of the city along the Jefferson Street road. They said a long-bearded man then emerged and inquired what town he was near. Halley noted: “Inside the car was seated another man and also the scientist’s wife.” He said they usually rested during the daytime in remote parts of the country in order to conceal the vessel’s huge wings. When they asked the scientist his name, “he smiled and pointed to the letter M., which was painted on the side car.” After bidding the farmers farewell, he pressed a button and the ship flew off.
The Chicago Times-Herald for Tuesday, March 30, 1897, noted:
The mysterious air ship was seen again last night by a number of Omaha people. It hovered in sight about the time church services were over and in half an hour had disappeared.
This time the “air ship” came into view in the southeastern portion of the horizon. It was in the shape of a big bright light, too big for a balloon, and glowed steadily.
It sailed over the city to the northwest and there disappeared behind the houses and bluffs. It moved very slowly and seemed to be quite near the earth. Nothing but the light was visible. A big crowd at Twenty-fourth and Lake Streets watched the trip of the visitor.
DID YOU KNOW?
Before he was president, Jimmy Carter saw a UFO on January 6, 1969. He and 10 other people were in Leary, Georgia, when they all saw a light moving in the sky at about 7:15 p.m., flashing red and green. Skeptics have dismissed the UFO as Venus, but Carter has not conceded it was an ordinary object.
In Winnipeg, Canada, on July 1, 1896, at about 6:00 p.m., many residents observed an odd “balloon” come from the west and make a “rapid journey some thousands of feet above the Earth.” It was said to have been larger than a child’s toy balloon, but the same size as those used for “ascensions at River Park.” Tethered balloon rides were a popular attraction and novelty in 1896.
Canada was invaded by more American-style airships in 1897, when on April 14, a “specter” with attached lights “as large as the Moon” flew from North Dakota towards Glenboro, Manitoba, at an estimated speed of “365 miles per hour.” Then on May 1, “the light of the strange vessel came into view about nine o’clock on the eastern horizon, near the St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg.” It moved over the city, then headed northwest, towards Stony Mountain.
The witness reported: “Only the bare outline of some dark object could be seen besides the strange, heavenly light, evidently from the ‘masthead’ of the aerial craft.” This time, the strange vehicle was seen by many reputable citizens, including the lieutenant governor of the province, the Honorable James Colebrooke Patterson, who curiously enough had just completed a term as federal minister of militia and defence.
Sightings were reported across the country. On August 14, 1897, the Vancouver Daily World prodded its readers:
Have You Seen the Light in the Heavens? If Not You Are Not up to Date!
It has been hovering in the skies above Vancouver almost every night this week, and has been viewed by many. It was last seen on Friday evening and may be on view tonight, and again it may not. Last night the strange object in the skies was noticed to the north of the city across the city travelling in an easterly direction. The luminous ball of fire or airship as some call it was closely watched. It approached with great swiftness, paused in midair, then surrounded itself with flashes of color and moved towards the northeast.
The newspaper added, “N. C. Schon of Burnaby saw the luminous body while on the steamer Rithet on Monday night. He states that it moved parallel to the sea far below the star line and looked like a bright red star surrounded by a luminous halo. It was cigar shaped and seemed to travel slowly and occasionally there seemed to drop a shower of sparks like the sputtering of an arc light.”
The Victoria Daily Colonist of August 7, 1897, informed its readers: “That strange aerial curiosity the fire balloon that has been completely mystifying people of the northwest during the past two or three months is evidently becoming bolder or more people are keeping late hours than formerly and in consequence have had the good fortune to catch a glimpse of it. What it is, or where it comes from or where it goes to, and who or what manner of men are responsible for its movements, remains just as much as a puzzle as when the bright light first made its appearance in the sky a few months ago.”
The Colonist also noted that some firemen had watched the light for a considerable length of time:
For upwards of two and a half hours Firemen North and Swain of the city brigade had opportunity to inspect the erratic visitor yesterday morning. However when it was finally lost to sight in the morning air they were completely mystified as to all its character as when they first sighted it … It had no discernible form, balloon shape or otherwise, it was just a great light as large from the distance it was viewed as a drum from one of the hose reels, and brighter far, according to the two firemen than an electric light.
… Until four o’clock the brilliant body remained suspended in mid air passing slowly from east to west and back again three times and only disappearing with the coming of the day. At one time the firemen believed they saw a dark body outlined behind the circle of intense light but they could not identify it positively.
Its editors speculated, “The favourite theory is that some local inventor is trying the product of his daring in the privacy of the night, preparatory to giving his secret to the world. It must be a fact that the inventor is the most successful keeper of a secret to appear on the scene for quite some time and yet this seems the most rational explanation put forward. Too many have seen the mid night visitor for people of common sense to doubt the presence of a mysterious something …”
Sightings of odd aerial vehicles and lights continued through that summer.
Many airship reports were fuelled by news stories of the announcement of a Swedish engineer, Salomon Andrée, that he would attempt a balloon flight over the North Pole from Scandinavia into Canada. In July 1897, Andrée’s aerial expedition left the island of North Spitzbergen in a large, well-equipped balloon. Some carrier pigeons were received from the explorers early into the voyage, and then nothing.
Airship sightings were so common in the late 1890s that newspapers used them in their advertisements to sell products.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma July 2, 1953
On July 2, 1953, I saw an object. It was round as a balloon or a dish. As high as it was, it would be hard to say whether it would be metal because anything would reflect the sunlight.
