Why You May Never See A Flying Saucer!

Many people who deny the existence of UFOs do so because they have not seen one and, indeed, do not even know how to go about observing UFOs and TLOs.

The "classic" sighting is one where the witness sees a three-dimensional, metal object hovering in the sky at low altitude or very near (if not touching) the ground, usually in a remote area and generally when the witness is alone. The witness is so bedazzled by the appearance of the craft that they cannot give a good description of it and cannot recall many of the important details, including its actual shape!

But UFOs must come from somewhere and go to somewhere on or near Earth. That means they may traverse the skies from coast to coast all the time at speeds too fast to record by the human eye or mind except, perhaps, subconsciously. Even cameras with fast film and high shutter speeds may often be inadequate to record the flights of these craft. Here's why:

Let us assume, for purposes of illustration, that a bright craft 500 feet in diameter and moving at 15,000 miles per hour enters the atmosphere and could be seen by a steady human eye at an altitude of 30,400 feet (5 nautical miles). Let's say it is first observed moving East to West at a slant range of 200 miles by a person in St. Louis, Missouri. When first seen, the UFO would be somewhere over southern Indiana generally above Evansville.

At a speed of 15,000 miles per hour the UFO would be directly above St. Louis in about 40 seconds. Forty seconds later, it would disappear from sight in the West above Kansas City. The UFO would have traveled some 400 miles in about 80 seconds.

Since the human eye generally cannot acquire objects that small at distances so great, we must confine the area of sighting to about 100 miles total (50 miles on either side of the observer) in clear sky with unlimited visibility. The entire sighting area would be restricted to a line no greater than the distance from St. Louis to Hannibal, Missouri (or perhaps to Quincy, Illinois).

The UFO would traverse the 100 miles in 25 seconds if moving at a speed of 15,000 miles per hour.

But assume the UFO is moving at a speed of 200 km (124 miles) per second, a speed estimated as that of the craft photographed orbiting our moon. At that speed the UFO would travel through the area of sighting in less than one-half second! Unless you were looking directly at it and knew which direction it would be moving; unless your camera was pointed at exactly the spot where it would first appear, was on and recording, and unless you could pan with the object as it passed overhead, you would not even see it or know that it flew over your cities!

At 200 km per second (450,000 miles per hour), the UFO would make the entire trip from Key West, Florida to Victoria, BC, a distance of some 3000 miles in about 24 seconds! It would not be in your field of view long enough for your brain to record its passing!

To make matters worse, we have completely discounted clouds, trees or buildings which might obstruct our view of the skies. If the sighting was recorded at night and if the UFO was seen as light reflected from the setting sun (rather than transmitted), it would reach a point in its passing where it would move beyond the terminator and would no longer reflect light from the sun. For all practical purposes, it would become invisible to the unaided human eye at that point.

So how may we record the flights of UFOs that are traversing the skies of Earth at any given time day and night? A fairly simple but not inexpensive device can help us record the fleeting images automatically. Construction of the device will require 1) the help of 12 friends with video cameras, or 2) the purchase of 12 identical video cameras. 3) Purchase and construction of a parabolic sound recording dish, tapes and recorders.

Preferably, the video cameras should be identical and should be capable of recording data directly onto the tape (dates, times, camera number, etc.). The focal length of the lenses should be identical and the size and recording time of the tapes should be identical for obvious reasons.

We will have to utilize 12 cameras because a normal personal video camera generally will cover an area of 35° horizontal field of view. Placing 12 of the cameras on a circular platform will give us coverage of the entire 360° horizon with some overlap for reference points.

Because vertical coverage is normally only about 25°, the cameras should be tilted upward to include only a degree or two of the horizon. This will still leave a void from about 25° to the zenith, or a total of about 100° overhead that will not be covered unless you want to invest in several more cameras.

Generally speaking, most UFO sightings seem to occur within this 25° of area covered by our camera arrangement so we should be able to record something nearly every night.

One good thing about video tape is that you can rewind and reuse it if you do not record any significant images. All aircraft lights, automobile lights, meteors and lights reflected from satellites (if observed and identified) should be discounted at once. We are only interested in those craft or phenomena referred to as UFOs or TLOs.

Since the cameras and platform will be left outside and operating most of the night, they should be protected from moisture. This will require construction of angled windows made of optically clear glass. Additionally, because some condensation may form inside the enclosed housing, some sort of low temperature heating or evaporating device should be employed.

The cameras and recording devices should be connected to house current and should be rigged to shut off when all the tape is expended. If you stay awake to monitor the devices, this automatic shut-off feature may be eliminated from the plan.

Smaller and less expensive cameras are those used to monitor children or infants. These are "see only" cameras and must be connected to recording devices (VCR recorders) and monitors. This set up would require 12 cameras, 12 recorders and 12 monitors (if you plan to sit and watch). Eliminate the monitors if you only plan to replay each tape when you arise the following morning.

The advantage of this set up would be placement of the recorders and monitors in a protected environment, eliminating the possibility that moisture (dew, rain, snow) might damage your expensive video equipment and the tapes. Additionally, VCR recorders will shut off automatically when all the tape has been expended. Set on SLP, the recorders could tape up to six hours of surveillance data each night (more if you load your own cassettes or can find 8-hour tapes).

Because the light transmitted from UFOs and TLOs is so brilliant, you should give some serious thought to using neutral density filters when taping these objects. By reducing the amount of light entering the lens, we may be able to more clearly identify the hull shapes and any prominent features (portholes, sensing devices, etc.) not normally visible because of the intensity of the light surrounding them.

Additionally, colored filters should be used on hand-held cameras to eliminate certain colors while enhancing others. During daylight shoots, try to use a minus blue filter (yellow to amber) to darken the sky and brighten floating objects, including clouds and UFOs. Make certain the camera is in focus and batteries are fully charged. Anything you can do to enhance the sharpness and definition of the images will increase the chances of properly identifying what you have recorded.

A word about filters: Filters prevent their own color from being seen while passing all other colors in an altered fashion. If you use a red filter, colors like green and blue may be transmitted as black; yellow and white as orange, etc. This is not particularly a disadvantage as those altered colors may reveal things about UFOs we cannot normally see in the visible spectrum. Infrared and Ultraviolet films and filters will reveal a great many more things considered totally invisible to the unaided human eye!

Because sound can be enhanced or separated with sophisticated equipment, you should make every attempt to record the night sounds during your taping sessions. Audio tape, like video tape, can be used over and over if you record no significant sounds. Even if you think you have recorded no sounds while having recorded the passage of a UFO, take the audio tape to a sound studio and have them analyze it carefully, particularly for sounds outside the range of human hearing. Their instruments can do this easily, although not inexpensively.

All intelligence information is important! Sounds, no less than visual images, can reveal important clues about UFOs and TLOs, including the power source and reasons for the absence of sonic waves. A fairly inexpensive piece of equipment all UFO researchers should carry is a "BIG EAR" parabolic dish you can attach to almost any directional microphone and recording device.

The "EAR" directs sound to the sensitive tip of the microphone rather than allowing the sound to scatter in all directions. A good directional microphone coupled with a parabolic dish can enhance sound hundreds of times over that received by the human ear.