UFO witnesses are often at a loss when their sighting description falls on deaf ears - or when investigators point to man made or natural solutions.
One New Jersey witness is speaking out.
After having multiple UFO sightings and not finding any reasonable explanation, he began conducting his own research. The frustration in finding any answers led to the witness writing an essay that allows the reader an inside look at his case with greater detail.
But first, a question from the witness.
"When I wrote the essay I sent to you, I included everything that I can truly classify as unexplainable. However, there are other things I've witnessed that can go either way, which I didn't include. There is one in particular that I am hoping you could shed some light on. As you know, there are two main types of heavenly bodies visible to the naked eye. Stars and Planets. Stars often twinkle, planets do not. Stars are always in the same relative position to other stars around them, planets move across the sky and do not keep relative position. But Roger, in the past 6 months I've noticed a third type of heavenly body. This type is certainly not a planet, but I can't be sure if it is a star either. They appear in different spots each night, and instead of twinkling, they pulsate with a luminosity that is hard to fathom. Often they pulsate with different colors, many times red or purple, but they do not move from their position for the entire evening. I have been looking for a natural explanation and the only thing I can come up with is that the object is a Cepheid variable star. They are stars that have a specific gestation period which astronomers use to tell how far away other stars in the galaxy are. The period can be a period of days or weeks, and in-between that period their luminosity is not nearly as great. Could what I'm witnessing be one of those? Are they even visible with the naked eye? I have to say that their appearance in different areas at night and the incredible pulsating luminosity they project, is a little bit strange. Of course I'm looking for the simplest explanation first but if these objects aren't Cepheid variables then I don't have a clue what they could be. That is where I hope you can provide a little insight."
Our explanation today comes from Chuck Reever, MUFON's Director of Investigations.
"Yes, Cepheid Variables are visible to the naked eye. Eric is correct in his discussion of the objects. One thing to consider is how close the star is to the horizon. Planets and stars behave differently of course, but near the horizon atmospheric conditions play a definite part in the optical image. Many colors may be observed due to the refraction of light simply because the observer is looking through so much more atmosphere. Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where its speed is different. As an interesting side note when one looks into a swimming pool you observe hundreds of light and dark patches against the side of the pool. These are the warmer (lighter) and cooler (dark) areas of the pool water.
"This effect is not only observed just near the horizon, it depends on a number of factors and can be noticed at higher elevations. Also very high atmospheric clouds can easily obscure faint stars one night and then they would be visible the next night.
"If one Goggles Cepheid Variable Stars a vast amount of information is available.
"Ninety-five percent of all objects we observe, if we had enough information, will be what we call IFO’s, Identified Flying Objects. Remember we do not know all of the “hardware” governments may have deployed-again-if we had all the necessary information, and many times we do not, the objects would be a 'known.'
"In my opinion only a very small percentage of sightings are true unknowns."
Now back to the essay. I am posting the beginning of the essay here. If you wish to read the essay in its entirety - please use the link below.
There is an old adage that says, “Seeing is believing.” This statement rings true for many,
including myself. It is especially true when dealing with unexplainable phenomena. Personally, I would
never have believed certain things I’ve witnessed were even possible; much less that they would occur
before my very eyes with such frequency. This treatise is both a description and reflection of the strange
sights I’ve witnessed in and around my small town only three miles from the Jersey Shore. It all began
with a single event around eight years ago; though after that incident I did not notice any more strange
activity again until the last year and a half.
Yet since then, the things I have seen have often left me questioning my own sanity. The only
reason I am writing this instead checking into my local psychiatric hospital is because I was with people
during three of the most bizarre sightings; each who confirmed seeing the same thing. That was all that
stood between me and a lifetime’s worth of therapy and Zoloft prescriptions.
The continuous plethora of outrageous skyward sights combined with the utter dismissal and
complete lack of interest by nearly everyone around me, has compelled me to write a polished and well
thought-out in-depth analysis of these events. I have spent thousands of hours researching top-secret
government aircraft, unexplainable weather phenomena and even UFO’s, all sparked by my own
experiences. Without them, I would never have gone to such lengths to try to learn about and
understand these things.
On the other hand, I am not writing this to make a case for UFO’s or super-secret government
technology. I simply wish to relate about things I have seen that have had the most profound effect on
me and my life and then allow the reader to decide what these things could be. Admittedly, I am also
writing this because I have grown tired of so-called “qualified professionals” who refuse to take me
seriously.
After all, I am an intelligent, educated researcher and writer. My memory is well above average
and I wear contacts that correct my vision to 20/15. Just to be clear, 20/20 is considered “normal”
not “perfect.” Famed World War II fighter ace Chuck Yeager’s vision was a miraculous 20/10 without
corrective lenses. Finally, I have developed a talent for observation, as well as observational description.
I have an unbelievable Art Appreciation teacher to thank for that.
Ask yourself these questions. If you started seeing jaw-dropping airborne phenomena,
sometimes only a few feet from where you stand and these phenomena continue close to your home on
a regular basis for months and years at a time, and those sightings continue even when you go to work
or go to visit your friends or relatives; wouldn’t you have a burning desire to find out what the heck it is
that has you to amazed? Wouldn’t you wonder why you’re seeing so many unusual things, when most
others go their entire lives without ever seeing anything out of the ordinary? Wouldn’t you question why
you seem to be nearly the only one who is even paying attention? Wouldn’t you want to find out as
much information as possible to search for an answer? Finally wouldn’t you be a tad frustrated when you
realize that so few will take you seriously?