It seemed to stand still, but when I looked through the glasses it seemed to be moving back and forth within a short radius. I couldn’t see anything hanging on it at all. When it left it seemed to go straight up; it did not go sideways. If it had been a balloon it would have burst. There was no sound.
I saw this object between 1830 and 1900; I think about 1845. I watched it for approximately 10 or 15 minutes and it was out of sight. I stayed 10 or 15 minutes longer to see whether or not it would come back. It went out of sight about 1900.
I observed this object through 7x50 binoculars from the ground.
The object was about 5 degrees SW from directly overhead Tinker Air Force Base.
I have had quite a bit of experience observing aircraft in the air; I was in the Air Force for four years and have worked three years on the Guard Force at Tinker Air Force Base. I see quite a bit of aircraft while on duty.
The weather was clear. There was a blue sky background.
The object was 40,000 to 50,000 feet high.
Reported by Robert M.
Source: Project Blue Book Archive, MAXW-PBB19-100
On August 9, the Manitoba Free Press carried a story that described lights in the sky across Canada over British Columbia and Manitoba, wondering if Andrée’s airship was off course and wandering throughout the North. It printed a letter from a reader who advised them:
Douglas (Manitoba), Aug. 6, 1897. / To the Editor of the Free Press .
Sir, In case some of your numerous readers may have noticed something similar at some other point I would draw your attention to a peculiar matter noticed on the night of the 5th. About 11 p.m., just before retiring, a something that at first looked like a falling star appeared directly north of the residence of Mr. John Kyle, some four miles east of here. The person first to notice the strange object was led to call the attention of all in the house to the matter. For over half an hour we watched the strange visitor, as it seemed to rise and fall and sway from east to west, but gradually travelling further and further northward, until about 11:45, it disappeared from view. At times several of those watching the peculiar object, which all the while shone brightly, thought they could discern the shape of a massive balloon just above the bright light. It would be interesting to know if the circumstance was noticed by any others, and if so, what the impressions conveyed were. R.M. SCOTT
The editor then noted, “Any who have noticed similar objects are asked to inform the Free Press. If Andrée persists in floating about Manitoba barn yards let us find him.”
Similarly, the Manitoba Morning Free Press for September 14, 1897, printed a letter from a correspondent in Scotland who explained that on August 5, 2005, a large light assumed to be a balloon passed over Prince Albert shortly after 6:00 p.m., heading west-north-west. To compound the mystery, the same paper on September 18 carried another account of a sighting:
Was it Prof. Andrée?
St. Petersburg, Sept. 17th. A telegraphic message was received here from Krasnoyarsk, in the interior of Siberia, which says on September 14, the inhabitants of the village of Antzifiroskoje, in the district of Veniselsk, Arctic Russia, saw a balloon, which is believed to be that of Prof. Andrée, the Swedish aeronaut, who left the island of Tromsoe shortly before 2:30 p.m., July 11, in an attempt to cross the Polar region. The balloon, it is added, was in sight for five minutes.
Over the next several months, people around the globe reported seeing Andrée’s aerial expedition flying through the sky, but no actual trace of him or his companions was ever found.
Then, in 1939, the remains of the frozen bodies of the crew were discovered on a small island in the Arctic Ocean north of Spitzbergen. Investigators concluded that not long after they launched, the balloon had become covered in ice and they were forced to make a crash landing on the rocky outcrop. Therefore, none of the sightings thought to be Andrée’s balloon could have been that craft, despite speculations to that effect. The sightings could not have been fireballs or bolides, the proper name for cometary debris burning up in the atmosphere, because the durations were usually many minutes, too long for astronomical objects. On the other hand, the objects moved too swiftly for misidentified stars or planets.
What had everyone seen?
Comments made in the press in 1897 and later during the early part of the 1900s bear a strong resemblance to those made regarding modern-day UFO reports. Doubt was expressed over the veracity of the witnesses. Many people were unwilling to use their names in reports.
Skywatchers speculated about craft built by secret organizations, and many people were outright skeptical and simply didn’t believe that the objects were anything other than meteors. However, those who had witnessed an airship were adamant and insisted they had definitely seen the thing, in the same way that UFO witnesses today insist that what they observed was really there.
Researchers have found that, although the idea of awkward and mechanical flying machines in the late 1800s is fanciful, the reality is that dozens of patents were issued to inventors of “aerial cars” and “flying gyrators” as far back as 1844, with many more in the years following 1880. It is quite possible that some airship reports were of experimental vehicles, although there is no question that many simple observations of lights in the night sky were misidentifications of stars and planets, exactly as today.
At the time airship stories were in circulation, the world was going through a rapid boom in economy, technological development, exploration, settlement, and communication. The atmosphere was rife for wild speculation about wonders in the skies. There was some skepticism, but there was also a wide range of speculation as to their origin and mechanisms. The press noted that the objects brought puzzlement and wonder at the strange sights in the heavens.
A certain amount of ridicule was present, and there were satirical pokes at the witnesses by various institutions. The airships sold newspapers and products through their depiction in broadsheets and posters. Eventually, the sightings decreased in number (or, at least, the media lost interest), and reports slowly ceased being recorded.
The airship wave of the closing years of the 19th century subsided, and the next era of strange sky wonders began.
DID YOU KNOW?
The modern era of flying saucers began on June 24, 1947, when pilot Kenneth Arnold saw several metallic disc-like objects flying near Mt. Rainier.
