The Phenomenon of Ball Lightning
Another startling sighting - and certainly one of the most detailed and scientifically credible - comes from Professor Roger Jennison (Department of Electronics, University of Kent) concerning his experiences on board a late-night flight from New York to Washington in March 1963. He later wrote of his experiences in the November 1969 issue of Nature. Jennison states that the phenomenon occurred after the aircraft encountered a thunderstorm in which it was enveloped by a bright and audible electrical discharge. Some seconds later a glowing sphere some 20cm in diameter emerged from the pilot's cabin and passed down the aircraft's central aisle approximately 50cm from Jennison. The ball moved on a straight course the whole length of the aisle 75cm above the floor at a velocity relative to the aircraft of about 1.5 ms-1. It was blue-white in colour and its optical output amounted to about 5 to 10 Watts. Interestingly, no heat was felt when it passed close by and the limb darkening (like that of the Sun) gave it an almost solid appearance, indicating that it was optically opaque. No asymmetry could be seen in any dimension so it was impossible to determine whether or not it was spinning.
(First published in AA&ES Magazine, June 1996)
In German, ball lightning is called kugelblitz.
Professor Jennison's experience is one of the best ball lightning sightings on record. There are reports of this phenomenon going back at least to the Middle Ages, and maybe as far back as ancient Greece. Like meteorites before it, ball lightning is one of those phenomena that science has been reluctant to accept, with a few hold-outs remaining even today.
Ball lightning, or kugelblitz or boules de feu, someti...
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...ffer's analysis, however, is that he is comparing a natural phenomenon - ball lighting - with something that is supposed to be intelligently controlled - UFOs. Why shouldn't UFOs, if they are intelligently controlled, exhibit anthropomorphic characteristics such as avoiding crowds and cities? Not that they always do so - I am reminded of a UFO that appeared to the audience of a crowded outdoor theater in China, and one that appeared over Beverly Hills, not to mention several that have appeared over military bases.
What if UFOs are both a rare and a jealous phenomenon? What if there is a core of real UFO sightings that are sightings of intelligently controlled craft whose pilots try to avoid appearing before large groups of people whenever possible?
Bibliography:
http://ufos.about.com/science/ufos/library/weekly/aa041700a.htm?rnk=r2&terms=Ball+Lightning
UFOs invoke hysteria in society and cause people to believe other worldly beings are among us. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, talks about the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials. These two topics are similar because in both cases society tends to have seen things; in this case witches and UFOs/aliens, meanwhile other people didn't witness it nor have it happen to them yet, if not ever. Also, in both cases, there is a huge split between people who believe that UFOs/witches are real and people who don't believe they exist thinking that they are myths and hoaxes. The difference of these two topics is the fact that during the Witch Trials people were killed for being accused a witch meanwhile the mass hysteria surrounding UFOs
Although the Mothman legacy began nearly forty years ago on a chilly, fall night in 1966, it has since became the stuff legends are made of. It has grown into a phenomenon known all over the world by millions of curious people asking questions such as the following: What really happened? What did these people see? Has it been seen since? Nothing has sparked the world’s imagination and curiosity as has the mystery behind Point Pleasant, West Virginia’s Mothman. Was there such thing as the Mothman? The details found in all of the facts that I will show you definitely point to yes. You will agree with me after you hear about the first sightings of the Mothman, eyewitness accounts of how these sitings changed their lives, and a look at the media’s reports of the incidents that happened during this time.
On March 13, 1997, an inexplicable phenomenon took place in the sky over Phoenix, Arizona. Thousands of people witnessed the occurrence, and a few dozen even caught it on camera. The event was so astonishing that the most world-renowned news source, CNN, broadcast it on national television. Disappearing, the mind-boggling event left thousands, or even millions, in disbelief at what they had just witnessed. What was it? The world may never know.
Ever look up at the sky and just wonder if there is life anywhere else? Have you seen anything in the sky that is almost unexplainable? What if your thoughts really came true? The thought of the existence of aliens seems to have been around since the beginning of time. There is one incident in particular that really hits home when talking about the subject, the UFO incident of Roswell, New Mexico.
Recently, many people believed to have witnessed via a viral video, U.F.O. (unidentified flying object) sighting directly above the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel, yet solid research quickly disproved this occurrence as another contemporary hoax. Sightings such as this one dates back to June 24th, 1947, when Kenneth Arnold reportedly saw a “flying saucer” (Dash). There are many people around the world, who believe wholeheartedly in unidentified flying objects. Moreover, when Mr. Arnold made his claim of seeing a U.F.O., there were many futile arguments between believers and non-believers. Nowadays however, thanks to modern technology, people can record the alleged sighting by means such as video and still picture. In so doing, this allows public opportunity to view and judge via the internet or print media the validity of a U.F.O.
