The following images are details from stills taken by a crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The long-duration STS-80 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 17, 1996. Its five-person crew returned safely to earth December 7, 1996, on its 279th orbit.

The close-ups above were manipulated in PhotoShop to better render the unidentified object. Specifically, I reduced exposure in the far right image by about an f-stop and a half. Plus, I boosted the contrast in each photo to help the object pop out from background.

NASA or the Pentagon have not released details of the photographs. The series likely was recorded on 35 mm film, possibly by a Nikon camera equipped with a telephoto zoom lens.

The complete images of each released by the Pentagon are below. They are unretouched, with the exception of the circle I made around the object in the third image.

The STS-80 mission crew: from the left, astronauts Kent V. Rominger, pilot; Tamara E. Jernigan, Story Musgrave and Thomas D. Jones, all mission specialists; and Kenneth D. Cockrell, mission commander. Click here for details on the mission from NASA.

Details from the Pentagon: During STS-80, between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit. In the first photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, to the right of the limb of the Earth.

Details from the Pentagon: ...In the second photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, to the right of the limb of the Earth. It appears to have rotated or tumbled about its major axis, which is consistent with the behavior of a free-floating object.

Details from the Pentagon: In the third photograph, the object is visible near the center of the frame, superimposed against the Earth. It appears to have continued along a trajectory passing between Columbia and the Earth.

The STS-80 photographs and files are Tranche 4, Page 1 of the Pentagon UAP files. Click here to access them.

Interesting pictures

Unfortunately by accident, design of plausible deniability, no accompanying eyewitness testimony was released to accompany these just-released photographs. There is no context in the form of official UFO/UAP sighting reports. Nor are there transcripts of astronaut debriefings about what he, she or they just saw and photographed. We don’t even have hearsay of what made the astronaut notice the object initially.

We know not how it seemed to move and tumble in space, or if maneuvered near Columbia. We also have no information on what else happened to the object as it was observed and photographed in the just-released Pentagon files.

There also is no “metadata,” or data about the acquired data, such as when and where an image was made, who took the photographs, nor even information describing the camera, lens and exposure settings used. All that information might be useful if trying to determine the nature of the phenomenon in the photos.

But, we do have the pictures, which is nice.

Most Importantly

Today, none of the original Mercury 7 astronauts are alive. Many of the Gemini and Apollo astronauts also have passed on. We also have lost two complete 7-person crews who manned the Space Shuttles Challenger, lost during launch, and Columbia, lost during re-entry. These irreplacable individuals never had the opportunity to go on the record publicly about the “impossible things” they saw in space and we only now are learning the government has long known are real.

Like all our national heroes, the nation must preserve the memories of our astronauts and build on their accomplishments. It also is important, I believe, to discover, chronicle and preserve the unusual moments they experienced in space, in the air, and on the ground.

Due to Uncle Sam’s long official policy of secrecy in regard to UFOs, we have missed the opportunities to hear many of our space pioneers describe their most surreal experiences in their own words. That is a real loss for all mankind.

A last thing thought

While a photograph doesn’t prove the existence of flying saucers or non-human intelligences, these do present a disturbing picture of NASA. The civilian agency chartered to explore the domains of air and space in peace has long-hidden its interest in things they seem to have found out there that may come from out of this world.

Personally, I believe All of us — We the People of the United States and We the People of planet earth — have a right to know if there are other intelligences visiting earth from space or some other dimension or reality. That’s why I now wish NASA had anticipatorially formed the UFO disclosure bandwagon way back when John Glenn and the Mercury astronauts were reporting “John’s Fireflies” in Tranche 2, Page 5.

Just with what we have learned from the Pentagon UAP files, we may need to study new concepts in physics. We also may need to reconsider what we know in psychology, politics, theology and philosophy. Questions we may want to consider also may need to include: “With whom do we share our existence?” “Why does our universe exist?” And, “Why we are here?”

Can you imagine how much more we would know and ask about UFOs and whatever is behind the phenomenon if we had based the past two-thirds of a century on a democratic foundation of scientific inquiry rather than debunking and ridicule? Ours today would be a different world. Compared to what we got, it likely would be better.

The Thread of Life

The new Odstone Barn formation presents two spheres, the larger centered around the smaller. The larger is approximately 70 meters in diameter, about 230-feet across; the smaller about half that size. The center of the smaller circle contains a living, three-dimensional representation of something that looks like a garden maze.

This centerpiece is an Infinity Knot, an ancient Celtic symbol for the eternal nature of the universe, the interconnectedness of life, and commitment that spans a human life. Interwoven as it courses around and through itself, the infinity knot appears in the artifacts of Celtic traditions, as well as in those from other cultures around the world. Made from a single continuous thread, infinity knots have no beginning and no end, like a Möbius strip.

The new formation also displays a very specific type of infinity knot, the Celtic Shield. Ancient warriors carried this four-cornered design on their shields to gain protection from enemies in battle. Children, the elderly and the infirm, as well as houses, cottages and fortifications, also carried the knot to ward off bad fortune and evil. The new crop circle at Odstone Barn even looks like a shield.

Whatever the knot — infinity, shield or both — the crop circle was designed and created by an intelligent mind of some sort. The design reveals that it is not the result of an undiscovered natural process. Someone, or some thing, thought it through first.

The images above are stills taken from the video below, created by Mr. Nick Bull of Stonehenge Dronescapes. Specializing in aerial, astronomical and landscape photography, the enterprise has beautifully chronicled an amazing and ancient phenomenon. Click here to learn more about Mr. Bull and his work at Facebook.

What the experts say

On the job since 1995, the good team at Crop Circle Connector (CCC) are helping study, analyze and chronicle this new formation. They ask about the new formation: “Is this just ‘great landscape art,’ or are they trying to send us a message?”

Theirs is an excellent question, especially when considering that the formation’s creator may not be a human or terrestrial intelligence. A virtual encyclopedia of the crop circle phenomenon, the CCC website provides excellent context as it compares previous crop circles that exhibit Celtic symbolism.

A useful, if shameless plug

The subject of crop circles has long been debated on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to the skeptics and debunkers who claim all crop circles are human-made, a surprising number of ufologists have stated they believe there is no connection between the formations and UAP. With both camps, I respectfully disagree.

Readers of The Residium may remember Crop Circles on the Square, published last year. The article looked at the ties between UAP and the creation of images in the fields by manipulating the crops in farmers’ fields through an unknown mechanism or process. The process is one of communication.

In one amazing example, the crop circle exhibited advanced mathematical understanding without the need for numerals. The formation was an enormous graphical representation of pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, to the ninth decimal: 3.141592654.

The Residium article referenced above also includes a video ostensibly made by Mr. John Wheyleigh, a young traveler in 1996 that appears to have captured a crop circle as it was being made. In the video, a glowing orb appears to woosh and circle over a field as, underneath the thing, the crops seem to lay themselves down as an invisible force guides them.

Some believe crop circles are the work of the devil, as in the illustration below, first published in 1678. Nevertheless, Wheyleigh’s video looks like a UFO at work to me.

What would McLuhan think?

We may be able to draw on the work of Marshall McLuhan to help us see beyond the mythology of the Celtic peoples and other ancient traditions. In his seminal work, “The Medium Is the Message,” the Canadian visionary of communication posited that the form of communication itself — the “medium” — shapes and influences our society far more than the actual information any single message carries.

Dr. McLuhan reported he found that the technology or platform we use for transmitting an idea alters how we think, interact, and perceive the world. In his time, he saw how radio, and television were each a driver shaping and influencing the development of the modern world from the time of newspapers and the printing press.

Today, we can add Smart phones, the World Wide Web and Social Media as drivers of change. Our own eyes have seen and our own ears have heard just how much the world has changed as people of all ages scroll through screens in search of online recognition or a mental reward of dopamine. Other changes include lowered attention spans, diminishing social interaction and missed opportunities.

I very much wish someone had asked Dr. McLuhan for his thoughts about messages conveyed by this crop circle and a large percentage of other formations that contain ancient and modern symbols. While we cannot know for certain, I believe Dr. McLuhan would agree that the crop circle medium produces an important impact beyond the message it clearly conveys.

Studs Terkel, the great American author, historian and conversationalist, interviewed Dr. McLuhan in July 1966, about four months after the infamous Michigan flap where Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the US Air Force scientific consultant to Project Blue Book, said some of the sightings could be due to “Swamp Gas.” The two briefly discussed UFOs (click here for details):

Studs Terkel: …Last question, Mr. McLuhan, and not asked with any sense of levity. Maybe, maybe. The fact you speak of something of the past, obsolete, becoming an art form; whether it’s a beaded lampshade, or whether it’s a Western town--

Marshall McLuhan: Or a Rembrandt.

Studs Terkel: Or a Rembrandt. Do you think that we, the human race, will become an art form one day? Do you think we — we come now to the key question, don’t we?

Marshall McLuhan: As —

Studs Terkel: Where are we going?

Marshall McLuhan: Well, here are these UFOs kicking around, having a look at us, as quaint objects, art forms. Yes. I think it’s entirely possible that this could befall.

Studs Terkel: On that note of gaiety and laughter, we say, thank you very much, Professor Marshall McLuhan.

Dr. McLuhan also coined the phrase “Global Village” to describe how modern-day electronic media (such as radio and television, and now the Internet and World Wide Web), have collapsed physical distances, allowing the entire world to experience events simultaneously. Life has become like living in a village, where everyone knows everyone else — and their business.

What are the Circle Makers telling us?

No matter who or what made the Odstone Barn crop circle, or an express statement of its purpose, the formation is a masterpiece worthy of the world’s great galleries. The formation appears like it was sculpted from living marble, with every line virtuosically planned and every plane of flattened crop expertly executed. It is a work of art.

True, we do not have an interview with, or an interrogation of, the formation’s creator(s) to discover their purpose for making thousands of crop circles in the UK and around the world over the millennia. Like many artists, the circle maker seems to have left interpretation of the work up to each viewer. We can, however, can make an educated guess as to what the circle maker’s message is at Odstone Barn.

In my view, the medium of crop circles — made by manipulating our food stuffs and seen in their entirety only from the sky above — represent a unique “Big Picture” view of our human predicament and life’s challenges. When inspected from within, we find most all of the plants in the formation remain alive and biophysically sound. Standing stalks and flattened stalks are sharply delineated, creating the impression of a three-dimensional, living and artificially manipulated object.

Crafted from a single long thread, folded into a space that allows us to contemplate its entirety in a single glance, the new Odstone Barn crop formation and its infinity knot lead us back to the beginning of time. With its message of protection, the shield knot reminds us our individual roles as protectors of each other and our planet and human community.

The formation with its Celtic symbols for infinity and protection also suggest life’s infinite paths and infinite intertwining threads stretch backward and forward in time and space. More than linking each living being on this planet, the thread also reminds us of the infinite possibilities represented within each individual life and the important if unrecognized impact each human makes on the entire world.

We may want to put down the phone and consider what one crop circle in a farmer’s field really means in regard to humanity’s current situation. Canada has lost more than 2 million hectares of boreal forest to fire in the last few weeks, sending masses of unhealthy smoke over a broad swath of North America. Wars in the Middle East has brought the world to the brink of Armageddon. The news seems to make us feel, at times, as if our problems are insurmountable.

To me, the symbols from Odstone Barn remind us that each of our lives depends on each and every one of our ancestors just for us to exist in the present moment. Similarly, our earth has been part of an amazing universe in which previous generations of stars helped synthesize the elements, form abundant hydrogen fusing into helium, and then on to carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and all the rest that is needed for life.

Obviously, we humans need reminding. Each and every one of us has a role to play in its preservation and continuance as the only world we have found that can sustain human life. Moreover, we must take care of our world and look out for one another as good neighbors.

Of course, it is my hope that respect for the true and infinite value of human life would extend to intelligent or conscious creatures off-planet as well. We shouldn’t wait for help from “Them,” however. They’ve reminded us we need to get up off the couch. It’s up to us to get busy.

The images and videos released show a number of truly odd objects, even for UFOs, including what’s being termed “The Brain.” Shown in the photo below, the white spherical object directly above the larger UAP may have a connection with the big thing.

Here’s the write-up from the US Navy pilots who filmed the above with their aircraft’s infrared camera. The “Range Fouler Debrief Form” report can be accessed on the Pentagon’s UFO page here or via a link at the bottom of the relevant video page.

“Fouler” refers to a civilian aircraft, drone, UAP or other external intruder into the restricted airspace being used for military training exercise. Seems to me that the deletions above contain much interesting data that might shed light on the subject.

PS: I wonder what the visible light camera images would show?

The Residium Index

Now on to the Reader’s Index to The Residium. Click on the link to open the article. These stories present the facts as I have found. They also include sources to the information.

It is my hope that the articles serve as a primer or a survey of the UAP field. Another goal is to make the information easier to find. Being a journalist, I also want Readers to remember. Thus, the complex information is presented in narrative form.

Examining the UFO Mystery: Voyages through Time, Space and Beyond

Drones, UAP and UFOs: When It Comes to National Security, Some Objects Are More Dangerous than Others

What’s Inside a Black Hole? U-M physicist uses quantum computing, machine learning and cutting edge theory to visualize what was previously considered the unimaginable workings of the universe.

Politico Reports: FBI agents who investigate UFOs worried they could be pushed out in possible purge — The existence of the FBI’s informal working group on the issue has not been disclosed publicly before.

The World Is a Very Strange Place: Weird Experiences May Help Us Discover and Remember a Deeper, Unseen Lesson

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree, Usually — A Fortean Experience From Our Time

The Real Impact of Surrealism: Strangeness Strengthens Memories

The Trent UFO Photographs: “It was as pretty as anything I ever saw.”

What Are UFOs, Really? The best answer at present: “We don’t know.”

Fatal Encounters with UFOs: Matters of Life, Death and Disappearance

U-2 Designer, UFO Witness: What Kelly Johnson, His Wife and a Lockheed Constellation Loaded with Aerospace Experts Reported

Some UFOs may be hidden from our national leaders: “Our ballistic missile defense people were very concerned.”

US Police Chiefs Org Issues Handbook on UAP: New Resource Provides Facts on the Phenomenon for Law Enforcement Personnel

Universe Today: What Would Actual Scientific Study of UAPs Look Like? Certainly Would Be a Departure from the Same-Old, Same-Old

“What I Learned as the Government’s UFO Hunter” — Searching for Proof In All the Wrong Cases

The Vandenberg UFO Incident: Flying Saucer Topples ICBM In Flight

Laser Light Transformed into a ‘Supersolid’ in Groundbreaking Experiment: Building and Understanding New and Exotic Forms of Matter

Rev. William Booth Gill Greeted Visitors Riding Aboard a UFO — “They waved back.”

