Greetings Earthlings!

From all of us at LITS,
we wish you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!


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LITS Investigator Sees Laser Beams In Sky Near Granbury, Texas

I received an emailed report from our Dallas/Ft. Worth investigator, who while conducting an investigation observed laser beams shoot across the sky.  Here is his report:

Granbury, Texas
November 21, 2012 at 2:00 a.m.

Wanted to report that I saw three orange laser flashes across the southern horizon.

At exactly 2:00 AM there was three very quick bursts of laser beams that shot across possibly 250 miles of the atmosphere.  From East to West, this orange laser beam shot across the sky, at approximately 12 degrees above the due south horizon.  There was one quick shot, then a couple seconds later there were two more.

These were not meteors. I saw at least 25 or so meteors before, during and after the laser blasts. These were solid, straight high intensity beams, that made the atmosphere glow and did not leave a trail at all. This was the first time that I have seen lasers firing in our atmosphere. This was extremely high up and would possibly be over 100,000 feet up, definitely at the fringe of space. The laser bursts did not appear to strike anything but it was so far off that I would not have seen the targeted object, unless it was gigantic.

Orange laser beams! What next? -R

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Satellites Above - What's Up?

Satellite Orbits
Courtesy Suntrek.org

I've received numerous emails from people all over, who think they may have seen a satellite in orbit.  Well, what is a satellite?  A satellite is an object that orbits (revolves) around another object.  Our moon is a natural satellite.  Objects put into orbit around our planet (and others) by human endeavors, are called artificial satellites.

Some satellites can be see with the naked eye, by observers on the ground. These are generally low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, while other satellites orbit too far out from our planet to be visible without a powerful telescope.

With today's technology, anyone can track most of the satellites in orbit around Earth.  For those of you attached to your mobile phones, there's an app for that.

Meanwhile, here is some useful information on satellites, which I hope will increase your star-gazing pleasure. -SW


Suntrek- "What do satellites do?"

Geostationary Orbit (GEO)
These satellites are in orbit above the Earth's equator. They stay above the same location on Earth. They are used for telecommunications, television transmission and for navigation.

Low Earth orbit (LEO)
A satellite has a Low Earth Orbit when it orbits somewhere between 300 and 800 km above the Earth's surface. These satellites only take about 90 minutes to go around the Earth. They are ideal for making observations of the Earth's resources.

Polar Orbits
A polar orbit is a special LEO in which a satellite travels north-south over the Earth's poles, rather than in the more usual east-west direction. Polar orbits can be used to map the complete Earth once a day. This is needed for weather forecasts.

Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites
This is a fleet of satellites which allows us to know exactly where on Earth we are.





Information:

NASA- What is a satellite

Satellite- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (a must read)

Visual Satellite Observer's Home Page

REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING (Track satellites & ISS live on your computer)

List of Earth observation satellites

The Ten Most Important Satellites Orbiting Earth Now


Apps (Some are free, some are not)
GoSatWatch - Satellite Tracking for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

3D Satellite Tracker for Android

Satellite AR

NASA Apps

Miscellaneous Apps listed on HobbySpace.com



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Science News Sunday: Leonid Meteor Showers Peak This Weekend, News of Mars, Wandering Planet, Exploring Moon Caves and More

All meteor trails point back to a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For the Leonid meteor shower, this point lies near Leo the Lion's head. The radiant, however, drifts from night to night because Earth's position is changing as our planet orbits the Sun. // Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Get ready for the Leonid meteor shower
This year’s show occurs under prime conditions November 17.

They’re back! After exceptional displays in recent years, the Leonid meteor shower will appear under dark skies in 2012. Yet no one knows for sure what the shower has in store for us. Estimates range from a few meteors up to dozens of meteors per hour at the peak.

Predicting meteor rates, particularly for the highly variable Leonid shower, is akin to estimating the number of snowflakes that will fall on an area of ground. You simply can’t know until it’s all over. And in the case of this event, you’ll know only if you’re outside observing.

The remarkable activity that observers witnessed during 1999 (a rain of fireballs [meteors bright enough to cast a shadow]) and 2000 (more than 1,000 meteors per hour for a brief period) came about because the shower’s parent comet, 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, had passed through the inner solar system in 1998.

This year, predictions are more modest, but spikes in activity can occur at any time. The shower’s peak occurs across North America before dawn November 17. The Moon reaches First Quarter on the 20th, so it will only interfere if you observe before moonset, around 10 p.m. local time. Even then, bright Leonids should shine through nicely.

Read more at Astronomy.com

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         Links to Space and Science News

Amazing Leonid meteor shower photos captured by stargazers
Great photos of Leonid Meteors.

Evidence indicates astronauts could survive on Mars
Radiation levels at the Martian surface appear to be roughly similar to those experienced by astronauts in low-Earth orbit, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has found.

Homeless Planet Found Wandering Near Earth’s Solar System
It’s cold and young and massive. And they call it the wanderer.
Astronomers recently discovered a new planet, named CFBDSIR2149, that is the closest planetary body to our solar system. It is also the first convincing evidence of an accepted but yet unsubstantiated theory of roaming planets.

Farthest Known Galaxy in the Universe Discovered
A new celestial wonder has stolen the title of most distant object ever seen in the universe, astronomers report.  The new record holder is the galaxy MACS0647-JD, which is about 13.3 billion light-years away.

