UFO ROUNDUP Volume 3 Number 46 November 16, 1998 Editor: Joseph Trainor
NEW TWISTS AND TURNS IN EQ PEGASI CONTACT CASE
Controversy over the alleged alien radio signals from the star system EQ Pegasi continued this week, with many surprising twists and turns.
On October 22, 1998, a UK man calling himself “Paul Dore” claimed that he had picked up a radio signal from EQ Pegasi, a binary star system 22 light years from Earth. Since then, the alleged contact has been the subject of much debate.
On Tuesday, November 10, 1998, Richard C. Hoagland interviewed the “real” Paul Dore. Hoagland reported, “In summary, he (Dore) denied being the ‘other’ Paul Dore, denied meeting with NSA, denied printing anything or having any connection to the website. He has no idea why he was chosen, didn’t know about SETI until the incident but is a real X-Files fan.”
The following day, Wednesday, November 11, computer operator David Dubowski announced that he “had evidence to show that (the real) Paul Dore is most likely the original” author of the EQ Pegasi message.”
The “smoking gun” was “a posting by Paul Dore on 11-7-98 (November 7, 1998) showing his email address and ‘seticontact’ name on the email.”
Dore, however, has consistently denied that he is the author of the “seticontact” messages and website.
Meanwhile, strange coincidences involving EQ Pegasi popped up all last week.
In the November 15, 1998 issue of CyberSpace Orbit, editor Kent Steadman reported that a new comet had been spotted in the constellation Pegasus.
According to the Orbit, “On November 12, Timo Karhula,” an astronomer “in Virsbo, Sweden” reported that Comet C/1998 U-5 was now “two magnitudes brighter than a week ago.” (See the International Astronomical Union Circular #7045 for November 12, 1998.)
In an interview, Steadman asked, “What constellation is the comet in now?”
The astronomer replied, “Heading for Cassiopeia.”
“Was it ever in Pegasus?” Steadman asked.
“Just left it. It’s moving so fast. Reminds me of Comet Hyakutake.”
Karhula reportedly said the comet has shown “spectacular” outgassing and may be visible on Earth just before Christmas.
On Friday, November 6, 1998, David Oates, a guest on Jeff Rense’s Sightings on the Radio show, played tape recordings of USA Defense Department news conferences. “In one, ‘December 7’ can be heard, in the other ‘Samson.'”
This led a few ufologists to speculate that a UFO would land in the desert north of Phoenix, Arizona on December 7, 1998 as part of a military activity known as Project Samson.
On Saturday, November 7, 1998, a caller on Laura Lee’s show pointed out that the “star map” drawn by UFO contactee Betty Hill in 1964 shows the region of space where EQ Pegasi is located. A map of Pegasus was included in John G. Fuller’s 1965 book on the Hill case, THE INTERRUPTED JOURNEY.
Curiously enough, in 1965, Russian astronomer Dr. A.G. Sholomitsky said that an interstellar radio source, CTA-102, “may be sending out intelligent radio signals.”
The caller said, “If CTA-102, appearing near the ‘globes’ in her (Mrs. Hill’s) map is in reality an artificial radio source, this would give the EQ Pegasi signal much additional credibility.”
However, astronomers dispute Sholomitsky’s theory, insisting that CTA-102 is just another quasar, not some sort of interstellar “space buoy.”
Another strange coincidence surfaced later in the week when an item appeared, pointing out that “on October 22, 1995, Swiss astronomers Didier Queloz and Michael Mayor discovered a star that was a twin of our own sun,” with a giant planet orbiting it. “The star was 51 Pegasus.”
The planet around 51 Pegasus was subsequently confirmed by astronomers Geoffrey March and Paul Butler of San Francisco State University.
EQ Pegasi has even had an impact on religion. One researcher found this item in the Bible. It’s from Revelation 19:11–“And I saw heaven opened, and I beheld a white horse,” and added, “The only white horse in the sky is the constellation Pegasus.” (Many thanks to Stig Agermose, Peter A. Gersten, Errol Bruce-Knapp and others for the reports on the EQ Pegasi controversy.)