Lonnie Zamora and the UFO Landing at Socorro: Egg-Shaped Vehicle and Two Occupants Left Tracks, Traces and Tons of Data

BOAC’s Flying Jellyfish: Stratocruiser Encounters Shape-Shifting UAP with Satellite Objects during Atlantic Crossing in 1954

Two Superlative Schools of UFO Thought: Westall ‘66, Ariel ‘94 — Dr. McDonald and Dr. Mack Braved the Unknown for Truth

A Shape-Shifting Sky Show: UAP goes through strange ch-ch-ch-changes over Green Cove Springs, Florida

Jacques Vallée: Information Scientist: Applying Investigation, History, Computers, and Analysis to Ufology

Overcoming Gravity with Light: “It is clear to everyone that astronomy at all events compels the soul to look upwards, and draws it from the things of this world to the other.” - Plato

Witnessing the Unimaginable: A 1947 Newspaper Clipping Reveals Import of Testimony, Narrative and Guts to Tell It

The Baraúna UFO Photographs: Flying Saucer tours Trindade for the International Geophysical Year of 1958

‘It Flies by Night’ — Everybody Puzzling Over the Great Airship Mystery

Clyde Tombaugh, Astronomer Who Found and Visited New Worlds: Discoverer of Pluto, UFO witness, and Farthest Voyager

Does planetary evolution favor human-like life? Study ups odds we’re not alone: New theory proposes that humans — and analogous life beyond Earth — may represent the probable outcome of biological and planetary evolution

An Antarctic Oddity: “There are more things in heaven…”

Animal Mutilation (Warning: Graphic Images) — Who or What Is Behind a Most Ugly Reality?

Mythology and Momentum — “The myth is this side of the truth. Myth stops right next to it. But, it leads us to it.” -- Joseph Campbell

Carl Jung on Flying Saucers — “A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies”

The Heflin UFO Photographs — Solid Citizen Provides Hard Evidence of a Flying Saucer in 1965

UFOs-n-ICBMs: A Glowing Object Hovered Overhead and 10 Minuteman Missiles Nestled in Their Silos Below Were Rendered Inoperable. Again.

The Vatican X-Files: Angels or Aliens? Some Researchers Say Vatican Archives Hold UFO Secrets — “Intelligent Design” Doesn’t Necessarily Mean “Sacred,” “Science,” “Hoax,” or “Alien.”

The UFO Sky Battle of 1665 — Berlin Kunstbibliothek Museum Showcased Historic Stralsund Report; Nuremberg Letter-Painter Got the Big Scoop in 1561

The New Doctor Condon: They Debunk UFOs the Old-Fashioned Way. They Smear People.

Black Hole Jet Blast Blocked by Something: What in the Heavens Could C4 in Centaurus-A Actually Be?

The Hill Abduction: Alien Astronauts Could Not Have Selected Two Better People

Sir Francis Chichester Encountered UFOs Before There Was Such a Thing: Circumnavigator reported incredible experience flying over the Tasman Sea on historic solo flight from New Zealand to Australia in 1931.

UFOs Buzzed Michigan SAC Base in 1975: USAF vectored Stratotanker to investigate unknown target snooping around nuclear weapons, B-52 bombers at Wurtsmith Air Force Base.

Joe Simonton Extended Hospitality — More than pancakes: He broke bread with the occupants of a flying saucer.

Aliens and Archetypes: Terence McKenna and Jeffrey Mishlove discussed UFOs, minds and matters of thought.

Top Gun vs. UFO: Commander David Fravor encountered an unknown object shaped like a “Tic Tac.” Now, 21 years later, debunkers aim to shoot down his story.

Sky Canada Project 2 — Chief Science Advisor of Canada calls for federal effort to “manage” UFO reports

USS Supply Reported UAP at Sea in 1904: A young officer saw the promise of naval air power; Dr. Bruce Maccabee gave a master class in the analysis of historic UFO report.

Avi Loeb the Skywatcher: Harvard Astrophysicist and Ufologist Has Eyes on Interstellar Interloper

Saucers Swarmed DC in ‘52: No need to land on the White House lawn to become a real interest for Uncle Sam

Mexico City 1991: During a historic total solar eclipse, 17 independent photogs record an extraordinary UFO

10,000 Witnessed UAP over Florence in 1954: Referee stopped soccer match as fans, players watch UFOs frolic among the clouds and drop ‘angel hair’ on stadium and city.

Hit by Hellfire, UAP Keeps on Trucking: Pentagon missile strikes object which splinters off 3 pieces that continue in flight following original UAP

The First Flying Saucer to Make News: The Denison Daily News reported what Texas farmer John Martin witnessed fly over him one fine day in 1878.

Report from the Sol Foundation Symposium: The not-for-profit organization invited the people and nations of the world to join in the scientific study and democratic discussion of UAP.

Dr. Karl Svozil: Ad Astra Per Nova Physica — In addition to struggle, determination and hard work, visiting the stars will require humanity to invest in developing great imaginations and building new levels of scientific understanding.

Calling Up UAP: Dr. Garry Nolan speaks with Mr. Jake Barber about Skywatcher Technologies and their work to summon and record encounters with the phenomenon.

Dr. Roberto Pinotti on the 1933 Magenta UFO Crash: Leading ufologist details an epic story for the Sol Foundation Symposium in Italy; reminding us that, for some mysterious reasons, crashes are a major part of the UFO story.

The Rendlesham Forest Incident: A microcosm of the phenomenon, its manifold events chronicled military interactions with an unknown intelligence.

USAF Pilot Encountered Spectacular UFO on the First Night of the Events at Rendlesham Forest: Col. Dan “Tanna” Isbell experienced UAP on Dec. 26, 1980 near RAF Upper Heyford, 100 miles west of the historic encounters at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge.

The Phoenix Lights of 1997: Witnessed by Thousands, Censored by Uncle Sam — A prominent physician photographed what she saw, documented what hundreds of others experienced, analyzed the data and concluded: “We are not alone.”

Some of Our Rocket Scientists Are Missing: Maj. Gen. Michael Neil McCasland, USAF (Ret.), Ms. Monica Jacinto Reza and a number of other government researchers suddenly and mysteriously disappeared

Nick Pope, Explorer of the Unknown: Investigated “The Impossible” for Queen, King and Country; and shared what he learned with the world.

On Photographing UAP: Have your camera ready and be prepared to use it should the Phenomenon present.

Uncle Sam Starts to Disclose: The US Government begins to share information from its official files on UFOs and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena with the public.

“Reality Should Not be Classified.” — As bipartisan support builds in Congress for UAP Disclosure; the Pentagon releases Tranche 3 from its UAP Files.

What Our Spook Saw: In December 2025, a US Intelligence Official Experienced a Close Encounter with UAP and spotted signs of sentience.

The only way we will solve the mystery of UFO and UAP is by learning and sharing what we know, Esteemed Reader. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts, edits of the articles, and detail your areas of interest. Please submit your own articles on your investigations of the subject. There may be no money in it, but the real reward is learning about this amazing universe.

Thanks for reading. Take good care!

Going through the three tranches of UAP information released by the Pentagon has been an eye-opening experience. Among the new files is the extraordinary report from “a currently serving (May 2026) senior U.S. intelligence official” and associates who experienced a close encounter with a number of brilliant orbs in the western United States in December 2025. The event may represent contact with a non-human intelligence.

The report includes photographs taken from the helicopter and US personnel on the ground. The image above is a composite photograph made by me. The following two images are part of the files, taken during the encounter. The first shows the helicopter and a small object beneath. The second shows a small object above a mountain range.

Please know it is with complete sincerity that I salute our public servants whose testimony is contained in these newly released UAP documents. During the commission of their official duties on our behalf, they flew at the edge of reality and faced an unknown presence with valor.

What follows is the actual report of the anonymous senior officer in the US Intelligence Community.

A “series of close UAP encounters lasting over an hour.”

In late 2025, during early evening daylight hours, I – a senior U.S. intelligence officer – along with a colleague and two pilots, departed our Joint Operations Center (JOC) in a helicopter. Our mission was to investigate loud thuds heard in the mountains on the test range, which coincided with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sightings reported over the previous several nights. We aimed to search remote mountain areas for possible debris or objects that might explain the orb-like sightings.

After leaving the JOC, we flew a low-altitude “nap-of-the-earth¹” route through the mountain range for several hours. Multiple times, we spotted debris on the ground and descended for closer inspection. Each time, we determined it was remnants from rockets and other projectiles that had crashed during years of weapons testing on the range. As we continued searching near areas of reported orb activity, we discovered a large cave entrance with no visible end in sight. The terrain around the entrance offered no safe landing spot, so I instructed the pilot to orbit it several times for observation. We noted the location and then pressed on.

Running low on fuel, we headed to prearranged rendezvous point to meet a ground team and let my colleague disembark. The two pilots and I then proceeded to a prepositioned tanker on the range for refueling. Our plan was to return to base afterward, but the JOC radioed with a request to search a nearby mountain for debris spotted by one of the ground teams. By this time, the sun had set, and the pilots switched to Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and Night Vision Goggles (NVG), while I continued using the unaided naked eye.

After a brief search of the mountain yielded no findings, the pilots began navigating back to the JOC to end the mission. I then received a message from the JOC: radar had detected hits several miles up range from our position -- the same area where UAP activity had been observed on prior nights. I relayed this to the pilots, and we altered course to intercept. What followed was a series of close UAP encounters lasting over an hour.

En route, ground teams reported spotting a UAP on FLIR, describing it as “super-hot,” low to the ground, and moving east then south at high speed. The object then split into two and changed direction. Upon arrival, we scanned the area using NVG, FLIR, and the naked eye. The ground team suddenly radioed that the object had risen from the ground, approached within ten feet of the helicopter, dropped below us, and then sped away. The pilots observed it through NVGs and saw it split into two as a smaller object emerged before it accelerated out of sight. We briefly pursued but broke off, unable to match its speed. At one point, the JOC informed us that several fighter jets had launched on a training mission in our operating area and requested their assistance in identifying the UAP.

Minutes later, the JOC directed us to nearby radar detections. We took up a hovering position at approximately 700 feet above ground level (AGL). In the distance, we saw countless orange orbs swarming in all directions against the backdrop of the mountain. The display lasted several minutes before fading. The JOC then redirected us to our previous position based on fresh radar hits. I provided coordinates to the pilots, and we moved to intercept, hovering again at 700 feet AGL. Through NVGx, the pilots and I (using the naked eye) observed two large orbs flare up side-by-side, close the helicopter — stationary and just above the rotor disk to our right. They were oval-shaped, orange with a white or yellow center, and emitted light in all directions.

After a few seconds, a third orb flared up below the pair, followed by a fourth below that, forming a total of four or five in a “T” formation under the origina two. Moments later, they dimmed in reverse order, remaining stationary until they vanished from view. The entire event lasted 10-15 seconds. I didn’t take photos, as I was focused on assessing what it was and whether it posed a threat.

After this encounter, the pilots briefly considered landing due to the objects’ proximity but opted to remain hovering at 700 feet AGL for further observation. We then spotted the fighter jets entering visual range at about 23,000 feet AGL, identifiable by their blinking navigation lights. As watched from afar, the same type of orbs appeared directly above the fighters. They flared up one at a time in a horizontal formation, matching the jets’ speed and flight path. After 10-15 seconds, they dimmed sequentially and disappeared. This repeated several times as the jets transited the airspace and eventually landed. I remarked to the pilots that it seemed the same orbs we had encountered were now “chasing” the fighters. We also observed orange orbs flaring up and down and around us for several minutes, forming a distinct triangle before vanishing.

Low on fuel, the pilots decided to return to the JOC. After landing, I briefly spoke with them — mostly to express thanks. We were virtually speechless after these observations. I then entered the JOC for a quick debrief before driving home.

¹ May 26, 2026, correction: The document originally posted to the PURSUE collection of UAP-related records on May 22, 2026, under the name “ODNI-UAP-D001, USPER Narrative, Senior USIC Official,” contained a typographic error in the second paragraph, describing a helicopter flight profile as “map-of-the-earth.” The correct military aviation term for this profile is “nap-of-the-earth.” This document has been updated to reflect that correction.

How to Get the UAP Report.

Contained in the first of the three tranches released by the Pentagon, the report above is titled “DOW-UAP-PR049, Unresolved UAP Report, Department of the Army, 2026” in Release 1 on Page 9. Click here to access it and related US Government documents and images.

Experts Weigh In

Two authorities on UAP discuss why the 2025 New Year’s Eve encounter is of historic import. Dr. Jeffrey Skafish, Ph.D., co-founder of the Sol Foundation, and Mr. Marik von Rennenkampff, UAP researcher and analyst with the organization, discussed the episode and whatever may be responsible.

Skafish said the encounter represents one of the most extraordinary experiences in human history, an eyewitness encounter of an unknown and extraordinary technology and intelligence. Rennenkampff agreed, and added he believes whatever was behind the phenomenon also was sending a message.

As a journalist writing this report (and as a member of the Sol Foundation following the subject), I agree with both. Their discussion is included in the YouTube report following.

Our official kept his or her eyes open.

The file and the close encounter it details are extraordinary. Uncle Sam is relating historic news to us, where one of our nation’s intelligence professionals experienced an extended close encounter with UAP, documented by other witnesses and supporting photographic and radar data.

Observers reported and radar recorded that the shining orb or a similar object later split in two. The objects hovered parallel to the ground immediately next to the helicopter. They were joined by several other glowing orbs and formed a T-formation, each object forming the vertical bar illuminated in sequence as it joined the formation. The illuminated objects then extinguished themselves in reverse order from which they appeared. They then vanished from view. Three of the objects subsequently appeared and briefly formed a triangle and faded away and/or departed.

Some one or some thing wanted to communicate that they were not a “natural” phenomena. The display was intentional and conveyed information. The geometric shapes are signs of communication through mathematics.

Reading the senior intelligence officer’s report about all this, I am heartened that the phenomenon interacted with one of Uncle Sam’s top specialists in the martial arts, sensitive information, foreign technology, and analysis. Under extraordinary circumstances, the anonymous official kept his or her critical faculties focused on the job at hand.

I would appreciate reading any other reports he or she and his or her team generated, along with visual light photographs, infrared imagery and radar data, during their investigations. Going from the erudite report we do have, if the intelligence behind the phenomenon had asked, “Take me to your leader,” they met one of our best examples.