If you answered yes to these questions, you are not alone. I have been absolutely enthralled by
what is going on above my head and my entire mindset, my entire life even, has been forever changed. I
have always considered myself an open-minded skeptic. Meaning, I do not take anything at face value,
but when I am confronted with enough evidence in relation to a given topic, I am able to alter my point-
of-view. I am interested in the truth, not proving my theories and ideas true. As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
famously brilliant fictional detective Sherlock Holmes would say; partaking in the latter inevitably leads
to twisting facts to suit ones theories, instead of theorizing to suit the facts.
When this all began eight years ago, I was unfamiliar with UFO’s and secret aircraft. It was 2002
and I was living in Stone Harbor along the Jersey Shore, enjoying myself after a very successful year at
college. The town is only half the size of the seven mile Island it was built on, sharing the tiny barrier
land-mass with another small shore town called, Avalon. One warm July night, my friend Gene (short for
Eugene but he hates his full name and out of respect for my friend I will refer to him as he would want
me to) and I decided to walk back to my house via the beach and what we saw as soon as we traversed
the steps leading over the sand-dunes, has stayed with me ever since.
Read the rest of the story here.
Comments
Is this the same guy whose daughter was chased around his house by the grave yard at 2 am by "shadow people"?
We spend alot of time outside and look at ths sky alot. We see alot of strange things. I never felt compelled to write an essay about it. It's cool when we come across people who see strange things in the sky as well. I don't know why people get so freaked out, and worse some develop this weird sense of importance or a "holier than thou" attitude. So there's stuff buzzing around up there - big deal. Once things start landing and we're inundated by a wave of whatevers that effects my ability to live my life then maybe I’ll change my attitude.
I am a friend of this essay's author and I feel I should respond to the two comments posted here. First, shadow people? Is there something wrong with you? My friend is truly brilliant and an incredible writer. The only reason he decided to write an essay about the unusual things he has seen is because most people qualified in Ufology refuse to take him seriously. He figured if he demonstrated the fact that he is intelligent, educated, observant, and that he spent many thousands of hours researching to find answers, maybe someone would listen. It is not about being freaked out or possessing a holier-than-tho attitude. He is one of the kindest, most humble people I have ever met. He is highly intelligent and not easily rattled. If either of you read his essay you would know that he said he found these experiences "enlightening and beneficial" Plus, the thousands of hours he spent researching secret aircraft, Ufo's and unexplainable weather phenomena yielded a significant number of corroborating reports from people he does not know but who live relatively nearby. He kept coming across these reports, kept witnessing surreal airborne occurrences on a regular basis; some only 50 to a 100 feet from where he stood and one, only inches from the ground, and eventually he said, "you know what? I'm going to write a detailed account about the strangest sightings in hopes that others will listen and so that i may find some answers. I am going to re-post his paragraph from his essay which explains his thinking.
" Ask yourself these questions. If you started seeing jaw-dropping airborne phenomena,
sometimes only a few feet from where you stand and these phenomena continue close to your home on
a regular basis for months and years at a time, and those sightings continue even when you go to work
or go to visit your friends or relatives; wouldn’t you have a burning desire to find out what the heck it is
that has you to amazed? Wouldn’t you wonder why you’re seeing so many unusual things, when most
others go their entire lives without ever seeing anything out of the ordinary? Wouldn’t you question why
you seem to be nearly the only one who is even paying attention? Wouldn’t you want to find out as
much information as possible to search for an answer? Finally wouldn’t you be a tad frustrated when you
realize that so few will take you seriously?
If you answered yes to these questions, you are not alone. I have been absolutely enthralled by
what is going on above my head and my entire mindset, my entire life even, has been forever changed. I
have always considered myself an open-minded skeptic. Meaning, I do not take anything at face value,
but when I am confronted with enough evidence in relation to a given topic, I am able to alter my point-
of-view. I am interested in the truth, not proving my theories and ideas true. As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
famously brilliant fictional detective Sherlock Holmes would say; partaking in the latter inevitably leads
to twisting facts to suit ones theories, instead of theorizing to suit the facts."
I have a question for you as well. What would you do if you were watching the sky while sitting on the hood of your car, and right across the street, no more than 75 feet from where you sat, out of nowhere a giant light-beam of some sort appeared just above the tree-line, traveled on a downward inverted arc, appearing like it was about to crash into the ground, only to level off at the last instant, fly straight towards the car in your cross-the-street neighbors driveway and then vanish into thin air? I know I would spend every waking moment trying to figure out what it was! Plus, when he told me what happened and when I again read it in his essay, were separated by almost a year's time. Yet when he wrote his essay he recalled the event perfectly. There was almost no variation in his two explanations. I was present with him and two of our other friends during another sighting and his description of what happened then also had pin-point accuracy. My friend is not crazy, he is does not think he is holier-than-tho. He simply is curious and why after so many sightings and so little explanation from anyone else, would he not want to write his experiences down in a manner that he is quite skilled at?
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