On Saturday, November 7, 1998, a party of 15 members of UFOSICPR, led by Frederico Alvarez, and including Sra. Alvarez, eight regular members, two new members and four guests, drove out to the El Yunque National Forest for a skywatch.
The group waited on Monte Brito between the peak and the television towers. Suddenly, Nestor, the group’s treasurer, “began to show extreme nervousness. He began trembling and speaking in a faltering manner.”
Alvarez split the group in half and sent one team, including Nestor, back to the highway further down the slopes of Monte Brito.
No sooner had they reached the road than Alvarez received a call on his cell phone.
“They’re here!” Alvarez was told. “They’re right here in front of us.”
“What’s going on?” Alvarez asked.
By way of reply, all he heard were strange sounds coming from the telephone. Later, he reported, “No one could speak. Everyone down there was crying.”
When Alvarez and his team rejoined the seven members, they told him that they had seen aliens on the road’s edge.
“The creatures stopped and then said telepathically, ‘Don’t come any closer!'”
The seven Puerto Ricans “remained there, instantly paralyzed by an unknown force. For three minutes, they were frozen in place, and then the creatures went into a nearby field and disappeared from view.”
Although carrying cameras and video equipment, the UFOSICPR team was unable to obtain any pictures. “One member had a pair of binoculars, and these refused to function.” (Muchas gracias a Lucy Guzman para eso piso.)
On Saturday, November 7, 1998, a group of men went fishing in the strait between city of Singapore and Pulau Batam Island. The island has a number of oil refineries and petrochemical complexes.
“We first saw a band of orange light at about 7:20 p.m.,” the witness reported, “At first we thought it was a light from a large building but, if it was, it was a tremendously huge sort of building, as the light was hovering above the ground about three times the height of the tallest (industrial) chimneys, and at that distance it had to be the length of three oil tankers.”
The fishermen watched “as it appeared to grow larger for about a minute. When he sought my opinion and pointed me toward the light, it was already at its longest length. A few seconds after this, the light seemed to grow smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared. I could not explain the phenomenon, and he can’t either.” (Many thanks to Ross Dowe of Australasian UFO Hotline for this news story.)
Last week saw multiple UFO sightings down under, with incidents in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales.
On Tuesday, November 10, 1998, witnesses spotted “a slow-moving bright orange fireball” in Newcastle, N.S.W., located 192 kilometers (120 miles) north of Sydney.
The fireball “was in the southern sky travelling eastward for about four minutes. The illumination was extremely bright, and it appeared to be about 3 or 4 kilometers away and about 200 to 300 meters (660 to 990 feet) in altitude.” At times the UFO appeared “to drop a bit, only to speed up. The illumination seemed to be heading out to sea with no sound.”
The same night, at Golden Bay in Perth, W.A., at 8:55 p.m., residents “reported sighting two bright orange fireballs, arcing from the southeast, heading east, and then changing back to the north. The illuminations passed directly over the BP (British Petroleum) Kwiwana oil refinery…They looked a bit like arc-welding emissions but without the sparks. They were four times bigger than Jupiter. As they approached the area, they changed from following each other to pair up next one another. The sky was clear, no moon, no clouds. They travelled faster than a twin propellor light airplane.”
On Thursday, November 12, 1998, at 1:30 a.m., residents in Arthurton, a town on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, located about 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Adelaide, “reported seeing a large bright white light one kilometer away to the northeast, slowly moving downward. It was so bright it cast shadows from the buildings. It descended below the treeline, and still the glow from its light cast shadows.” The UFO remained in the area for ten minutes before flying away. (Thanks to Ross Dowe of Australasian UFO Hotline for these news stories.)
The evening of Thursday, November 5, 1998, an objeto volador no identificado (OVNI) appeared over three cities in south central Argentina.
The OVNI (Spanish acronym for UFO–J.T.) “crossed the sky in the provinces of Neuquen and Rio Negro on Thursday night, according to the testimony of numerous witnesses in the Patagonian cities.”
“The object could be seen by the residents of Neuquen, Cipolletti and General Roca, in the Alto Valle, in Rio Colorado and Viedma, as well as in the neighboring city of Carmen de Patagones,” traveling from northeast to southeast.