Rhetorically, if not specifically, the phenomenon asks those who have wondered about cosmology and UAP to consider: Why does the universe exist? and What is our purpose here as thinking creatures?

In searching for the truth behind the phenomenon, we may discover the answers also have to do with the very nature of our universe and the true purpose of intelligent life it holds. The issue also holds important insight into the possible future or futures of humanity, including whether the United States continues as a democratic republic or devolves into a chaotic place ruled by a tyrant or despotic plutocracy.

Events over the past week give me real optimism for analyzing the issues and discovering new information. And if we do not learn the answers, I have few complaints. In the process of studying the phenomenon, we will also learn a great deal more about our universe and our place in it.

On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, members of the United States House of Representatives, stood with a group often labeled “the UFO whistleblowers” in an official press briefing in Washington, D.C. Their aim was to “bring the issue of UFOs to the steps of the US Capitol.”

The bipartisan group of officials, known informally as members of the UAP Caucus, want to declassify information on anomalous phenomena in order to inform the US public about UAP, including UFOs. The representatives invited current and former government employees, civilian and military, with knowledge of the phenomenon to come forward and share what they know.

A number of the UFO whistleblowers have reported threats of violence and other forms of harassment for reporting improprieties to Congress or the Administration. The Congress members said those with information would be welcome to share what they know in confidence, with no strings attached, and with immunity from prosecution for violations of secrecy oaths and non-disclosure agreements.

C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network) covered the “Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets” event and shares its video record. The program lasted about one-half of an hour. Click here for the C-SPAN video.

Appeal for Public Awareness and Action

The group included Congressmembers Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Eric Burlison, R-Mo., Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Scott Perry, R-Pa. In addition to Grusch, the whistleblowers at the event included Mr. Jeffrey Nuccetelli, a former USAF airman, both of whom testified before Congress in 2023. Journalists present included accomplished documentary filmmaker James Fox and pioneering investigative reporter and author Leslie Kean, both experts in the UAP field.

“Knowledge of Non-Human Intelligence belongs to all humanity,” said Ms. Kean, who co-authored a groundbreaking 2017 New York Times article on UFOs and government programs studying the phenomenon.

“Reality should not be classified,” Mr. Fox said. He asked President Donald Trump to declassify and release UAP records, in particular those regarding the recovery of a living entity associated with a UFO, allegedly recovered in Varginha, Brazil in 1996.

David Grusch is a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and decorated combat veteran who made headlines around the world when he testified before Congress in 2023. Grusch in 2022 had reported to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) to express his concern that classified information on UAP was being illegally withheld from Congress.

In addition to revealing some of his own role in top secret programs investigating UAP and UFOs, he reported the US Government is running secret off-the-books and largely privatized programs on UAP. Among these, he testified, were efforts to recover evidently non-human entities, “Biologics,” and their vehicles. Click here to read Grusch’s testimony, and that of other experts to Congress.

Each Representative called for “Disclosure,” opening up for public review the US Government’s UFO files, an historical record that goes back more than 80 years. Those present indicated the matter of UAP is of vital importance for the nation, in terms of national security and air safety, as well as for its social, military and economic implications.

But wait! There’s more from Uncle Sam…

On Friday, June 12, 2026, the Pentagon (the Department of War or the Department of Defense) released its third tranche of UFO-related documents. As in its two previous releases, there was no “Smoking Gun” document, video or photograph that proved conclusively that UAP come from another planet or reality, but they do add new and important data, as well as a number of previously incomplete historic records, that We the People can study.

The image above and its detail at the top of the page are stills taken from an interesting video contained in Tranche 2, on page 5, the file labeled “DOW-UAP-PR097, Hi-Res: [CALLSIGN] Observes UAP on 25SEP19 at 2135Z.” The image appears very briefly for a fraction of a second right at or near the :54 second mark. Most of remaining video seems to be far-off views that resolve the interesting objects as one or two lights close to each other.

To visit the site, click here. Once on the Pentagon page, please scroll down to the tabs marked Release 01, Release 02 and Release 03. Each tab has several pages of individual files.

Between you and me, I think these UAP releases and bringing the UFO question to the steps of the Capitol represent the tip of the tip of the tip of the weirdest iceberg ever. I will detail what I learn over the coming weeks.

Most importantly: Please write and share what you learn. Information that changes our understanding of reality and our place in the cosmos is too important to be kept Top Secret.

First off: A cursory examination revealed nothing in the information is positive proof of alien visitors from outer space or another planet, star, galaxy, reality, or dimension. The files, however, do record the US government’s effort to understand UAP; show a continued effort to defend the nation from an unknown technology or intelligence; and add to history solid information about a real phenomenon of unknown origin.

The reports include eyewitness reports of “The Impossible” from trustworthy and qualified observers, including military personnel, government employees and highly trained civilians who described observing unknown objects, apparently artificial in construction and under intelligent control. Today’s release also includes photographs and infrared images recorded above the United States and around the nations and oceans of the world.

Click here to visit the official Pentagon website: War.gov/UFO.

One truly remarkable event was detailed for the first time and highlighted among the files in today’s release. Listed on the War.gov/UFO site’s Page 16, the four files in the series are labeled “FBI SEPTEMBER 2023 SIGHTING.”

In the amazing reports, several consultants, scientists and engineers were driving in a convoy of vehicles to work on a government LiDAR project in 2023. As they entered the test site in separate cars, a number of the team spotted a blindingly brilliant diamond-shaped light in the sky. As they watched, the light seemed to move across the sky. Around the diamond was a faint ring.

As they watched, the witnesses reported a 130-to-190-foot long shiny, copper, metallic-appearing object suddenly emerged from the brilliant light. For about 10 seconds, the thing hovered motionless adjacent to the light, emitted a light of its own, then instantly disappeared from view.

Upon first sighting the object, one of the witnesses reported emotions of anger directed at the party responsible for flying a drone on a day when the area had been designated a no-fly zone. Familiar with most of the drones in the US inventory, she told investigators that she soon realized the object she observed was not a drone. Her report and this new incident is reminiscent of the reports from US Navy pilots who encountered UAP as they entered a restricted flight zone 300 miles offshore training areas.

Three witnesses are quoted by the FBI in this extraordinary report by US government associated scientists and engineers. Each eyewitness’ report is contained within his or her own official “FD-302 File” — summations of witness statements and investigator observations.

The fourth file includes the just-released official image shown at the top of this article. The extraordinary image recreates the moment by fusing a digital photograph of the scene of the daytime sighting with a drawing of the object and/or phenomena based on eyewitness statements and phenomena by a talented FBI forensic artist.

The encounter’s location also represents a very interesting place for the phenomenon to present itself. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a sophisticated remote sensing technology that uses pulsed laser light to measure distances precisely. Airborne platforms use LiDAR to create 3D models of the Earth’s surface. LiDAR also can be used to measure objects, areas and specific environments. LiDAR has critically important military applications.

Politico reported in February 2025 that FBI agents assigned to the “UFO desk” worried the incoming administration would purge them and close their office.

Portions of these official documents remain redacted, including the identities of those involved. Readers can appreciate individual privacy and understand the hesitancy of people who recognize their reports in current coverage to go public.

That said, there’s a ton more solid, new and official information, as well as important historical records, such as the FBI files from the humanoids in Socorro in 1964 that would not hurt anyone to share with those interested in the history of the phenomenon. And the public was advised that additional tranches of UAP documents would be released in coming weeks.

The historic release also shows that the US Government has quietly encountered and investigated something “impossible” under our current understanding of matter, energy and information. The files also show that the US Government has made a sincere effort since its public beginnings to chronicle, study and understand the phenomenon. For that service, I am most grateful to the men and women — including those whose names are redacted.

One of the best things a witness to “The Impossible” can do to support and chronicle their UAP experience is to document the experience with a photograph or video. It’s a good bet, of course, that most anyone who’s photographed a flying saucer would say, “It’s easier said than done.”

Usually, the Phenomenon appears as a relatively small object that stands out from the sky or clouds for some reason — as a bright shining light, or as a flash reflection, or from odd maneuvers as it travels across the sky. The experience typically lasts under 60 seconds — one minute.

Unless a camera is ready, even professional and dedicated amateur photographers usually won’t have sufficient time to get serious gear set up to photograph, film, tape or record digitally. The object also can appear so mesmerizing that it becomes difficult to take one’s eyes off it long enough to find a camera before the thing moves off. It is not impossible to get the image, however.

Images of Things Unknown

The Residium has detailed the historic images taken in 1950 by Paul and Evelyn Trent in McMinnville, Oregon; the amazing series by Almiro Baraúna, on assignment to the Navy of Brazil during the International Geophysical Year of 1958 off Trindade Island; and the remarkable Polaroid images created by Rex Heflin, a California government employee on official duty in 1965.

Their photographs are among the best images of UFOs in the public domain. The images have been judged by experts in photo analysis made in the manner the witnesses reported they took them. They show what the witnesses reported seeing. What’s more, although the subject of debunking by “experts” from the day each was published, the Trent, Baraúna and Heflin photographs have withstood the test of time — plus all attempts at duplication through trickery.

Be Prepared, Scout

If you are interested in the Phenomenon, be ready to use your camera. Most UAP sightings are of some thing that usually is far off, making for a picture of what appears as a teeny tiny dot set against the big sky.

Fortunately — photographically, if not socially — we today have the cell phone. While not on the same level optically or technically as pro gear, our smart phones are capable of recording and preserving something from the phenomenon experienced. And while it may not match exactly what was seen by eyewitnesses or recalled by human minds, the photo or file backs up a report with solid information.

Whether a cell phone or a professional Digital Single Lens Reflex, a photo can also provide data that human eyes may have missed — even in cases where the photo does not resemble what the witness remembered. And while a photographic image is not probative, it serves as evidence in support of eyewitnesses.

Think beforehand of what you need to do and practice, should the opportunity present itself to take a photo. Be familiar your camera and its operation, know how to adjust settings, such as a telephoto zoom function, and practice quickly getting your camera ready for the specific action. And stay calm, also easier said than done in such unusual circumstances.

Toward the goal of adding to what we know, I humbly submit a number of images I made of an odd thing I saw — and photographed — in 2023.

Weirdness Pictured

By way of background: The following occurred March 30, 2023 at about 6:21 p.m. EDST in suburban Detroit, Michigan. The camera used was a Canon 5DS with Canon EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6 L II telephoto zoom lens set at 400mm, maximum magnification.

The large photograph shows the position of the waxing gibbous moon, estimated by eye about 40-degrees over the eastern horizon. The tiny object circled above is magnified to 100-percent (full pixel size on the full frame DSLR sensor) in the photo below.

I had been testing the lens’ autofocus system indoors and headed outside to test the lens on far-off subjects. I spotted a half-moon in a beautiful blue sky. As I looked through the viewfinder, I noticed a star-like object moving from the bottom of the frame toward the moon. It looked like one, sometimes two, tiny points of light, moving steadily up the frame, through the sky.

My first thought was, “Wow! An airplane is going to pass in front of the moon! What a shot!” Then, a second thought: “Wait a sec! That tiny thing must be the International Space Station! Holy cat, how lucky!”

Being near-sighted, I could not see the object with my naked eye. My camera has a built-in diopter that adjusts for my vision, enabling me to see sharply when viewing through the eyepiece. The same image that appears as a tiny point near the moon, and magnified full-size above, also appears in the sequence below: the second over in the first row.

A Stack of Balloons or Not a Stack of Balloons

As I watched and photographed the object, it reversed direction of travel and began to move “down frame,” away from the moon and toward the bottom of the frame. Oh, well, that ruled out the ISS and most air traffic.

Please note how the object seems to change from frame-to-frame, about second-to-second. In the third row, fifth image from the left, an object (unsure if it’s the same one) appears as a single “balloon” trailing a thin twin-tail. It appeared in only one frame, closer to the moon than images made immediately before or after.

Still, the thing “acted” weirdly, seeming to move smoothly for a moment, then quickly to another part of the sky. I tried to keep it in the viewfinder, but lost sight of it at least twice.

In my attempt to capture the image, I took many frames that did not show the object — only blue sky or sky with my neighbor’s home. I reacquired the object through the camera viewfinder and took the final images before again losing the object as it moved east, getting smaller. Eventually, I could not see it at all.

After getting indoors, I began to examine what I’d photographed using the camera’s 3.4-inch screen. At first, upon 100-percent magnifcation, I thought it was a cluster of balloons, similar to ones escaped from a birthday party I’d previously photographed passing by overhead (an example of which is seen at the top of this story).

Closer examination revealed the thing seemed to be a stack of spheres that could change shape, moving spheres and changing positions from image to image. Also, I thought the thing may be “jumping” from one part of the sky to another. In some images, the spheres seem to blur as they change position in the stack.

I still do not know what the object was. While I have photographed other odd objects in the skies, I had not seen anything like it before or since. I am familiar with hundreds of UFO photographs, and only remember one that captured something similar.

A Note on Zola

The French author and journalist made an excellent observation regarding the gap between our subjective selves — our senses, memory, and interpretation — and our objective world and its possibly infinite versions and objects.

Quoted above, Zola’s full sentence reads: “In my opinion you cannot say you have thoroughly seen anything until you have got a photograph of it, revealing a lot of points which otherwise would be unnoticed, and which in most cases could not be distinguished.”

Precisely our situation. We have remarkable brains, capable of observation, making memories, and considering and understanding what we have experienced. We can describe our memories, often in remarkable detail. However, even the most gifted minds are not capable of absolute perfection. Thus our memories are instantly strengthened, re-energized so to speak, when upon seeing an old photograph we are reminded of the unique subject and moment the image represents.

Please let me know your thoughts on this article, as well as the subject in general and the photos in particular. And please forward copies of images you have taken or that you would like to share. With your permission, of course, I would be honored to post them for discussion.

Thanks for reading. Take good care!

“My heart is breaking -- Nick (@nickpopemod) passed away this afternoon at our home,” she wrote. “The last few weeks of his life, even as he suffered, he managed to do a few interviews from home. I was so lucky to have met and to have married Nick. He was a wonderful husband. I loved him dearly.”

Mr. Pope had suffered from cancer of the esophagus. He was 60 years of age.

It is no exaggeration to write We the People of planet earth have lost one of the great minds investigating Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Mr. Pope was “expert” in the best sense of the word, providing factual information and honest analysis based on what he saw, learned and knew. His books include “Open Skies, Closed Minds,” “The Uninvited: An Expose on the Alien Abduction Phenomenon,” and “Encounter in Rendlesham Forest.”

