Page 26 - 201007 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - July 2010

July 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 31/07/2010 10:53 AM Page 26 26 That’s no UFO . . . it’s a space station That’s no UFO . . . it’s a space station By Brenda Kossowan Red Deer Advocate A UFO investigator says there is a perfectly logical explanation for a set of strange lights being reported in the night sky in Central Alberta. A handful of people from the area, including one person from Blackfalds, have contacted him after seeing a bright light moving across the southern sky. Adding to the intrigue, a dimmer light was seen following it for awhile, as if attached, and then suddenly darting away. No worries, says Brian Vike, a self- taught UFO researcher from Houston, B.C., and creator of the web blog, The Vike Factor, Into the Paranormal. Conditions have been perfect for watching the International Space Station and, from time to time, the space flights that deliver its supplies. That is most likely the dimmer light that was seen following the space station and working for Britain's official UFO investigation Infamous 'Face on Mars' gets a unit for a number of books about aliens and then seeming to dart away, Vike said on major makeover Tuesday. strange sights in the skies. Dennis Bodzash People living close to Red Deer can see Fellow UFO researcher David Clarke the space station for themselves on Thursday. made a Freedom of Information request in 2007 Back in the 1970s with the Viking The station will appear lightly over the for internal MoD documents about Mr Pope's Program, NASA cameras captured an image west-southwest horizon at 10:35 p.m. But make decision to speak publicly about his conversion that led many UFO/alien enthusiasts to believe sure you’ve got a good angle on the horizon and from sceptic to believer in the possibility that that an advanced civilization once flourished on don’t blink or you’ll miss it. extra-terrestrials are visiting Earth. the planet Mars: a giant "face" sculpted out of But more than three years later, the Information posted on the NASA’s the planet's surface. Needless to say, in the mid Skywatch website has it up for only three Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has 1970s, the era of Watergate and Vietnam, trust upheld the department's refusal to publish the minutes, reaching a maximum height of 27 in government was at a very low point. So, degrees. files because they contain personal information. when NASA scientists stated that the "face" was Depending on where you’re watching Mr Pope worked on the MoD's UFO merely an illusion caused by the angle of light from in relation to the space station’s orbit, it desk from 1991 to 1994, dealing with possible shining on a natural formation, many people can be directly overhead on some nights, said sightings sent in by the public. He published his refused to buy it, especially considering the first book about the phenomena - Open Skies, Vike. "pyramids" situated around the face in a region Internet users interested in finding out Closed Minds - in 1996, although he continued called Cydonia. Almost from the day the image when the space station will be visible can go working for the MoD until November 2006. of the Face hit the news, writers, led by Richard The MoD's official line is that it has no online to C. Hoagland, used it as the basis for speculative spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.ht opinion on whether or not aliens exist but 50 works on a lost Martian civilization. In the years of UFO reports uncovered no evidence of ml for an interactive menu based on the country meantime, scientific caution was drowned out and city in which they are located. a potential threat to the UK. in an uproar of wild, unverifiable claims. Vike also noted a separate investigation Dr Clarke asked the department to However, one thing that could put the debate to recently after receiving numerous reports, release records of its internal discussions about rest once and for all: better images. dating back to New Year’s Eve, of bright orange how to respond when Mr Pope began talking to Unfortunately, after Viking, NASA's Mars the media about UFOs in 1995-96. lights in the sky. exploration programs went on a nearly two “Think about it. They’re on days like He obtained an April 1996 memo decade hiatus until the mid 1990s. Then, with a July 1,” says Vike. written by a senior officer in defence renewed interest in the Red Planet and new intelligence, who said the matter should be He has determined that the lights are missions to Mars, there arose the opportunity to actually Thai or Chinese lanterns, alternately approached "very delicately". finally solve the riddle of the Face on Mars. But the MoD refused to release other called UFO balloons. Armed with the latest in imaging ommonly lit during the same special papers about Mr Pope, including some which technology, a new generation of late 90s and occasions that call for fireworks, the devices contain "free and frank advice" from defence early 2000s sopace probes captured the Face in officials about how to handle the situation. work much like a hot-air balloon, with a candle detail unimaginable in the days of Viking. The The ICO said in its ruling on Dr Clarke's lit inside a globe. request: "The commissioner feels that this is a result: the distinctive face-like nature was gone, The unit rises as the air in the globe replaced by a much more natural-looking rock warms up. From a distance, it’s quite bright and finely balanced case and that the complainant formation. However, there was still plenty of could be difficult to identify, said Vike. [] has provided well reasoned arguments to support his case. However, in this particular room for believers to stretch the new images MoD blocks release of case the commissioner does not believe that into a face, albeit a weathered one. The debate raged on. Now in 2010, the release of the information concerned would UFO files further the legitimate public interest in any imaging capabilities of spacecraft are even significant way." [] better. NASA's current Mars Reconnissance UKPA Orbiter (MRO) not only has insanely high- resolution cameras, but ones that record in Check out The ‘X’ Zone Gear at The release of files about a Ministry of color, too. Recently, the MRO flew over Defence civil servant-turned-UFO expert has The ‘X’ Zopne Store Cydonia, snapping pictures as it went. The been blocked. www.xzonestore.com result: the Face looks nothing like a face at all, Nick Pope has drawn on his experiences just a weathered mesa of varying color. []