Neuquen and Cipolletti, its sister city across the Rio Neuquen, are located 520 kilometers (312 miles) southwest of Buenos Aires, the national capital. General Roca is 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Neuquen.
“Jose Luis Mazzone, an official in the town of Villa Chocsin, said he saw the phenomenon hover above (lake) Lago Ramos Mexia and described it as ‘a ball of fire with a tail that hovered for several minutes above the horizon.'”
“In Rio Negro are many, many police officers who saw it along the highway. On the bridge over the Rio Homenimi, at the entrance to Viedma, they said the OVNI ‘was a very intense light, color blue, and that it developed other colors in shades of blue and yellow.'”
“From testimonies received, it appears that the OVNI was seen between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m.” (See Diario Popular of Buenos Aires for November 7, 1998. Muchas gracias a Carlos Iurchuk para esas noticias.)
On Friday, November 6, 1998, Derrick G. Carvell “was out with my wife Anne for a walk with our dog” in Seghill, Northumberland, UK, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of London.
“As we approached out parked van at 6 p.m.,” Carvell reported, “I happened to look upward. Travelling in a northerly direction, I was amazed to see 12 white lights moving in a perfect line, one behind the other, almost like a train in the sky with white windows.”
“At arm’s length, the row of lights appeared approximately three feet (0.9 meters) long. As they were more or less straight above us, their powerful lights flashed beams down to the ground, one after the other. They did this only once. The beams appeared angled and silvery in colour. Almost instantly, all of the lights dimmed but could still be made out as they moved off into the distance– before fading completely from view.”
“The area of the sighting is only 6 miles from Norwich International Airport,” he added, “I noticed that there were two more aircraft moving in toward the airport. Also, another aircraft was lining up to follow it in. The lights travelled across the area of sky near the two aircraft but at a much higher altitude. My brother tells me that the altitude of the aircraft on the path of approach to the airport would have been about 1,500 feet. The objects were at a much higher altitude. It is very difficult to be exact, but I would say in excess of 5,000 feet, taking into account the beams of light that reached ground level.” (Many thanks to Dave Ledger of UFO Scotland and John Hayes for this report.)
On Friday, November 4, 1998, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Ryan S. Eagan was at the intersection of County Road 9 and Plymouth Boulevard in Plymouth, Minnesota (population 50,889), located 12 miles (18 kilometers) west of Minneapolis, when he spotted a UFO.
“I was waiting in a parking lot in Plymouth when I watched a large green fireball streak overhead, heading towards the northwest and descending towards the Earth. The object left a long green tail much like a comet. It seemed very low in altitude because it was below the overcast ceiling, and it was bright enough that I could see it descend behind some apartment houses, even though the flourescent lights of a nearby gas station were between me and the object. This sighting lasted between one and two seconds.” (Many thanks to Ryan S. Eagan and Joel Henry of Minnesota MUFON for this news story.)
(Editor’s Comment: Two seconds to the horizon is much too fast for a conventional meteor, especially one flying below 12,000 feet, the cloud ceiling.)
More UFO action was reported last week in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, about 280 miles (448 kilometers) southwest of Denver.
On Thursday, November 12, 1998, at about 6:15 p.m., author/researcher Christopher O’Brien and his brother, Brendan, “were driving north in the Baca Grande (housing) development, and suddenly in front of us, framed in the windshield, we watched an extremely bright steady light rise quickly from behind the mountain in the Salida/Howard area.”
Salida (population 4,737) and Howard are on Colorado Highway 50, just west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
“The light, which was brighter and slightly larger than Venus and visible for about two minutes, shot upward, southwest to northeast, at a 25-degree angle. It rose upward, its speed, which at first appeared the same as a conventional jetliner, reached 1,000 to 1,200 miles per hour. As it climbed higher, it became smaller and smaller and disappeared in the southeast.”
Three hours later, at 9:45 p.m., two witnesses in Mesita, Colorado “were returning home when they spotted two bright, unblinking lights about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away to the northwest. The lights moved in tandem about one degree apart and appeared to be a single object. One witness observed the 30-second sighting with binoculars. The lights appeared to head southeast at an altitude of 3,500 to 4,000 feet” before heading for the San Luis Hills.