In a career that began in service to the United Kingdom’s Department of Defense from 1985 to 2006, Mr. Pope investigated reports of UFO sightings to determine their nature and military significance. After leaving the “UFO desk,” he entered the field of ufology publicly.

Through his work, Mr. Pope helped elevate the subject of UFOs into a respectable field of study. He appeared on numerous “live” interviews on television and radio news, cable television, including the History Channel program, “Ancient Aliens,” on the innumerable and uncounted blogs of the Internet. Always, while keeping to the facts, Mr. Pope also kept the secrets entrusted to him by the DoD.

Through Hardship, to the Stars!

On February 12, 2026, Pope posted:

A Message From Nick Pope:

A while ago, following some digestive issues, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Unfortunately, it's Stage 4 and has metastasized to my liver. While I know that it's kindness and hope that leads people to suggest healers and supposed miracle cures, and to say things like "fight it", and "you can beat it", I'm afraid my diagnosis and my situation leaves no doubt whatsoever: I can't beat it.

What an amazing adventure I've had! A 21-year career at the UK Ministry of Defence, where I got involved in subjects ranging from financial policy to counter-terrorism; from military policing to UAP. And I saved six cows; it's a long story! The things I've done; the places I've been; the people I've met; and the secrets I've been privy to. I wouldn't have swapped it for the world. And then a second career, where my previous government UAP role brought me to the attention of the world's media, leading me to become a regular commentator on TV news shows and documentaries, as well as consulting and acting as spokesperson on various UFO and alien-themed movies, TV series and video games. The media called me the real Fox Mulder!

The true highlight, of course, is life with my wonderful, beautiful and incredibly smart wife, Elizabeth. She's a real-life Agent Scully: a scientist, a skeptic and a redhead. We met randomly in the lobby bar of the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San José (she was an anthropology professor at San José State University) in October 2010 and got married 3 months later. We applied successfully for my Green Card and she had me shipped over and imported to the U.S., where a new adventure began, as Elizabeth and I enjoyed wildlife watching at our wonderful home in Tucson, desert hikes, film noir, true crime, country music, Sunday lunches with my in-laws, and much more besides. Recently, we had an amazing one-year adventure in New York City, living 5 minutes from Times Square, and having a wonderful view of the Empire State Building from our apartment window.

We proofread each other's books and articles (I love commas, hyphens and exclamation points way more than Elizabeth, and managed to win at least a few of those battles), and I'm supporting her in her ongoing fight for free speech, academic freedom, and keeping political correctness, superstition and identity politics out of science and academia. The White House Press Secretary Tweeted one of her recent newspaper articles, which shows the huge impact she's having.

I kept working for as long as I could (right up until last week), with my various film/TV interviews, conference appearances, and live events, including my position as moderator of Ancient Aliens Live - where I think I did 94 shows. Sadly, the time has come where I've had to step away from this work.

A lot of people have followed my work on UAP. I'm loath to use the word "fans", because I'm not a celebrity. But I am a public figure, and many people have followed me on my journey as I've sought to keep the UAP subject in the public eye, and to frame it as a defense, national security and safety of flight issue - as well as a fascinating science problem. Some of this work has been public knowledge, but some such work, of necessity, has been done behind the scenes. I hope I've helped move the needle forward. But most people, of course, know me through my media interviews and live events. To everyone who's followed me on my journey, thank you - and good luck with your own journeys. I wish you every success and happiness.

It's all been amazing, and I'm grateful for the things I've done, not mournful for the things that I won't now get to do.

Per Aspera Ad Astra!

Nick Pope, Tucson, Arizona, February 12, 2026 (Source)

Hey! What If?

In an article he wrote for BBC Sky at Night magazine, Mr. Pope asked “If we made contact with aliens, what would happen?”

“Contingency planners would probably regard finding alien life as a ‘low probability, high impact’ event, where even if the chances of it occurring are judged to be small, the consequences would be immense – and potentially catastrophic,” Mr. Pope wrote.

His are an excellent question and analysis, like all his public statements, based on what he knew, rather than what he was supposed to think. While we will never see another Nick Pope, we can do all we can to measure up to his example. Brought sadly to think of it, if anyone should know it was Nick Pope.

Dr. McCasland, 68, retired from the Air Force in 2013 after a distinguished 34-year career in which he led some of the most important scientific research and development facilities in the nation. He currently serves as technology director for Applied Technology Associates in Albuqueque.

Not So Routine Day

Susan McCaskill Wilkerson, Dr. McCasland’s spouse, also is a government physicist and a veteran USAF officer. Ms. Wilkerson saw her husband talking with a handyman who stopped by their home around 10:10 a.m. Mountain Savings Time. She then drove to a medical appointment . When she returned around noon, her husband was gone.

Susan Wilkerson called nearby friends and family to see if her husband had stopped in to visit with them. None had seen or heard from him. When Dr. McCasland had not returned by mid-afternoon, she reported him missing to police at 3:07 a.m.

Left behind were his prescription eyeglasses, cell phone and “wearable technology,” investigators reported. Missing from the home were his wallet and .38 caliber revolver with leather holster. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office issued a “Silver Alert,” asking the public for support in locating a missing senior citizen.

Ms. Wilkerson told investigators that all seemed normal the morning of the disappearance. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. McCasland had no symptoms of illness or psychological distress, apart from reporting “brain fog” in recent days, police investigators reported Monday, March 17.

Dr. McCasland enjoys hiking, biking and exploring the wilderness near his home in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, an area with hundreds of miles of trails and challenging terrain and wildlife. Carrying a handgun for protection from dangerous wildlife and predators, particularly when hiking solo, can be a prudent thing to do. In normal circumstances, he wouldn’t leave his phone behind, needing it for communication and navigation.

After a week, searchers discovered a gray sweatshirt emblazoned with “Air Force” across the front and stylized wings on the back about 1-and-a-quarter miles east of the McCasland home. An investigator from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said the item did not appear familiar to Ms. Wilkerson or other family members, so it is not know what, if any, connection it has to Dr. McCasland’s disappearance.

A 1979 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Dr. McCasland earned his doctorate in astronautical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988. His dissertation, “Sensor and Actuator Selection for Fault-Tolerant Control of Flexible Structures,” examined the systems and practices for controlling satellites in orbit. Here’s how the Hertz Foundation, who helped support Maj. Gen. McCasland during his PhD research, describes him:

Retired Major General Neil McCasland is director of technology at Applied Technology Associates.

There, he is responsible for technology identification and development across the range of ATA competencies and applications, and sets the vision and strategy for technology development in participation with the directors of strategic development and business development.

Previously, Neil served for 35 years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, most recently as the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in the grade of Major General. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He was commissioned in 1979 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a BS in astronautical engineering. Neil earned his PhD in astronautical engineering from the MIT, studying as a Hertz Fellow.

“Top Secret” Doesn’t Begin to Cover It Covertly

As an officer in the US armed forces, Maj. Gen. McCasland directed classified defense and space programs. In his career, he helped oversee and manage the U.S. Government’s most sensitive military and defense information. Dr. McCasland served as director of research at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Wright-Patterson AFB has played a central and recurring role in the official and public study of Unidentified Flying Objects, home to Project Sign, Project Grudge and Project Blue Book. And since 1947, Wright-Patterson, proponents of UFO lore and eyewitness testimony, the Air Force may have housed wreckage from a crashed flying saucer recovered from Roswell, New Mexico, about 200 miles to the southeast from the McCasland home in Albuquerque.

While her husband had consulted with civilian UFO researchers, Ms. Wilkerson said she believes there is no reason to connect her husband’s disappearance with UFOs or UAP. However, the knowledge Dr. McCasland possesses would be of interest to most any government on earth. Specializing in astronautical engineering and advanced weaponry and defensive technologies, his knowledge as an astronautical and defense engineer would be of interest to most any intelligence agency off earth, as well.

An Air Force Scientist Vanished in 2025

Such a person is rare and remarkable. However, Dr. McCasland is not the first of the nation’s important space scientists to mysteriously disappear.

On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, 60, an aerospace engineer specializing in materials for rocket engines, disappeared while hiking with a friend in the Los Angeles National Forest. Ms. Reza had worked on a project directed by Dr. McCasland at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported Ms. Reza was last seen “hiking near the Mount Waterman area” with a friend on the morning of June 22, in the San Bernardino Mountains in the Angeles National Forest.

Her hiking partner told investigators that all seemed well. They were hiking on the trail and he was about 30 feet ahead of Ms. Reza. She had smiled at him when he turned around. When he next turned around to check on her progress a short time later, she was gone. His immediate search and searches organized subsequently found no trace of her.

Daniella Segura of The Sacramento Bee reported the story in June 2025: 60-year-old vanishes on mountain hike in forest, CA cops say. Now a frantic search.

Authorities investigating the two cases, as yet, have made no mention of a connection between the two cases. Journalists at News Nation, however, reported the possible link between Dr. McCasland and Ms. Reza early this week.

One More Point

In Ian Fleming’s novel, Goldfinger, the title character observed that the best leaders are always on guard for what may seem at first sight accidental: “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”

Please know people like Dr. McCasland and Ms. Reza are most rare. “Rocket Scientist” does not do justice to their knowledge, experience and judgment. Extraordinary people like them, and ordinary people of any age, are not supposed to just vanish.

While there is no known connection between the disappearances, speculation runs from unknown health issues and a desire to go underground to bad actors and our nation’s adversaries to the mysterious and unknown intelligences behind UAP.

If Dr. McCasland and Ms. Reza have been taken by an intelligent person or agency, from this world or any another universe or realm, it is my hope they read the following words:

You have in your custody two truly remarkable people. Please treat them — and any others you may have — as the special and missed individuals they are and release them to safety. They are the kind people who work to change the world for the better.

Dr. Kitei’s photographs recorded what she sighted, as would additional photos and videotape made during UAP sightings two years later. She and her husband, also a physician, witnessed and chronicled a V-formation of lights over Phoenix on January 23, 1997 and then the spectacular statewide sightings of March 13, 1997.

Seven years later, she went public with her interests in the phenomenon. Her work helped preserve the testimony of hundreds of people who witnessed the phenomenon as it appeared over their city.

Here’s the story in the good doctor’s own words, from a 2017 interview with Mirelle Inglefield in Phoenix Magazine:

Both my husband (who is also a physician for over 40 years) and I are healthy skeptics. But we were also witnesses to extraordinary and advanced technology. Not only did I capture 35mm photos of oval orbs in a pyramid array just yards from our home in 1995, I also filmed a mile-wide formation of equidistant lights head-on [which then turned] into a V -shape in January 1997 – two months before the March 13 mass UFO events.

(This sighting was also witnessed by a group of air traffic controllers at Sky Harbor. As they described, “six points of equidistant lights appeared at 1,000 feet over Class B restricted airspace, turned as a unit against the wind, elevated in synchrony and then moved slowly behind South Mountain.” The same massive “object” was again reported in the same restricted airspace during the March 13 events.)

Even though I witnessed and photographed the anomalies up close and personal, I knew nothing about the topic and actually shied away from it. But when thousands of other Arizonans saw what I had been documenting and then I discovered that these phenomena have been gracing our skies globally since human records began, I needed to educate myself to what was going on. After seven years of compiling the most credible reports and data, I ended up with a 750-page journal that confirmed that we have been and are being visited by something not of our world.

It wasn’t an easy task to keep silent with all the credible info I was finding, but at the time the topic was too controversial and those who did come forward were ostracized and discredited. Ultimately, after much soul searching, I knew I couldn’t stick what I had compiled in a drawer. The data is just too important not to share. And since there is so much misinformation surrounding our extra-ordinary 1997 anomalous events, not only was it vital for me to set the record straight, but as a physician, I wanted to let others know that they are not crazy or alone.

“Pa, What Are Those Lights?“

Thousands in Arizona and Nevada reported sighting a massive, silent V-shaped object (or boomerang-shaped or triangle-shaped) pass slowly and silently overhead on Thursday, March 13, 1997. Later the same evening, witnesses reported a formation of stationary, orange-red lights over the mountains to the southwest of Phoenix metropolitan area.

As accident investigators and ufologists know, witness descriptions of the same event may vary. Perhaps the capabilities of the phenomenon include the ability to hide or disguise its true nature. Most people are well-intentioned, however, and describe what they experienced as they best remember.

Many eyewitnesses reported the lights were part of one large object, a solid V-shaped craft that “blocked out the stars” as it passed slowly over head. A number reported the object was more-shaped like an enormous carpenter’s square. Some also reported they were certain that the lights they saw were separate objects, or served as “thrusters” or rockets that propelled the enormous object or objects.

Many if not most witnesses estimated the lights or object that passed over Phoenix at more than one hundred yards across. Other witnesses estimated the object they saw was more than a mile across. Some estimated its size as more than three miles across, based on the distance between familiar points on the terrain underneath.

Private pilot and action film star Kurt Russell witnessed the lights as he approached Phoenix International Airport with his son. They reported what they saw on landing to the tower and FAA. IndieWire writer Michael Nordine asks: “Is there anything Kurt Russell can’t do?” in his excellent report.

A True Renaissance Woman

An accomplished physician with a booming practice in family medicine, a pioneering clinician specializing in medical education at the Arizona Heart Institute, and a former Hollywood and stage actor, Dr. Kitei is the very model of a modern woman of the Renaissance.

Based on reports to the US Air Force, Arizona police agencies, the UFO Reporting Network (UFORN), and the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), Dr. Kitei estimated about 20,000 people witnessed the phenomenon March 13, 1997.

Dr. Kitei’s own documentation includes 35-millimeter photographs and video footage of the phenomena she captured over three separate events. To her images, she has collected the photographs and videotapes taken from across the Phoenix metropolitan region, along with thousands of eyewitness reports from March 13, 1997.

To preserve the stories of witnesses, Dr. Kitei established the Phoenix Lights Network (PLN). Its website serves as a place to report and document individual eyewitness accounts, including those from pilots, police officers, and other witnesses. The PLN has chronicled more than 700 individual reports.

Dr. Kitei also continues the great American tradition of the Citizen-Scientist. Like Benjamin Franklin, who really did fly a kite during a thunderstorm to study electricity, Dr. Kitei bravely went against the taboo regarding interest in UFOs to learn and share what she found about the Phoenix Lights. She has written The Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic’s Discovery That We Are Not Alone and produced a film documentary, The Phoenix Lights.