Auroras have been emitting in our, and other planets’ skies as long as the Solar System has been in motion. In 1619 A.D., Galileo Galilei coined the term "aurora borealis" after Aurora, the Roman goddess of morning. He had the misconception that the auroras he saw were due to sunlight reflecting from the atmosphere. (Angelopoulos, 2008). In 1741, Hiorter and Celsius noted that the polar aurora is accompanied by a disturbance of the magnetic needle. In 1820, Hans Christian Oersted discovered electromagnetism. André-Marie Ampére deduced that magnetism is basically the force between electric currents. In 1851, Samuel Schwabe, a German amateur astronomer, announced the discovery of the 11-year sunspot cycle, and in 1859, Richard Carrington in England observed a violent and rapid eruption near a sunspot; 17 hours later a large magnetic storm began. In 1900-3, Kristian Birkeland experiments with beams of electrons aimed at a magnetized sphere ("terrella") in a vacuum chamber. The electrons hit near the magnetic poles, leading him to propose that the polar aurora is created by electron beams from the Sun. Birkeland also observes magnetic disturbances associated with the aurora, suggesting to him that localized "polar magnetic storms" exist in the auroral zone. In 1958, Eugene Parker (Chicago) proposes the theory of the solar wind. 1981, High resolution images are obtained by Lou Frank's group in Iowa of the entire auroral zone, using the Dynamics Explorer satellite. (Stern & Peredo, 2005) This is the major timeline of how auroras came to be discovered and understood.
Some time in July of 1947, a mysterious flying object zigzagged across the skies of New Mexico. Within twenty-four hours the object disappeared from radar just as mysteriously as it had appeared. It was last seen in a small town in the middle of the Arizona desert, it’s name, Roswell.
UFO's is when a flying disk allegedly crashed in the deserts of New Mexico near
This paper will prove it will remain unknown if the Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) crash sighting at Roswell, New Mexico on July 4th, 1947 did happen, although the government is hiding Extraterrestrial information there. The following is a list of terms that may become confusing to some readers.
There are numerous of different movies, books, and TV shows on how humans think aliens interact, look similar to, and what the media portrays aliens to be like. Occasionally, most will stumble across news articles with a variety of related headings about aliens, UFO’s, or recent known abduction stories. Every person has their own theories and or thoughts on these basic questions: do aliens exist? Could the government be covering up real life “space ships” or encounters? Countless folks have claimed to witness or have fanciful stories that have fascinated countless while several others are turned away. There are Videos, pictures and pieces of physical evidence to support nearly all of these stories. Even more alarming,
In response to these sightings, the ministry that deals with these issues says that the vast majority of cases that have been reported have more down to earth explanations. A wales police helicopter reported seeing a cluster of rotating objects in the vicinity of Stonehenge. Upon further investigation, the ministry concluded that what they had actually saw were chinese lanterns from a nearby wedding party, “ufo over stonehenge.” There were reports of a UFO hitting a wind turbine. Later, the facts and evidence revealed that the lights the witnesses had reported were from fireworks and that...
Undoubtedly, with over 10 000 cases, the sheer amount of reported UFO sightings and abductions is startling. In July 1947, an airborne object crashed on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Rancher Mac Braezel examined the debris which appeared to be mostly metallic and plastic scraps. However, it was damaged beyond identification of its origin. He brought some of the material to his neighbours who attempted burning it, cutting it, and yet, it would not be damaged. They also tried bending it, too which it would dent momentarily before peculiarly molding back to its original form. Mac hurriedly contacted the local sheriff, who then, in disbelief, contacted two military officers to the debris field, also in dubiety, they brought some of the material they had found to the Roswell Army Air Base. Shortly thereafter, another local along with some students on an expedition, discovered a disk-shaped aircraft about two miles from the debris field, which had four small humanoid bodies scattered around its vicinity....
In 1750, Benjamin Franklin wanted to prove that lightning was caused by electricity. He tested his theory with an experiment in which he flew a kite with a metal key attached to it into a storm cloud. The historical facts are not clear as to if he actually carried out the experiment, which is why there is doubt that he is the discoverer of electricity. But, we still credit him with the idea. He also did other experiments concerning electricity, but others after him would have to ...
Another idea is that UFO's are not really from other planets at all, but created right here on Earth. Supposedly Germans, Americans and Soviets started the 'Projekt Saucer' in Germany towards the end of World War II. During the war Germans sent ships to the Antarctic with equipment and plans for a massive underground structure. It is said that at the end of the war scientists and engineers who had been working on Projekt Saucer in Germany ended up in this underground structure, where even more advanced saucers were created. In a manner of thinking this is by far the scariest theory should it be proved correct, for it brings up more questions than it gives answers. What would people on Earth want to create spaceships for? Why keep it such a secret if everything is harmless? Maybe, if this theory is proved correct, it is better not to know the answers.