“At its closest point” to the witnesses, “the object blacked out the background stars between its lights. Witness estimated that the distance between the lights was ‘about 600 feet,’ and he described the sighting as ‘by far the most spectacular night sighting’ he has witnessed.” (Many thanks to Christopher O’Brien, author of THE MYSTERIOUS VALLEY, for these news stories.)
On Tuesday, November 10, 1998, at 1:27 a.m., a very large UFO, dull gray in color and triangular in shape, was seen hovering above the Mission Mountains just east of St. Ignatius, Montana (population 778).
According to former NASA contractor Robert A.M. Stephenson, the UFO was identical to the object seen hovering near Polson and Ronan, Montana between October 16 and October 30.
“Cloud cover broke for the night, and the UFO was there as it had been only lower in altitude and slightly further south near the town of St. Ignatius,” Stephenson reported. “Roughly ten miles south of Ronan and along the edge of the Mission Valley.”
The UFO was in view between 1:27 a.m. and 3:34 a.m. “During the time of clearing, the sky was exceptionally clear, stars in abundance, temperature in the 5 degree Fahrenheit range. No moon as it had set over the horizon to the west.”
Stephenson estimated that “the craft was eight nautical miles from my viewing locale at the manufacturing facility” in Ronan, Montana “and at an altitude of approximately 14,000 feet and four miles further south than the previous sightings.”
St. Ignatius is on Montana Highway 93 approximately 44 miles (70 kilometers) north of Missoula. (Many thanks to Robert A.M. Stephenson for this news story.)
On Friday, November 13, 1998, at around 10 a.m., motorists driving past the airport in Murphy, North Carolina (population 1,575) were startled to see a black helicopter hovering right over the field in daylight.
Unable to name the model helicopter, the witnesses described it as having a “narrow body” and “a sharp nose.” Two Cherokee County women reportedly shot a videotape of the hovering chopper.
According to local author Jon C. Ryter, there have been many black helicopter sightings in the towns of Andrews, Murphy and Topton, and the Nantahala National Forest, since October 10, 1998.
The helicopters’ presence is believed to be related to the ongoing federal effort to apprehend bombing suspect Eric Rudolph. Rudolph, 32, is wanted in connection with the bombing of an abortion clinic in Atlanta, Georgia.
On Thursday, November 12, 1998, FBI agents spent the day “looking for the culprit who fired several shots into their command post,” a warehouse in Andrews, N.C. (population 2,551).
“The shots were fired Wednesday (November 11) about 8 p.m. One bullet penetrated an office wall, ‘brushed the hair’ of one agent and just missed hitting another, authorities said. Neither agent was injured.”
“Investigators recovered a handful of shell casings from a soccer field about 300 yards from the building, but they have not yet determined what prompted the shooting.” (See USA Today for November 13, 1998, “Bullets fly into camp of agents on manhunt,” page 19A)
According to Ryter, residents of Andrews have been awakened nightly by low-flying black helicopters aiming high-intensity “Nightsun” spotlights through their windows.
Ryter also reported that witnesses had seen two U.S. Army tank transporters stop at the intersection of a Nantahala Forest road and Highway 129 and offload two M1 Abrams tanks.
On Thursday, November 12, 1998, an eyewitness, Robert C., reported, “Definite increase of military activity north of the San Francisco Peaks” west of Highway 89, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) north of Flagstaff, Arizona. He described a convoy of heavy cargo trucks guarded by black helicopters and an anti-aircraft vehicle “up near Deadmans Pass. What is going on?” (Many thanks to UFO Sky Searchers International for forwarding these reports.)
Deep Space One began the first test of its ion propulsion engine on Tuesday, November 10, 1998. But, after four and a half minutes of operation, the engine mysteriously shut down.
“The ion propulsion engine ran for four and a half minutes Tuesday before turning off,” said John Watson, a spokesman for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
“Ground controllers tried several times without success to restart the engine.”