Mars Once Had Warm Water, Study Reveals
New research on Martian meteorites shows evidence that water sufficiently warm enough to support life once existed on Mars.

Roaming robot may explore mysterious Moon caverns
Spelunking rover could scout sites for lunar bases.


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Photos of Large Unidentified Craft Over Aledo, Texas

Click on any image to enlarge.

Photos taken in rapid sequence.

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One of my colleagues in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, sent me a report and photos of an object he witnessed during an investigation.
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Location: Aledo, Texas
Date: Tuesday, November 13,2012
Time: Approximately 4:18 AM.
Direction of Travel: Due South
Speed of Object: Approx. 2,000 mph
Shape of Object: Triangle, Rectangle, Oval, Disc
Summary: Large object, possibly triangular, rectangular or saucer-shaped, moving rapidly across the sky.

Report:
Date was 13 November, 2012, at 4:18 AM.

Here are pictures of one of the UFOs, that I witnessed and photographed in Aledo during my 32 hour investigation. This object was huge and was traveling due south.  The glow on the horizon (in photo) is Dallas/Fort Worth. I would guess the speed to be around 2,000 mph.

The three photos that I did manage to take, were exposed at approximately three second intervals. Shutter speed at 6/10ths of a second. to capture as much light as possible.

There was no sound at all and it did not pulse, or change in light configuration; light blue, or purple sections with a red glowing center. Could have been a Saucer seen edge on.

This object was about 5,000 feet above all the airliners and would place it around 40,000 feet up.

The object Did not falter or waiver, make any turns or anything. Simply flew very fast and very steady, on a straight course to the southern horizon.

The craft had more of what I call "Hard Lines" to it.

I checked with the Weather Center and the Ceiling was 55,000 feet, so those clouds were very high up there.

Visibility was to infinity below the clouds, for any aviation controls.

I did see a slight red glow, on the underneath side of the clouds Where the UFO was traveling but the camera did not pick that up. My heart was racing a hundred miles an hour and I had a tough time holding the camera steady.

The house was directly to my right and that is why I could not follow it to the horizon with the camera, though I did run around to the side of the house, to see it travel on out of sight.

This craft traveled from horizon to horizon in about 12 seconds, at roughly 35,000 to 45,000 feet in altitude. My rough guess of 2,000 mph may even be quite conservative.

Whatever it was, it definitely was not not made in Detroit, that's for sure!

-R

Enlarged, enhanced.

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LIGHTS IN THE SKY NEAR TEMPLE, TX -11/7/2012

Artist depiction of how the lights might have appeared.
This is not an actual photo.

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Witnesses take note of two bright yellow-orange lights near Temple, Texas, November 7, 2012.

This report was originally submitted to MUFON.  It is posted here, as is, with no corrections.


MUFON Case # 43816
Location: Temple, Texas
Date of Sighting: 11/07/2012
Time of Sighting: 06:15 UTC
Tags:     hovering lights
Viewing Distance:  Over One Mile
Sighting Duration: Undisclosed
Object Features:   Unknown
Object Flight Path: Stationary
Object Shape:      Unknown
Weather Factors:   Unknown
Summary: Two bright yellow-orange ESE of I-35N, Temple TX. Hovering level with each other, short black vertical trails.

Report:
Going to dinner with my grandparents in Temple, Texas. It was dusk, 6:15pm on November 7th, 2012. Driving (NNE) up the busy i-35N. I was seated in the backseat. I was gazing out of the right back passenger side absentmindedly, Directly to my right (ESE) I noticed two bright yellow-orange lights the size of a regular plastic thumbtack at about 20-25 degrees above the horizon. The bright lights were exactly level, about an inch apart from each other (naturally, the scale is my perspective) either hovering or moving exactly horizontally either toward or away from my point of reference. It is possible the lights were connected to either side of the same object. I noticed absolutely no wavering in the lights, so I alerted my grandparents. They are very rational business-owning folk, and they first wrote it off as helicopters in training. I pointed out (from my knowledge) that all commercial air vehicles must have blinking lights on the port and starboard, and that the head (or tail) lights of aircraft (including all standard personal and military craft) are always bright white, not the yellow-orange. My grandfather has had his pilots license for 30+ years and he agreed with me. He stated that he had never observed such an obviously large aircraft (or crafts) such as this (these). They have lived within a 15 mile vicinity of the sighting for 10+ years, and confirm there are no human architected objects (antennae, towers, buildings) in the line of sight of these objects. My family were moderately interested, and I was in complete awe of these unidentified objects. Five minutes pass with more speculation, no wavering in size nor distance apart. We then noticed black, thin, barely visible trails spanning two inches directly vertically from both lights. Ten more minutes pass and no visible change in the size, dimensions, level, orientation, visibility, nor trail (line/beam?) length...Although we had traveled an additional 9 miles NNE on the I-35N. We arrived at our destination at ~6:35pm, and the lights were still present, unchanging. We enter the restaurant and continue with our evening. Upon exiting the restaurant at ~7:10pm, the object(s) were no longer visible.

[Editor's note:  At first I suspected flares but they do not last more than a few minutes, nor can they hover for that length of time. -Sunny]

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November 9, 2012 - DENVER UFO IN THE NEWS

Video Link

Interesting video of an unidentified flying (and landing) object in the Mile High City.

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