As a medical doctor, practicing her art in modern Arizona, Kr. Kitei has seen and treated most all manner of illness and injury. She knows what she knows and she can tell when she sees something she doesn’t know. Over the coming years and decades, she thoroughly investigated what she and her family witnessed, analyzed eyewitness reports, and collected news articles and photographs chronicling the Phoenix Lights. Her conclusion: “We are not alone.”

However, at the time of the Phoenix Lights of 1997, Dr. Kitei had to keep her interest in the subject of UFOs and the Phoenix Lights to herself. The reason: the longstanding federal campaign — stretching from Roswell through Project Sign to Project Grudge to Project Blue Book to whatever name it goes by in the present day — to publicly ridicule those who discussed “flying saucers.”

Officially Droll

To help hammer disinformation home to the citizenry of what was not yet officially termed “The Homeland,” Arizona’s then-Governor Fife Symington called a press conference in 1997 to “defuse the situation” and prevent public panic over unidentified objects flying over his state’s capital city.

As they were about to discuss the Phoenix Lights and answer reporters’ questions, a figure costumed as a bug-eyed alien in a silvery space suit crashed the press conference, accompanied by a brace of Arizona state troopers. Gov. Symington unmasked the visitor, revealing his human chief of staff.

Governor Symington, who also served as an officer in the US Air Force Reserves, would corroborate the Phoenix Lights, stating publicly a decade later that he himself had witnessed the unidentified object pass overhead.

In an interview with journalist and author Leslie Kean , Gov. Symington stated his sighting March 13, 1997 was of something “otherworldly” that “defied logic.”

“It was absolutely breathtaking,” Gov. Symington told Ms. Kean. “I mean when I saw it, I said this is definitely a UFO. It was a geometric form with extremely bright lights on the leading edge. I have never seen anything like this in my life.”

“I’m a pilot, and I know just about every machine that flies. It was bigger than anything that I’ve ever seen. It remains a great mystery... In your gut, you could just tell it was otherworldly.”

Today retired as a full colonel and an expert in advanced weaponry, Mr. Isbell kept the experience to himself for 45 years. Here’s the story in his own words, related to interviewers of UAP Files, minimally edited for clarity by The Residium:

“I had a red Corvette that I purchased after I got to England through the Army PX, the Air Force post exchange service, and I had it shipped over. And so, I’m driving my red Corvette home from the base to just south of the town of Bicester in a little area called Chesterton.

“…RAF Upper Heyford is about 12 miles north of Oxford, England. It’s in Oxfordshire, nestled in the Cotswolds – countryside with a lot of rolling hills. Beautiful place, beautiful. So, I’m headed home to my assigned base housing, which they had a small subdivision that was constructed for people who were assigned to the base to have a place to live.

“…On the way home, I was passing a golf course that I was familiar with, where I played on before, called the Bicester Golf Course. And it was a very small two-lane road and woodsy. And as I’m driving down that road, I noticed something in my rearview mirror. And it was all these changing colors of light and it was moving very rapidly toward my direction.

“But I could tell that it wasn’t down on the road. It was up above the trees. And like most golf courses, this one had some guard trees that were out along, you know, the edges. So that if somebody hit a stray ball, hopefully the trees would keep the ball in that park.

“So of course there were trees on the course but I was familiar with the place where when it zipped by me and it was going very, very fast. It just instantaneously stopped – doop! – when it went from fast zipping along to just stopped. And it’s completely stationary.

“That caught my attention, because there was no sound. It had these lights that were constantly changing around the bottom. It wasn’t like light bulbs that were blinking. The lights were blending into these various colors. So, in my mind, as as an engineer kind of guy, it reminded me of sort of an a plasma kind of effect along the bottom of the craft.

“The craft was triangular, but not pointed on the front. It was a little bit rounded on the front end; more pointed on the back ends. I only saw the side and bottom of the craft. (Col. Isbell estimated the object was about 40- to 50-feet in length).

“I guess it was up around 50 to 60-feet above the ground when I when it stopped there. So, I couldn’t see the front or the top of the craft. And it was a very dark night. But it caught my attention to the point that I stopped.

“Of course now I’m in an American vehicle. So, I’m driving on the left hand side of the vehicle. And and I’m driving in the left lane. There was no traffic. There were no other cars on the road. So, I pulled across the oncoming lane and pulled off the road on the side there next to the golf course.

“And I got out of my Corvette and I’m just standing there, staring at it. And you know, as part of our NATO training, we were required to memorize and instantly recognize all the types of threat aircraft from the Soviet Union that we might encounter — jets, helicopters — and to identify them as friend or foe. We had to know and identify all the NATO aircraft. We were regularly tested on that.

“And I’m just in shock because this is certainly not an aircraft. It has no wings. It had no visible means of propulsion. It had no helicopter blades. It was making no noise whatsoever. And of course, our jet fighters don’t stop instantly like that, because of the momentum and the inertia.

“So, I’m just puzzling (about its construction) as an engineer. I’m an aerospace engineer. How is it staying there stationary in the sky like that? And, of course, it was a bit of an ontological shock in the moment I realized, ‘No, this is not a craft of anything I’m familiar with.’ There was no real prosaic explanation for what it was.

“So, I was so curious. I walked around the back of my car and across the grass toward the tree line. And as I’m walking toward the craft, it reacted to me and it began to lower itself down toward the golf course. And at that point, suddenly, I’m back in reality.

“I’m probably 150-feet from it at that point. And, you know, the fighter pilot in me just wants to see if they’d let me hop in and take it for a spin. But the realistic fighter pilot in me said, ‘If anybody finds out that you’ve had a UFO sighting, if you tell a soul, your career is over before it’s, you know, just when it’s at the very, very beginning.’

“So, I quickly decided this is not a good idea to get closer to this craft. Plus, the plasma under it, I didn’t know what the effects would be if you got too close to that.

“As I say, that’s the only way I could define these rapidly changing colors underneath the craft. As they were kind of blending up on the sides a little bit, around from the bottom. So, anyway, I quickly said to myself, ‘Okay, nobody has seen you out here. Beat feet back to your car, get in, start it, and head to the house and don’t tell a soul.’

“And so I didn’t. For 45 years, I didn’t tell anybody.”

Col. Isbell is an extraordinary pilot with a 30-year career in the US Air Force, where he had flown in combat and then piloted almost every type of fighter, bomber, spy plane, along with most everything else in the U.S. inventory. He also served on active duty as a military test pilot and later as a test pilot instructor.

The encounter in the U.K. countryside was the first of a series of close encounters Col. Isbell would experience over his 26-year career. He first publicly shared his experiences involving the phenomenon in late 2025.

After hearing him tell this story, George Knapp, extraordinary journalist and ufologist, remarked to Col. Isbell: “They’re tracking you,” in regards to the encounter in the UK and several additional encounters over the course of his career.

“That spooked me out,” Col. Isbell said. “Who’s tracking me? What’s tracking me?”

Here’s the interview from the investigators at UAP Files.

When one of his recent interviewers asked why he didn’t report his encounter at the time it happened, Col. Isbell replied: “Pilots who reported UFOs would see their careers end. I decided to keep quiet about what I saw.”

Col. Isbell’s close encounter occurred on Friday, December 26, 1980, the first night of the series of close encounters that occurred at Rendlesham Forest, experiences chronicled by active duty US Air Force personnel, including Col. Charles I. Halt.

Fortunate for We the People of the United States that Col. Halt has stood by his report for more than four decades when denigrated by closed-minded skeptics. As a senior career officer of impeccable character and sterling service to his country, his word is as good as it gets. He stands behind his memo and memories to the present writing. As free citizens of the United States, we are fortunate Col. Halt remained in service to the nation as a member of the U.S. Air Force.

We the People also are fortunate that Col. Isbell remained in the military service. The fully-rated combat fighter pilot later became a leading experimental aircraft test pilot and then a test pilot instructor, a test pilot’s test pilot. After retirement from the flight line, he served as an aerospace engineer leading the development of new technology for the military — providing knowledge of how aircraft and technology behave at the cutting edge of science and performance for our side. Had he reported his UFO encounter, he likely would have had a very different career path.

Centered around neighboring Joint RAF-USAF Air Bases, RAF Bentwaters and two miles to the south, RAF Woodbridge, the broad spectrum of experiences and phenomena are collectively known today as the Rendlesham Forest Incident. The phenomenon left physical traces, was confirmed by radar, and exhibited a broad spectrum of phenomenological and psychic events.

Labeled “The Roswell of Britain,” the appellation is not fair to Rendlesham Forest or the people who lived these experiences. Active-duty military personnel reported numerous and varied unidentified flying objects and nocturnal lights, silent UFOs hovering over and scanning a top secret weapon storage area, and reports of a number of landings and close encounters.

At some of the events, witnesses reported missing time, conflicting memories of what was seen or present, and psychic or telepathic communication with possibly nonhuman entities — as well as between human witnesses themselves. Two airmen, independent of each other, reported they witnessed the apparent teleportation of a third enlisted man who had approached and touched a landed object.

“IT WAS NOT A CRASH. IT LANDED”

On the evening of Friday, December 26, 1980, two USAF airmen on guard patrol were ordered to investigate a light spotted over the woods neighboring RAF-USAF Joint Air Base Bentwaters. Thinking they were investigating a possible airplane crash, Staff Sergeant James Penniston and Airman First Class John Burroughs opened an auxiliary gate and drove into the forest to investigate. When they briefly climbed out of their vehicle, the atmosphere, they felt, was filled with “static electricity.”

What they felt and saw made the two airmen turn around and return to base to report. Calling from the first telephone they found, the two airmen informed their commander to report something unusual in the forest.

“We thought we were looking at a crashed aircraft, burning in the woods,” AFC Burroughs later reported. “It wasn’t a crash. It landed.”

SSgt. Penniston and AFC Burroughs, now joined by Airman Ed Cabansag, were sent back to Rendlesham Forest to investigate. Driving as far as the road allowed, they walked on foot into the woods and walked through a farm field toward an area illuminated by an object with multicolored lights. As they walked closer, they reported the object began to course toward them, suddenly vanished, and then a moment later silently reappeared behind them before again disappearing.

They airmen continued forward into the woods. Climbing over a small mound, they were surprised by a blast of light. When they could see, they faced some kind of light-emitting object, triangular in shape, about 10-feet long at the base and about 10-feet tall. One airman said he saw a metallic, triangular shaped craft. Another said the object looked like a disc hovering over the clearing. Whatever was floating or resting on three legs, it left impressions in the ground.

SSgt. Penniston and AFC Burroughs took notes and made drawings in their air police notebooks. SSgt. Penniston and Airman Cabansag reportedly took photographs on film cameras. SSgt. Penniston approached and touched the object.

“It was solid, as if built of metal,” Airman First Class John Burroughs said in one interview years later. “But it felt warm and smooth to the touch, like black glass. The ‘hieroglyphs,’ though, felt rough, like sand paper.”

Burroughs had touched what seemed like a number of symbols along one edge of the object. As he touched them, alight atop the craft suddenly became “sun-like” in brightness and made the surrounding wooded clearing as “bright as day.”

And then things got really weird. After which, the men returned to RAF Bentwaters and reported what they experienced.

Seeing What Is Not Supposed to Exist

The following evening, Col. Charles I. Halt, USAF (Ret.) heard the “UFOs had returned.” Then serving as deputy base commander of Joint RAF/USAF Base Bentwaters, Col. Halt personally led a team of Air Force personnel into the forest to investigate.

Here’s part of his official report, a memorandum composed about a week after the events (please click on the image to enlarge for readability), released about two years after the incident via FOIA request by ufologists:

A Surreal Experience

The Air Force team found indentations in the ground where the team the previous evening reported seeing the object touched down in a small clearing in the public forest. They measured significantly higher radiation on the ground and on the trees facing the landing spot. While there, they sighted a mysterious light, about the size and orange color of a basketball.

To help document the investigation, Col. Halt carried a micro-cassette tape recorder to capture much of what was said and seen during his foray the second evening. Excerpts in Col. Halt’s voice:

“It’s coming this way. It is definitely coming this way...Pieces of it are shooting off...There is no doubt about it. This is weird!

“OK, we’re looking at the thing. We’re probably about two to three hundred yards away. It looks like an eye winking at you. Still moving from side to side. And when you put the Starscope on it, it sort of has a hollow center. It’s... Yeah, like an eye.

“We see strange strobe-like flashes to the...rather sporadic, but there’s definitely something there. Some kind of phenomenon...”

NICAP, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, made the tape recording in a digital format here via Wikipedia. NICAP also made a transcript of the tape, available here.

One more important quote from Col. Halt to consider, made at 4 a.m.:

“One object still hovering over Woodbridge base at about five to ten degrees off the horizon, still moving erratic and similar lights and beaming down as earlier…This is unreal.”

A security forces airman at Joint Base Woodbridge would later report observing a “black triangle” while on guard duty at the sensitive Weapons Storage Area. As he watched, another object that appeared as a round or elliptical light passed over the area, scanning the weapons below with a beam of light similar to a laser, swinging the beam from side to side, as if conducting a search.

Ufologist Linda Moulton Howe later interviewed an anonymous airman, “Smith Jones,” stationed on guard duty at Joint Base Heywood — about 100 miles to the west — who on the same evening sighted a similar object searching the top secret weapons area. Around that time and place, Col. Dan “Tanna” Isbell was experiencing a close encounter with UAP, an event he would not share until 2025.

Ms. Howe also has conducted important interviews with many of the principals of Rendlesham, including Col. Halt, who in a press release dated June 25, 2009, wrote:

“I wish to make it perfectly clear that the UFOs that I saw were structured machines moving under intelligent control and operating beyond the realm of anything I have ever seen before or since. I believe the objects that I saw at close quarter were extraterrestrial in origin and that the security services of both the United States and England were and have been complicit in trying to subvert the significance of what occurred at Rendlesham by use of well-practiced methods of disinformation.”

As with much of ufology, much of this story seems absurd. What’s more, much if not most of the data, does not make sense with what we know about science and the universe. However, the character of witnesses to these events is impeccable in terms of professional qualifications and personal integrity. The extensive documentation they created describes a variety of unknown and unexplained phenomena.

The Rendlesham Forest Incident stands as one of the most important cases on record. Also important to note is the bravery of the witnesses who have spoken publicly as citizens in a democracy by reporting what they saw during their official duties.