“It was the first time since Deep Space One’s launch two weeks ago that controllers turned on the ion engine, the most intriguing of the 12 Star Trek style technologies being tested on the $152 million mission.”
“Watson said similar shutdowns have been observed during ground tests and on communication satellites equipped with ion engines.”
If the ion engine cannot be restarted, the spacecraft will be unable to complete its mission of a rendezvous with asteroid 1992 KD in July 1999. (See the Providence, R.I. Journal for November 12, 1998, “Experimental NASA engine shuts down.”)
Last week, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s director of antiquities, announced plans to place a golden cap on top of the Great Pyramid as part of a ceremony celebrating the new millenium.
“The pyramid has lost 30 feet of height, and the missing stones at the top give it a craggy appearance like the opening of a small volcano.”
“Now Egypt plans to make the Phraonic structure whole again by affixing a gold-encased capstone–if only for one night–to celebrate the advent of the third millenium on Dec. 31, 1999, the pyramid’s custodian, Zahi Hawass, says.”
“At the same time, he proposed closing entry into the Pyramid forever to prevent it from being damaged beyond repair by the salty breath and curious fingers of 4,000 visitors a day.”
“‘Why do you want to visit a tomb?’ he asked. ‘The magic is from the outside. Not from the inside.'”
“Hawass said the millenium ceremony will be telecast live to a world audience, will mirror the pomp and revelry that must have accompanied the installation of the capstone by the Pyramid’s builder, Pharoah Cheops, in a nationwide celebration some 4,600 years ago.”
“‘You know it was built in the third millenium B.C. We are celebrating the third millenium A.D. Therefore, we should have something important to mark the occasion,’ Hawass said.” (See the Boston, Mass. Herald for November 14, 1998, “Egypt caps off plans for millenium pyramid party,” page 14)
(Editor’s Comment: Why do we want to visit a tomb? Well, for one thing, I’d like to see the extent of the damage done to the interior by the “Hawass School of Jackhammer Archaeology.” It would be nice if they reopened the Pyramid after the Illuminati have finished looting the Hall of Records. But don’t bet your mortgage payment on that.)
1661: BELGIAN JESUIT SEES A UFO IN TIBET
In November 1661, Father Albert d’Orville S.J., a Jesuit missionary from Belgium, visited the Buddhist monastery of Chaldan in Tibet and had a most surprising encounter.
Here it is in Father d’Orville’s own words:
“November, 1661. My attention was first drawn to something moving in the heavens. At first, I thought it might be a species of bird, unknown to me, that lived in these regions. Then the object came nearer, taking on the form of a Chinese double hat and all the while rotating silently as if it were being conveyed through the air on invisible wings. This visitation was definitely a thing of wonder–or a magic trick. The object winged its way above the city exactly as if it wished to be admired. It circled twice and then was suddenly enshrouded in fog, and as much as I strained my eyes, I could no longer see it.”
“I wondered if the altitude at which I was could have been playing tricks on my eyes. Then I noticed a lama standing nearby. I asked him if he, too, had seen the object.”
“He answered by nodding his head and replying, ‘My son, what you witnessed just now was not magic, because beings from other worlds travel across the oceans of space, and it was they who breathed the spirit into the first people who lived on this earth.'”
“‘These beings condemn all violence. They counsel mankind to love one another. Their teaching are like reeds, but if those seeds are sown on rocky ground, they cannot germinate.'” (Editor’s Comment: The lama knows his New Testament, I see.)
“‘These beings, who are light-skinned, are always received by us in friendship, and they often come to Earth near our monasteries. They have continued to instruct us, revealing truths that were lost in the centuries of cataclysm which have changed the face of the Earth.'” (See THE CHINESE ROSWELL by Hartwig Hausdorf, New Paradigm Books, Boca Raton, Florida, 1998, pages 88-89.)
Thirty years ago, on November 17, 1968, the unmanned Soviet (Russian) spacecraft Zond 6 completed its flight around the moon. And we’ll be back next week with more saucer news from around the planet, brought to you by “the paper that goes home–UFO Roundup.” See you then.
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1998 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO Roundup on their websites or in newsgroups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the item first appeared.
