Mutiple Witnesses See UFO pass the ISS

It is the evening of May 29, 2009 and 3 people in Mt Pleasant, Texas are watching the International Space Station as it traverses above their heads. As they watch the ISS, another object overtakes the ISS and passes it. The unknown object pulses in brightness as it moves. Moments later, a group of astronomy club members at their observatory in Mound, Oklahoma witness the exact same event. Both groups report this sighting to MUFON.

Before you naysayers and skeptics say it was only the Space Shuttle, swamp gas or the planet Venus, let me advise that: the Space Shuttle Atlantis had already landed as of May 28, 2009, Swamp farts don't go out into space and since the ISS is traveling at 27,724 kilometers (17,227 mi) per hour, Venus would play hell catching up with, let alone passing the space station that is "in orbit" around our planet. Last time I checked, Venus is not a satellite around planet Earth.

When it's up and running again, you'll be able to view the whereabouts of the ISS here at Human Space Flight Web site, or right now at the European Space Agency Web site.

Fast, Color-changing Light Observed

Date: May 20, 2009
Exact Time: 2212 (10:12 p.m.)
Location: Breckenridge, TX.
I was just stepping outside to set up my reflecting telescope (Meade digital electronic), when I noticed a commercial jetliner to my south, heading west at cruising altitude. In an instant, a bright light appeared 10 to 12 degrees above the southern horizon, heading west below the passenger jet. I saw the object for about 2 seconds and then it was gone, having traveled approximately 45 degrees Southeast to Southwest. It could have traveled farther but my vision was partially block by an outbuilding when I first observed it.
The strangest thing about the sighting, was that during the time I observed the object it changed from red, to green, to white. When it turned white it seemed to expand and then just disappeared like turning off a light switch. From my vantage point, the unknown object was somewhat larger than a grain of rice at arms length but very bright, as if it radiated a constant light (did not blink, flash or strobe).
I've witnessed hundreds, if not thousands of meteors but have never seen one with such a low, straight trajectory, nor one that changed colors like that. It is possible I suppose, that if it were a meteor the color changes could be due to a composite of iron, copper and "dirty ice", however I have never personally seen one like that. There was nothing being ejected and there was no tail on the object. It left no trail.
Note of possible interest: the object appeared to be over, or near the county airport (4 miles SSW of my location), which has recently been quite active and hosts an aviation museum. It could have been closer, or farther away but I had no sure way to gauge the distance.
The sighting happened so quickly, that I did not have time to observe the object in greater detail. It is possible that someone in the jet, or someone traveling North/South on Hwy 183 witnessed the brightly lit object before it disappeared.

The Anniversary of a Legend

(The 1897 UFO Crash in Aurora, Texas)

Six plus years before the Wright Brothers first flight and over 60 years before the Roswell Incident, the tiny Texas town of Aurora was thrown into the history books when a UFO supposedly hit a windmill and crashed to earth. On April 19, 1897 the Dallas Morning News ran the story.
According to S.E. Haydon, on April 17, 1897 a space ship hit his windmill, broke up and wreckage was scattered around his property. Upon searching the unusual debris, the body of a "little green man", was found, which was subsequently buried in the Aurora Cemetery, a small rock-sized monument marking the spot. The wreckage from the craft was reported to have been dumped into the well, where the windmill once stood. In his report, Haydon referred to the alien as a "Martian" and "someone not of this earth".

This story has been referred to as "the first sighting in Texas" but I feel it is probably "the first Texas sighting to be reported". The time during 1896-1897, there were numerous sightings and reports all across the U.S. of a cigar shaped airborne craft.

The grave marker for the "alien" is now gone, perhaps stolen and no trace of the wreckage has been found. Was it a hoax or fact? Documentaries and other investigations have been made in this tiny Texas town, yet no one knows for sure but it makes for a fine story.

For more info on the Aurora UFO Crash:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Texas_UFO_Incident

A "Glint" Here and There

May 12, 2009 - At approximately 8:25 PM CDST I was outside taking photos of clouds, because one particular cloud had caught my eye. There were storms off to the WSW and NW of my location.

While I was taking photos, I kept seeing tiny glints of white light at different spots in the sky, so I'd snap a shot in that direction. I caught several anomalies, though they are very small, i.e., far away. There were no jets, planes or helicopters flying at the time and there was no sound. Temperatures were in the mid 80s F, wind out of the SSW at about15 mph.

The first photo shows an object, that appears to have two lights, one at either end.



This second photo just shows a bright light off in the distance.