“The Witnesses of Rendlesham Forest” and documentary filmmaker Richard Thomsen have created an excellent online record with the eyewitnesses reporting their experiences in their own words:

Mr. Thomsen provided an index of speakers:

00:00 Intro
02:35 Night one
02:42 John Burroughs
08:14 Jim Penniston
12:43 Richard Bertolino
17:20 Lindy Vaughn (Night one)
21:09 Night two
21:18 Lori Bouen
23:50 Lindy Vaughn (Night two)
26:14 RAF Upper Heyford
26:30 Smith Jones (*pseudonym)
29:08 Night three
29:26 Greg Battram
31:18 Monroe Nevels
33:54 Charles Halt
36:20 Michael Stacy Smith
38:00 Rick Bobo
41:18 Jim Carey
42:00 Ike Barker
43:24 Larry Warren
48:34 Adrian Bustinza
53:36 End

Background and Resources

What the witnesses of Rendlesham Forest experienced holds national security implications involving UFOs over the airspace of several NATO bases during the height of the Cold War — and the closing days of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The fact photographs, videotapes and other material records witnesses said they made have not been released via FOIA or leak is a public sign of its importance.

For those new to the Rendlesham Forest Incident, CUFOS, the Center for UFO Studies founded by Dr. J. Allen Hynek, provides a good overview and background in its resource: Classic UFO Cases. UFO Weekly also provides an excellent overview: “Unraveling the Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident.” BBC News provides additional context in its report: “Rendlesham Forest: Are we any closer to the truth 40 years on?”

Investigator Nick Pope, the British UFO authority, co-authored “Encounter in Rendlesham Forest,” in 2014 which includes the close encounters experienced by USAF airmen John Burroughs and Jim Penniston.

UK ufologist Gary Heseltine, a veteran law enforcement officer and a veteran of the RAF, personally investigated the extraordinary case in detail, interviewing witnesses, visiting locations, and examining records at his own expense. Mr. Heseltine kindly shares the results of his four-year investigation in “Non-Human: The Rendlesham Forest UFO Incidents: 42 Years of Denial.”

Dr. Roberto Pinotti, PhD, is an accredited sociologist, a former officer in the Italian Air Force, and one of the world’s great UFO investigators. In his address to the Sol Foundation Symposium in October, Dr. Pinotti shared one of the most astonishing stories in UAP history. And it took place not too far from where we were gathered.

Dr. Pinotti related how on the morning of Tuesday, June 13, 1933, a metallic flying machine, about 30 feet across and ten feet tall, shaped something like a damaged bell, of unknown origin and unfamiliar design, coursed over the mountains and foothills of the Alps and crashed in a field near Magenta, a historic city about 15 miles west of Milan in northern Italy.

By 7:30 a.m., local time, the object and its wreckage were discovered, reported to local authorities, and soon became the subject of concern at the highest level of Italian government. The crash scene was secured and cordoned off by the local police and Carabinieri. The authorities issued a cover story to mollify, if not satisfy, some, if not most, of the curious, the same day.

Gabinetti RS/33

To oversee the investigation and security of the recovered object of unknown origin, il Duce Benito Mussolini created a body consisting of the brightest scientific minds and closest military officials. Termed “Gabinetti RS/33,” for Gabinetti di Ricerca Speciale 33, or Special Research Cabinet 33, the panel is reported to have included Guglielmo Marconi, the Nobel Prize winning scientist and inventor of the radio.

Initially, the investigators thought the object was an aircraft of German origin, about 30-feet in diameter and about 10-feet in height. German authorities are reported to have examined the wreckage and immediately determined it was neither their design or property. There was no immediate word about occupants, crew or survivors.

Dr. Pinotti reported the disk-shaped object was heavy and required specialized equipment for recovery and heavy trucks for transportation. The crashed object was eventually was lifted from the field in Magenta and crated off to a secure location, reportedly a secluded hangar on a remote military base under the auspices of the Italian Air Force and control of RS/33.

Today, some allege the senior Marconi, a devout Roman Catholic, also played an instrumental role prior to his death in 1937 of officially notifying the Holy See regarding the discovery and recovery of an object of apparent extraterrestrial origin. This unpublicized contact also helped prepare a path for securing the object with non-fascist hands before the approaching Second World War.

Italy maintained possession of the Magenta object through much of World War 2, reportedly inspiring aeronautical engineers in Italy and the other Axis powers, Dr. Pinotti reported. Sometime near the war’s end, Italy physically transferred the object itself to a secure location within the Holy See.

Thus, Pope Pius XI and his government in the Vatican prevented the object’s capture by Nazi Germany and post-war, the Soviet Union. Allen Dulles and James Jesus Angleton, then affiliated with the Office of Strategic Services, a US wartime intelligence agency and forerunner of the CIA, are reported to have played key roles in the Magenta object’s transfer to the contiguous United States in 1945. The object has rested in a cocoon of secrecy, under the auspices of unknown powers and agencies, ever since.

It bears mentioning for democracy that Mr. Dulles and Mr. Angleton also played important roles in recruiting and securing 1,600 Nazi scientists, including Hermann Oberth and Werner von Braun, and an unknown number of Nazi officers and spies, including Rheinhard Gehlen and Klaus Barbie, in the effort to contain the Soviet Union after the war. Of course, these Project PAPERCLIP “assets” were also put to use, many for better and too many for worse, later in the Cold War in the race to the moon and the socio-political-economic dominion of the planet Earth.

Important Documents from an Anonymous Sender

Backing up the story of the Magenta crash are three sets of documents sent anonymously in 1996 by mail to Dr. Pinotti, the editors of a popular newspaper, and to an independent journalist. The documents included a telegram from Mussolini and directed no mention of the crashed object in Magenta was to be repeated officially. Two other telegrams in the document batch mentioned the matter of a crashed object of unknown origin was being been taken most seriously at the highest levels of the Italian government. In addition, the documents included reports and drawings of other UFO encounters from pre-war Italy.

Dr. Pinotti submitted the documents for forensic analysis and received confirmation supporting the validity of the paperwork. Handwriting analysis was consistent with principals of the time, and analysis of the ink and paper were consistent with those from the 1930s and 1940s. For the record, in more recent years Guglielmo Marconi’s grandson confirmed the inventor of radio accepted the idea of extraterrestrial life as fact.

To see the documents, read their translation and learn more from Dr. Pinotti, I recommend a visit to the work archived by the team at The Black Vault: The UFO Files of Mussolini.

And there things stood. Dr. Roberto Pinotti shared a good story about a crashed flying saucer from the days before the term was generally known — in 1933 Fascist Italy, of all places.

For his trouble confirming the authenticity of the documents and affirming their contents, as best as possible, through the word of surviving relatives of the original principals, Dr. Pinotti attracted the attention of professional debunkers and their paid shills. As if singing from the same hymnal and page, a cry arose from journalists, historians, scientists and even a number of fellow ufologists to impugn his word, investigative and analytic abilities, but worst of all, good intentions.

The Reality

After years of rumors with no confirmation that this story was even true, two prominent figures involved in official UAP research on behalf of the US Government testified to the US Congress in support of Dr. Pinotti’s story of the Magenta UAP crash.

Mr. David Grusch is a physicist formerly employed by the US Air Force and, more recently, other unnamed government agencies as part of official task forces formed to investigate UAP. Mr. Grusch testified in 2023 to the Congress that he learned public United States agencies and private organizations and enterprises were in possession of several UFOs: crashed objects and landed vehicles of unknown manufacture and design. These include, Grusch testified, the object recovered in 1933 Magenta, Italy.

Read about Mr. Grusch and his testimony to Congress in PDF format: “We are not alone: The UFO whistleblower speaks.”

Separately, Dr. Harald Malmgren in an interview conducted with investigator Jesse Michel literally days before his death, confirmed the Magenta UFO crash story. Dr. Malmgren, a distinguished government economist and counsel, served in the administrations of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford.

UFO researcher Richard Dolan, historian and author of “UFOs and the National Security State” and other important works on the topic, provides an excellent overview of Dr. Malmgren’s career, work in UFOs and interview in a recent podcast:

Readers can hear Dr. Malmgren’s complete interview with researcher Jesse Michel in the following video:

The Big Picture

The discussion involves more than the story of a crashed saucer in pre-World War 2 Italy. The issue concerns money and power and new knowledge gained through the study of the UFO phenomenon. Much of this information has been sequestered by anonymous agents of the world’s superpowers, principally, it seems, those of the United States of America.

However, if ever there was a question for all humanity to consider and weigh in on, it is UAP — UFOs, flying saucers, little green men, unknown things falling from the sky — or whatever name people care to call a phenomenon that can apparently manipulate matter, energy, space and time in ways that we do not yet understand.

In addition to its potential new breakthroughs in science and engineering, the UAP issue is a question for all humanity and for democracy. Who controls what is learned should not be the exclusive purview of a secret agency or a cabal operating in the dark without oversight and outside the channels of legal responsibility. Crashed flying saucers and all they represent are the business of We the People.

• Discover the latest in UAP news and analysis,

• Encourage the public study of UAP as an emerging and important field of scientific study,

• Meet like-minded people to share what we know and wonder about UAP.

So, when Dr. Garry Nolan, PhD, a Stanford Medical School professor, genetic researcher and innovator, and Executive Director of the Board of Directors of the Sol Foundation, discussed the UAP experiences and associated data gathered by Jake Barber and his colleagues at Skywatcher Technologies, I knew this was the kind of presentation worth traveling 4,500 miles to hear.

Going from what I heard and the crowd’s reactions in the room and outside after, we weren’t disappointed. However, I, for one sure was surprised at what I learned.

It seemed too good to be true: Intentionally calling UAP to appear and summoning their presence into our reality. Yet, going by eyewitness reports, photographs and data compiled on sensors that include radar, it is true.

Skywatcher Calling

A 30-year a veteran of the US Air Force and other US Government agencies and offices, Mr. Barber described his service as a helicopter pilot and after active-duty, his work in the US intelligence community. Without violating any secrecy oaths, he told us his work included retrieving crashed vehicles and technology — foreign (“red bucket”), domestic (“blue bucket”), and other (“just plain other”).

About three years ago, Mr. Barber and Mr. James Fowler co-founded Skywatcher Technologies, a UAP investigation program. Dr. Nolan also is a member of the Skywatcher team.

In their conversation, Mr. Barber and Dr. Nolan said the Skywatcher team has developed proprietary methods to attract, record and interact with the UAP phenomenon, including the intelligence or intelligences — possibly alien and likely nonhuman — behind UAP.

The Skywatcher system includes what Mr. Barber called a “dog whistle,” implied more than described as a specially amplified electronic signal of unique frequency and power, and “neuro-meditators,” a human team of “psionic” specialists who use their conscious and unconscious minds to telepathically or through a state of meditation to “call and attract” UAP.

Whatever Skywatcher is doing, it’s working. Their interactions with UAP have yielded enough photographs to build a classification system based on appearance, movements and behavior. Some of the various types of object also create or leave particularly positive (benevolent) or negative (malevolent) impressions on the neuro-meditators, which is concerning considering history of the UAP field.

The image directly above shows a helicopter flown by members of the Skywatcher team and an unidentified object photographed by other members of Skywatcher from the ground. Mr. Barber shared that the crew on the chopper was unable to see or image the object from the air, even though they were directed within what appeared to be very close proximity by members of the ground team.

The inability to photograph UAP from the air has extended to all Skywatcher airborne UAP interceptions, Mr. Barber said. In addition, the UAP apparently interfered with the helicopter’s avionics, freezing the display of important information as noted in the image of the aircraft control panel above, at right.

For All Mankind

The success of the Skywatcher system has led to its planned expansion to promising locations across the United States. The information they gather, Barber and Nolan said, would be shared openly in order to advance understanding of UAP with the goal of improving the quality of life of all humanity on planet earth. The project is funded by an unspecified ratio of government contracts and private investment.

People who weren’t at the Sol Symposium can be forgiven for not knowing this important information about what is happening in our planet’s skies, on its lands and under its waters. For some reason, UAP news is not deemed worthy of consideration by many governments, newsrooms and the adults in leadership positions who should know about it (or them). Little of the UAP story — what amounts to world altering news — has made the national front pages or leading newscasts of US news media.

From A Secret Location in the Western USA to Somewhere Over Detroit

The image directly above left is an enlargement of the photo taken by Skywatcher team from the ground. Shared by Mr. Barber is his presentation, it was taken at a secret location in the Western United States, sometime over the past few years.

The image above on the right was taken January 12, 2024 in the sky somewhere over Detroit, Michigan. Its similarity to the Skywatcher may be noteworthy. Therefore, in the spirit of the Sol Foundation, I include it in this report.

The object from Detroit appeared as a tiny sparkle of light in the viewfinder, first noted while taking a photograph of the moon in a daytime sky. The image above shows the object as it appeared relative to the full image. The series of images from Detroit will be detailed in a future report for The Residium.

The Bottom Line

No sense in waiting for Uncle Sam, Agent Nick NATO, the US Air Force, Big Business, the International Court of Justice at The Hague, or global academia to ride in for our UAP investigative rescue. They are each busy doing their own thing when it comes to UAPs. Very low, if actually on their list of priorities, is informing the public about anything ground-breaking, let alone earth-shattering, they have found, discovered or learned.

We — the people at Skywatcher, the members of the Sol Foundation, and all others who are willing to stand up and face the phenomenon and its ramifications in public — are the ones who have to do the gritty detective work and all its associated heavy lifting when it comes to gathering reports, information, facts and data about UAP, UFO, USO, Flying Saucers and the phenomenon behind them.

We also must do our own investigation, analysis and discussion. Unless we do the work ourselves, UAP investigators will hear, in one form or another, the voice of David Byrne of Talking Heads singing Once in a Lifetime. “The same as it ever was. The same as it ever was.”

Byrne’s message would resonate as investigators and those interested in UAP seemingly continue to go over the same ground and argue the same facts, time and again, since the first modern UFO wave in 1947. The loop will not change until the free, open-minded, and willing people of planet earth get up and do something about it themselves and learn about UAP on our own.

Judging by what he shared with the audience at the recent Sol Foundation Symposium in Italy, Dr. Svozil’s pioneering approach and groundbreaking ideas just may get him to the stars. If we are fortunate, he will take us along on the adventure.

“Here we are in Italy, where the Enlightenment was born,” Dr. Svozil said in an address to the Sol Foundation. “Humans as a species have to know. We want to know. And we must know. So, command your eyes to look into the subject.”

Much of physics, especially theoretical quantum mechanics, takes place in the imagination. This includes finding ways of going to the stars, Dr. Svozil said. “I visualized breakfast here in Italy, lunch somewhere near the star Vega, and coming home for dinner with the family,” he said. Impossible to do now, but not necessarily so on another day.