It just goes to show that if you take enough photos of the sky, something odd is bound to appear in at least one of them.

A Rare Phenomenon

April 23, 2009:

Just after lunch I happened to look out my patio door, where brilliant light and colors caught my eye. Two small clouds were glowing with the colors of a rainbow in a mostly sunny sky. It is a rare optical phenomenon known as a Circumhorizontal Arc, also known as a Fire Cloud. I thought I'd share one of the pictures I took.

The photo also shows a contrail that wasn't there seconds before.
I took several photos and that particular photo was in the middle of other photos. I never saw or heard a jet and didn't notice the contrail until after I downloaded the photos to my computer. It's the only photo in which the contrail shows up.

For more info on Circumhorizontal Arc:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumhorizontal_arc

Near Waco- Possible Landing, Alien Sighting

Sightings have seemed to drop off here in Texas, my own sightings notwithstanding. However, one report stands out among the rest and here it is.

March 22, 2009: While traveling southbound on I-35 from Waco, a man and his wife saw a strange light in the sky, moving at incredible speed. It stopped on a dime over a field about a mile or so off the highway, so he pulled his car over to the shoulder, both wondering what the light was.
The light suddenly appeared to land in the field. When it did, the couple could make out a disk shape but due to darkness, it was hard to tell for sure, as it was a cloudy night. The man pulled his binoculars out of the back seat of the car and focused in on the object. He said he saw what indeed appeared to be a saucer like object on the ground.
The man said he first dismissed it as a feeder for livestock, due to the poor visibility but soon realized this object had what appeared to be a door of some sort that opened up. A reddish orange light could be seen from what appeared to be the interior. Three men appeared to walk out of the craft and the door closed behind them.
After about 3 minutes, the craft rose upward, hovered for a brief time and then took off northbound at a very high rate of speed before the man lost sight of it. The witness then refocused on the field to see if he could see any one or anything in the field but visibility was very poor. The witness noted that the "men" appeared to walk in the direction of a rest stop that was just off of the field near the highway. The witness wanted to make a U-turn, go northbound and stop at the rest stop but his wife would not let him, as she was getting concerned that it could be "aliens". He never regained sight of the three figures.
Report source: MUFON through news articles.

Seriously... Sirius?

A lot of folks might mis-identify the star Sirius as a UFO. Located in Canis Major (Big Dog) near the constellation Orion (The Hunter), Sirius (Dog Star) is a the brightest star in our night sky, having a magnitude of -1.45, only being exceeded in brightness by our own sun, moon and Venus. Sirius is twice the size of our own sun and 20 times more luminous. At 8.5 lightyears from Earth and though it is not the closest system to us, it definitely shows up as the brightest star in our field of view.
Siruius (A) is a binary, meaning it is accompanied by a second star and in this case, a "dwarf star" (B). That is what gives it the characteristic flash, twinkle and wobble, the two star's gravitational fields pulling on each other as they circle one another in a celestial dance. It is possible there is a 3rd unseen partner, asserting it's influence and causing of the wobble.
Viewing Sirius through a set of binoculars, you will most likely see what appears to be a bright white orb with flashes of red, green and yellow lights. It's still just a star, folks. Not a UFO.

That said, at 10:05 p.m. 4/30/09, there was a mighty ruckus outside my home last night. I walked to my patio door which faces south, attempting to see the jet that seemed to fly so low over my house, that the windows rattled. I could hear distinct after-burner, as the jet kicked into high gear (so to speak). By the time I reached the door, the jet was just a tiny speck of flashing lights to my southeast.
I walked back to my livingroom and heard the ditinct rumble of jet engines again, so I walked back to the door, stepped out and looked. I could make out a jet overhead, flying west/southwest and I assumed it was heading back to Dyess Airfield in Abilene. It was then that I noticed the bright "star" to my WSW, the direction the jet was headed.
I reached for my binoculars on the kitchen counter near the door, then stepped out and scanned the area. I could clearly make out the jet with it's navigational and anti-collision lights and then I saw what I thought was Sirius. I didn't think much of it but 20 minutes later, I went back to see Sirius and it wasn't there any more! The light had been at least 50 degrees up from the WSW horizon and still should have been quite visible in the clear sky but it just wasn't there. That is when I realized, that when I had viewed what I thought was Sirius, I hadn't really noticed the constellation Orion, which would have to be quite low to my west.

Was it Sirius, or was it a UFO? I don't know for sure but it usually takes more than 20 minutes, for stars to rotate that far out of sight.