Dr. Svozil is an honored professor emeritus of the Institute for Particle Physics at the Technical University of Vienna. He credited part of his investigative approach to Heinrich Hertz, the German physicist who proved the existence of electromagnetic radiation first proposed by English physicist James Clerk Maxwell. Hertz indicated in the preface to his classic work, “Principles of Mechanics,” the important role played by “pictures,” the mental and metaphorical constructs scientists develop when considering physical objects and theoretical concepts.

What Hertz mean by a “picture” is a scientific model that serves as a metaphorical picture of reality. The model-picture represents a theory’s hidden quantities and causal relationships through a system of symbolic representations. Hertz’s pictures are not a literal visual image but a mental and mathematical construct that scientists can use to better understand and predict natural phenomena, similar to how an artist creates a picture to represent an idea or object.

Typically, the pictures we see and can understand are just one step beyond what is currently understood, Dr. Svozil said. Yet, even if only one person understands a new picture, that understanding of the new concept can serve as a bridge to greater understanding. Shared by one and understood by a few at first, eventually all working in the field may come to accept the new picture as reflecting reality.

While he himself has never seen UAP or been contacted by a nonhuman intelligence, he added that he very much appreciates the reports of seemingly impossible actions often associated with the phenomena. Dr. Svozil said those who report UFOs and their actions may be providing “one picture beyond” the current state of scientific understanding.

Dr. Svozil said that he had tried, and failed, in certain areas. However, he is ready to try new avenues of research and promised to continue his theoretical work and intellectual pursuits, some of which have been inspired by the UFO phenomenon. He also refuses to limit his own quest for understanding by what others may think of his interests: “Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who was instrumental in the development of radar for air defense during the Battle of Britain, wrote: ‘If the scientists say it’s not possible, get me another set of scientists.’” Dr. Svozil said scientists today may need to take a similar approach in order to advance theoretical and experimental physics in order to understand what we today consider, “impossible.”

Dr. Svozil described how in quantum mechanics, the physics that describes the basic building blocks of matter and energy, there are equivalences that must be maintained. However, new ways of understanding and changing what today seem incontrovertible physical properties may be found tomorrow, including the elusive unification of Einstein’s General Relativity with Quantum Physics.

The doctor specifically mentioned the Higgs Boson, discovered at the nearby CERN Large Hadron Collider, which gives mass to the various subatomic particles that interact with its field. Some of Dr. Svozil’s own experiments have shown that there are ways to change a particle’s mass that may hold promise for one day creating an “inertia-less” state of matter, which might then yield new ways for traveling at light speed, or changing directions, accelerations that would seem to an observer instantaneous and today are considered impossible.

I wondered if Dr. Svozil had read the science fiction of E.E. “Doc” Smith, an American dentist with a remarkable talent for describing the amazing worlds in his imagination. His “Lensman” series of novels, derided or lauded (take your pick) as “space opera” when published in the late 1930s, included the idea of “inertialessness,” where the mass of spacecraft was reduced to zero. The Higgs Boson was not yet discovered and laser beams had yet to be invented, but Doc Smith put the ideas together to send his heroes on adventures across the galaxy.

Today, new avenues of speculation and novel approaches at experimentation may yet yield artificial ways of creating and utilizing wormholes, tunnels between black holes and white holes theorized to warp space and wrinkle time, that may allow a vehicle to “pop” into and out of our universe as the vehicle “skips” across various wormholes as it pops in and out traveling from one end of the cosmos to the other.

Please forgive any imperfections in the quotes and content above – I am going from written notes scratched down while trying to listen to one of the most fascinating lectures I have ever heard.

In addition to his scientific work, Dr. Svozil has written extensively on UAP and the possible physics that may be behind them. One important example is his 2023 work, “UFO: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Observations, Speculations, Explanations.” The inspiring work combines UFO history, quantum mechanics, and solid analysis.

So, while we await a transcript or videotape from the Sol Foundation of his talk Saturday, October 25, here are some of his ideas on UAP from 2023. At the time, the US Congress was convening public hearings on the topic featuring eyewitness testimony of US Navy pilots. The following quotes are in his own words, as shared in a pair of 2023 interviews by the German weekly news magazine, FOCUS:

What were your thoughts as a physicist when reading the descriptions of the witnesses Grusch, Graves, and Fravor?

During the hearing, the pilots mentioned several objects or phenomena they had observed themselves or that had been reported by many of their comrades: After being guided by radar to the point where his aircraft and the object had essentially “merged on the screen” and were no longer distinguishable, Commander Fravor saw “whitewater” (foaming water) beneath his aircraft in an otherwise calm ocean and under near-perfect weather conditions. This led him to suspect that a larger object was located just below the surface of the sea, and that the resulting shallow area was causing the water to foam at that point. He and others who were also present could not determine exactly what it was.

Immediately afterward, he saw a white, oval object darting around, which he likened to an enlarged Tic Tac candy from the Italian company Ferrero. Fravor described its movement as the twitching of a ping-pong ball, flying back and forth and seemingly changing direction without inertia. As he steered toward it, the object appeared to react to his maneuver, aligning its longitudinal axis with his aircraft, suddenly shooting toward him at tremendous speed, and then disappearing from his view, only to reappear a minute later at the secret rendezvous point about 100 km away. The foaming water had also vanished; the sea surface appeared undisturbed.

Another US Navy pilot, Ryan Graves, reported sightings of flying dark gray or black cubes inside transparent spheres, with the cube’s vertices or points touching the inside of the sphere. These objects remained motionless for extended periods (even in Category 4 hurricanes with winds exceeding 200 km/h), only to then zip away erratically and rapidly at supersonic speed.

My first reaction upon hearing these descriptions was: That’s impossible! Over time, the physicist in me raised his inner voice and whispered: “And what if we could change the inertia of objects or even reduce it completely to zero?” Inertia and mass go hand in hand. And according to our current understanding, the mass of, for example, atoms or airplanes consists primarily of the energy contained in the gluonic fields within the atomic nuclei; and to a lesser extent, in electromagnetic fields, and the mass that arises from spontaneous symmetry breaking by the so-called Higgs boson.

I proved very early on that if you “sandwich” an electron between circuit boards, for example, you reduce its electromagnetic radiation field and it becomes lighter. ( Source ) This effect is so small, however, that it is negligible, but still: the mass of a particle, and thus its inertia—its “resistance” to changes in motion—is reduced. Perhaps one could significantly reduce inertia by altering the mass-giving mechanisms, or even the vacuum itself? But these are, of course, just wild speculations.

Can we rule out terrestrial drones as a UAP explanation for the Tic Tac video?

Yes. What was seen had an excessively long flight time, no discernible propulsion or locomotion technology, sudden changes of direction, and was much too fast... and that was years ago, when there were hardly any drones!

What would Einstein have said if he had been able to follow the UAP hearing on July 26th?

Einstein was asked about the Washington Flyovers in 1952 and wrote: “These people saw something. What it is, I don’t know, and I’m not curious to know.” In that vein, I’d like to encourage you to research Einstein’s assistant, Shirley Wright. Very interesting stories.

Source: Top physicist assesses Grusch’s holography speculation on UAP maneuvers

About the expert

Karl Svozil is a theoretical physicist at TU Wien (Vienna) and a retired professor. His research interests lie in the fields of quantum mechanics and quantum logic, though he also enjoys exploring beyond the boundaries of these disciplines. He is particularly fascinated by the construction of spatial and temporal scales, as well as potential and speculative “breakaway technologies” that could overcome our conventional limitations. This curiosity has also led him to investigate UFOs and related phenomena.

More from Dr. Svozil in FOCUS:

How can the phenomenon of instantaneous acceleration without apparent inertia, as described in the draft legislation, be reconciled with our current physical models?

Our current understanding of inertia and mass does not allow for instantaneous changes in speed or direction. But we should be open to technologies that make this possible, even if we don’t yet understand how and why. The short history of physics teaches us that we constantly encounter new phenomena that challenge and expand our existing models.

How can UAPs, as described in the draft legislation, generate positive lift that contradicts known aerodynamic principles?

This could be explained by a phenomenon that might be called “antigravity,” although it does not exist within the framework of our current theory of gravity—Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. This would be yet another example of a phenomenon that challenges our current understanding of physics.

Given the characteristics of UAPs described in the US bill, what do you think the underlying technology or physics of these phenomena might be?

Based on the current, established state of physics, we cannot know that. Depending on the expert, you will receive different answers; each will likely tell you what they are currently researching. I must warn against such quick explanations! We should first study these objects and patterns of movement with an open mind.

What could be demanded to get to the bottom of this phenomenon?

To better understand this phenomenon, we would need access to military signals such as radar data. Unfortunately, most “anomalous” radar signatures are simply filtered out and presumably forgotten. For such studies, one wouldn’t even need the presumably sensitive raw data, but could make do with “degraded” data, as was the case with GPS in the past. The military possesses potentially vast amounts of valuable signal data, which is inaccessible to civilians.

Source: Antigravity and transmedial transitions still defy our understanding of physics

Closing Thoughts from the Editor

Without the Sol Foundation Symposium, I might never have heard of Dr. Svozil and his important work. For some reason, his ideas and interest in UAP have largely been absent from American news media and its coverage of UAP and the UFO phenomenon. Thanks to the Sol Foundation, I now share with you, Dear Reader.

Here’s a link to “Top Gun vs. UFO,” in which The Residium discusses Commander David Fraver and his colleagues’ encounter with the phenomenon while on active duty as US Navy fighter pilots. Readers also may enjoy “The Real Impact of Surrealism,” which looks at the effect of the unbelievable on memory.

Based in San Francisco, California, the Sol Foundation’s third symposium attracted some of the world’s leading lights in ufology, as well as a good number of physicists, psychologists, social scientists, engineers, architects, investors and journalists who wanted to learn what’s what and who’s who. By my count, 23 UAP investigators shared their work in a series of presentations and discussions.

Speakers included astrophysicist Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, PhD., who discussed “The Hunt for Nonhuman Artifacts Near Earth” and her work on Transient Stellar Like Objects. Many of these transient events correlate with the rotation of earth, implying that they are objects positioned in earth orbit when they blink out as they enter the earth’s shadow. Stars don’t disappear like that. Satellites do. What’s remarkable is that the images were made by the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey five years before Sputnik. The transients also correlate with the 1952 flap over Washington, D.C. when UFOs appeared on the radar and over the nation’s Capitol.

Col. Karl Nell, (US Army, retired), contrasted the works of the “Five Good Roman Dictators” with the modern bureaucracies of the Western democracies in order to highlight the disappointing recent efforts to garner support in the US Congress for UAP Disclosure – the public revelation of top secret investigations by the CIA and US Air Force that stretch back at least 75 years. Col. Nell also discussed the importance of public awareness for getting movement by our elected representatives on an issue that impacts the lives of every human being on the planet.

Theoretical physicist Dr. Karl Svozil, professor emeritus of Technical University of Vienna, shared insight on “Stagnation in Physics, Inspiration from the Skies: Rethinking Science in the Age of UAP.” While he described uthe century long impasse between Einstein’s Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, he explained that we are beginning to see a new picture developing — one based on the scientific method and stirred by the apparent actions and possible technologies — associated with UAP.

This was just part of Saturday, the first full day of the symposium. That afternoon heard Dr. Jacques Vallée discuss his peer-reviewed scientific paper on an apparent UFO that irradiated a stand of trees in northern Louisiana, “Estimates of radiative energy values in ground-level observations of an unidentified aerial phenomenon: New physical data,” in 1966. The work was co-authored by Luc Dini, who also presented at the Sol Foundation Symposium, and Geoffrey Mestchersky. Click here for an article preview.

Dr. Vallee’s paper, here in PDF format, “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: A Strategy for Research,” submitted to the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and their UFO study group, GEIPAN, could have been the blueprint for what I saw unfold in Baveno.

In his seminal 1979 work, “Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults,” Dr. Vallée asked: “Where are the UFO detectives?” Had I the chance, I would have let him know: “Well, doctor, look around you — the UFO detectives are here. And all of them in attendance are here in large part due to your pioneering work, Herculean drive, and saintly patience as the scientific world caught up to that you and your colleagues like Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Dr. James E. McDonald saw decades ago.”

The Residium posted a profile on Dr. Vallée and his work earlier this year, “Jacques Vallee: Information Scientist.”

My Aim and Warning

Over the coming weeks, I hope to detail as many of their presentations as possible, as well as the contributions made by other participants at this extraordinary conference. Of course, I will also freely provide my own 2-cents of personal observations and analysis, openly and clearly so-marked, based on more than 60 years following the subject of flying saucers, UFO and now UAP.

First, though, I must warn readers of The Residium and participants in the Sol Symposium alike – especially those who may feel they are being drawn quickly, as if irresistibly – into the “UFO Community.” Please remember and be aware that some, if not many, of the actors are not who or what they say they are. By that I mean that some are agents representing government, corporate, and private interests who do not necessarily share a commitment to democracy, open discussion of cutting edge ideas, or the well-being of participants in the study of UAP in their individual agendas.

The field is full of truly remarkable people and amazing information, as well as frightening facts and implications, and a big number of disinformation professionals. So, keep your cards close to your vest, be mindful with whom you share, and at all times remember that your critical faculties — your conscious and unconscious mind, your memories and feelings, and your reasoning and intellectual talents and abilities — are what matter most in all of this study.

One who has fallen afoul of insidious players was featured in the closing discussion of the conference: Mr. Jeffrey Nuccetelli. A retired US Air Force military police officer, Mr. Nuccetelli broke the official silence as a “whistleblower” in order to brief the US Congress on five UAP encounters with which he was involved officially at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Please click here to read Mr. Nuccetelli’s testimony to Congress in PDF format.

Mr. Nuccetelli and several of his colleagues who have gone public with their experiences have been targeted for silencing, often bullied through physical intimidation and threats to themselves and their families, been fired from their civilian jobs and otherwise ostracized simply for telling the truth to Congress about what they experienced while on duty — UAP near some of the most sensitive military installations and hardware in the US inventory.

An Addendum

Located in Southern California, Vandenberg AFB, where Jeffrey Nuccetelli was stationed during a series of encounters with UAP, is the site of many historic and interesting UFO encounters.

New readers may enjoy The Residium’s “The Vandenberg UFO Incident,” featuring the extraordinary experience of US Air Force officers, 1st Lt. Robert Jacobs and Maj. Florence J. Mansmann, Jr., who saw what looked like a flying saucer toppled an Atlas ICBM in flight in 1964.

In the lead was one crescent-shaped and apparently metallic object. It was followed by a string of eight shiny objects that seemed to be shaped somewhat like the heel of man’s shoe as seen from above, but thin and resembling a disc when viewed in profile.

The objects seemed to move through the sky “like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water,” Mr. Arnold was quoted as saying. He also said the objects seemed to move in a coordinated matter, perhaps linked by radio control, as he watched them bob and swing together “like the tail of a kite.”

The date was June 24, 1947. While he never mentioned the phrase, “flying saucer,” in his initial interview, reporters and editors around planet earth did. Russell Lee of the The National Air and Space Museum detailed the episode: Newspapermen took the words of Kenneth Arnold and a historic phrase was born.

The phrase “Flying Saucer” also created a sensation and helped popularize the idea that is was possible for beings from other worlds to visit the earth. In fact, the summer of 1947 was a time when many people across the United States sighted what seemed like remarkable and unknown objects flying through the skies. Their number includes several who reported UAP before Mr. Arnold.

The Original

Kenneth Arnold’s report, however, is not the first time the term “saucer” had been used in newsprint to describe a mysterious traveler crossing the sky overhead. That distinction goes to the writers and editors of the The Dennison Daily News of Dennison, Texas, who published what farmer John Martin reported seeing cross over his head near his farm, about 80 miles north of Dallas, near the border with Oklahoma on January 22, 1878.

The sighting was reported under the headline, “A Strange Phenomena” in the Denison Daily News of January 25, 1878. Ufologist B. J. Booth of the UFO Casebook provides an excellent transcription of the article and important analysis of the episode. (The Residium broke up the article, reproduced below, into paragraphs for improved readability.)

From Mr. John Martin, a farmer who lives some six miles south of this city, we learn the following strange story:

Tuesday morning while out hunting, his attention was directed to a dark object high up in the southern sky.

The peculiar shape and velocity with which the object seemed to approach riveted his attention and he strained his eyes to discover its character.

When first noticed, it appeared to be about the size of an orange, which continued to grow in size.

After gazing at it for some time Mr. Martin became blind from long looking, and left off viewing it for a time in order to rest his eyes.

On resuming his view, the object was almost overhead and had increased considerably in size, and appeared to be going through space at wonderful speed.

When directly over him it was about the size of a large saucer and was evidently at great height.

Mr. Martin thought it resembled, as well as he could judge at such a distance, a balloon, which seemed to him to be the most reasonable solution of the strange phenomena, though he is of the opinion that it was possibly some of the heavenly bodies.

It went as rapidly as it had come, and was soon lost to sight in the southern sky.

Mr. Martin is a gentleman of undoubted veracity, and this strange occurrence, if it was not a balloon, deserves the attention of our scientists. — Dallas Herald

Above from The UFO Casebook.

The 1878 Denison Daily News headline also marks the first time a flying saucer was classified as a “phenomenon,” albeit a “strange” one, pre-dating the introduction of the term to describe UAP — Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena— by about 145 years.

Please know, Dear Reader, the editor of The Residium only knows about this report due to the work of author John Spencer, of BUFORA, the British UFO Research Association, who described the report in his “UFO Encyclopedia” published in 1993.

Notes that Last

After decades of public fame and its associated notoriety, along with abuse from the more uninformed members of the public, Mr. Arnold said: “If I ever saw a ten story building flying through the air, I would never say a word about it.”

Going from how the public often treats those who tell the truth, I don’t blame him for feeling that way. And while I still don’t know what UFOs are, or what Mr. Arnold saw flying over the Cascade Range of Washington that day, I am most grateful he decided to share what he saw. Like a good public education, learning from other people saves one a truly great amount of time.

My appreciation also goes to the hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of witnesses who have braved to step forward and report what they experienced in just the 73 years since Kenneth Arnold. Led by farmer John Martin 147 years ago, they have opened a new universe for us to explore.

From the infrared camera footage, the missile did not explode when it struck the UAP, bouncing off the target and continuing on an altered course. The UAP appeared to flutter and change course on impact. The object continued on its course, accompanied by three pieces evidently knocked from it and able to continue following the larger object by means unknown.

The missile/UAP encounter was the visual highlight from a Congressional hearing on UAP transparency and protecting whistleblowers. From the House of Representatives:

The Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets held a hearing today titled “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection.” During the hearing, members heard from witnesses on continued concerns regarding disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) and information held by federal agencies. Members examined transparency issues within the federal government’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and the intelligence community. Members also analyzed ways Congress can better protect whistleblowers who come forward with information on UAPs. Source w/links and details.

Here’s the video, courtesy Space.com:

Personally, I don’t believe firing an armed warhead at unknown aerial phenomena is a smart thing to do. Two individuals whose expertise I respect provide their perspectives and analyses.

Astrophysicist Avi Loeb, director of the Galileo Project, says the UAP itself may be military drone, possibly controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The video may have recorded the collision and fins from the missile may have continued in flight, drawn along by the damaged drone. Click here for a complete analysis from Dr. Loeb, who readers will note looks first for a most-likely, terrestrial explanation.

Writer and ufologist Marik von Rennenkampff says the tape evidently records the moment a UFO took a direct hit from a missile in flight — and kept on moving through the atmosphere by unknown means, followed by three apparently similar pieces. While a more exotic interpretation, the objects did behave in extraordinary ways following impact. The following offers a detailed explanation from Mr. von Rennenkampff and the SOL Foundation.

Here’s a blow-up on the objects from a screen grab.

The various shades from white to black represent different temperature levels as recorded by infrared camera. To my eye, the three trailing objects are from the original UAP. In Mr. von Rennenkampf’s detailed analysis, the objects have even more unusual properties.

Democracy Depends on Truth

It seems an excellent idea to let the American public in on what Uncle Sam knows about UFOs, perhaps excepting under Congressional review that which impacts national security. Unless it was a threat, firing a warhead at a UFO traveling through a war zone does not seem like a good thing to do.

One thing I know is a good idea: the Congressional hearing featuring the UAP Hellfire recording is important. It marks the continuation of efforts by Congress and ufologists to shed light on federal departments, agencies and the archives for public study of the phenomenon. That is real progress for those of use who have followed the phenomenon for decades.

Thanks to brave members of Congress and a number of patriotic whistleblowers, today We the People know a bit more. Who knows? With luck, we may actually see sound, scientific and public awareness applied to study a mysterious phenomenon that impacts humanity in innumerable and important ways.

The teams had started the second half when the referee whistled play to a halt at about 20 past 2 to assess a penalty against a Fiorentina player. The jeering and cheering in the stadium quickly quieted into an eerie silence as players, coaches, medical staff and the other good people at the game looked up with astonishment.

In the sky above, something unusual appeared and put on a show. Some witnesses reported seeing one egg-shaped object moving slowly across the sky. Others reported several similar objects hovering and darting about. Others reported several objects of many types, some shaped like “Cuban cigars” and others resembling spheres or eggs, frolicking in the sky above the stadium.

News reports indicated the referee stopped play for 15 minutes. Then, the objects departed as mysteriously as they had arrived. After the aerial show was gone, many in the stadium reported a fall of “angel hair” — described by one there as a silvery, fibrous substance, like “wet string,” that fell from the sky.

The local and national papers ran two photographs of the phenomenon taken that day from the stadium. Ufologists report that, apart from the versions published in the newspapers, the original photos are no longer available for study.

Here’s more on the story from a feature article in the BBC News Magazine:

Excerpt…

One of the footballers on the pitch was Ardico Magnini - he was something of a legend at the club and had played for Italy at the 1954 World Cup.

“I remember everything from A to Z,” he says. “It was something that looked like an egg that was moving slowly, slowly, slowly. Everyone was looking up and also there was some glitter coming down from the sky, silver glitter.

“We were astonished we had never seen anything like it before. We were absolutely shocked.”

Play was suspended because spectators saw something in the sky, according to the referee’s match report.

Among the crowd was Gigi Boni, a lifelong Fiorentina fan. “I remember clearly seeing this incredible sight,” he says. His description of multiple objects differs slightly from Magnini’s.

“They were moving very fast and then they just stopped. It all lasted a couple of minutes. I would like to describe them as being like Cuban cigars. They just reminded me of Cuban cigars, in the way they looked.”

Boni has spent many years reliving that day in his mind. “I think they were extra-terrestrial. That's what I believe, and there's no other explanation I can give myself.”

Another of the players, Romolo Tuci, still sprightly in his 70s, agrees. “In those years everybody was talking about aliens, everybody was talking UFOs and we had the experience, we saw them, we saw them directly, for real.”

The incident at the stadium cannot simply be interpreted as mass hysteria — there were numerous UFO sightings in many towns across Tuscany that day and over the days that followed. According to some eyewitness accounts a ray of white light was seen in the sky coming from Prato, north of Florence.

Another man who relishes the chance to speak about that day is Roberto Pinotti, the president of Italy’s National UFO Centre, external. He has written many books about UFOs and his home in the centre of Florence is stuffed full of alien memorabilia, posters of old Italian B-movies, framed newspaper articles and black-and-white photographs of blurry flying saucers.

“The players and the public were stunned seeing these objects above the stadium,” Pinotti says.

“At the time the newspapers spoke of aliens from Mars. Of course now we know that is not so — but we may conclude that it was an intelligent phenomenon, a technological phenomenon and a phenomenon that cannot be linked with anything we know on Earth.”

He’s also intrigued by the material that fell from the sky — what Magnini describes as silver glitter.

“It is a fact that at the same time the UFOs were seen over Florence there was a strange, sticky substance falling from above. In English we call this ‘angel hair’,” says Pinotti.

“The only problem is after a short period of time it disintegrates.” As a 10-year-old-boy he witnessed this phenomenon himself. “I remember, in broad daylight, seeing the roofs of the houses in Florence covered in this white substance for one hour and, like snow, it just evaporated.

“No-one knows what this strange substance has to do with UFOs.”

Variously described by witnesses as similar to cotton wool or cobwebs, the substance was hard to collect because it disintegrated on contact - but some people were determined to find out what it was.

One of them was a journalist at the Florentine newspaper La Nazione, the late Giorgio Batini. In 2003 he told an Italian television programme, Voyager, how on that day he received hundreds of phone calls about the sightings. From the offices of La Nazione in the centre of town his own view of the sky was blocked by the Cathedral, so he went up to the top of the newspaper's building to see what everyone was talking about. The 81-year-old recalled seeing “shiny balls” moving fast towards the dome of the Cathedral.

Batini ventured out to investigate. He came across a wood outside the city that was covered in the white fluff. He gathered several samples by rolling them up on a matchstick, and took them to the Institute of Chemical Analysis at the University of Florence. When he got there he found that others had done the same.

The lab, led by respected scientist Prof Giovanni Canneri, subjected the material to spectrographic analysis and concluded that it contained the elements boron, silicon, calcium and magnesium, and that it was not radioactive. Unfortunately this did not provide any conclusive answers — and the material was destroyed in the process.

Continues...

Click here for the complete story from BBC News Magazine.

Internet historian “Trattoriazaza” wrote:

It was not easy to collect samples (a journalist, at the stadium, put it in a box of Turmak cigarettes), which were sent to the laboratory and analyzed. It emerged that the substance was composed of boron, silicon, calcium and magnesium. It was Professor Giovanni Casseri of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry who announced this discovery.

“It looked like wet string,” one eyewitness reported. Chemical analysis showed it was anything but.

Brian Boldman of NICAP, who investigated a number of “UFO Angel Hair” cases, including Florence, reported:

“Engineering student Alfredo Jacopozzi collected samples in a jar and took it to Professor Cozzi at the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Florence for analysis . . . the substance contained such known elements as boron, silicon, magnesium and calcium…

“While it is true that correlation does not prove causation, the evidence seems overwhelming that angel-hair cases are indeed related to genuine UFOs, and provides more evidence of their reality. Both UFOs and angel hair deserve the serious attention of the scientific community. ”

Source: https://www.nicap.org/articles/IURV26No3.htm

UFO Flap of 1953-54: France and Northern Italy

The UAP witnessed by 10,000 people in broad daylight may be the largest multiple witness sighting of UAP. The event happened during the height of a great wave of sightings occurring across Eastern France and Northern Italy in 1953-1954.

Perhaps due to the colloquial nature of the US press, but this historic sighting is unknown to almost all Americans. It should be big news and now, almost 71 years later, important history.

Something else those interested in space, science, technology, math, history, truth, exploration, adventure and soccer may want to remember or learn:

Florence, Italy — where the Renaissance, where classical ideals in the arts and sciences were rekindled, where genius was celebrated, where the modern world sprang — would almost five centuries later be visited by something strange from the unknown. While who they are or what they want is still unknown, they left a most unusual calling card.

At the time, the event was called the most photographed and videotaped celestial happening in human history. It also represented one of the most thoroughly recorded UFO events of all time. At least 17 independent videographers and photographers filmed an unidentified object (or very similar objects) from 17 locations throughout the federal district and neighboring states.

Videos taken by observers from locations as far as 80 miles apart on the ground during the eclipse seem to show a solid metallic object with a dark base hovering in the sky, just under the cloud layer. One extraordinary video seems to show the teleportation of the object from one point in space to another — visible as a streak (including sun reflection off of what seems like a metallic surface) quickly moving from one point to another across the screen (sensor).

See for yourself in the following compilation of various images and tapes, including interviews, news and archival footage from numerous and sundry sources, compiled and shared by “Eyes On Cinema”:

Journalist and ufologist Jaime Maussan helped bring the event to the attention of the people of Mexico via the national television program, “60 Minutos.” While the case gained much notice around the world, the story did not garner the attention it merited in the United States among ufologists.

In the decades since, Mr. Maussan has continued to follow the UFO phenomenon. He has gained notoriety among some journalists and many skeptics for, way back in the 1970s proposing the photographs and encounters reported by Swiss contactee Billy Meier could be legitimate; and in 2023 proposing to the Mexican government that odd mummified remains from Peru could be extraterrestrial in origin. Going from what has happened to many prominent investigators and proponents of UAP in the USA, let alone the absurd nature of the phenomena itself, a talented investigator may have hoodwinked by professional-quality disinformation.

It is my hope that more people will discover and share this report about the UFOs over Mexico City during the total solar eclipse of 1991. Despite its near-total absence from memory in the United States, the tapes and photographs captured that amazing day contain mountains of data.

The image above and at the top of the page show the solar prominences revealed during totality and the “diamond ring effect” near the end of totality during the total solar eclipse of 2017. Taken by the author and members of his family from a mountainside in the western USA, the image captured some of the first rays of sunlight as they shot through the valleys and lowlands along the lunar rim.