My
Personal Sighting
Date:
16/5/1998 Time:10:45 Place: Grangemouth, Central Scotland. Weather: Bright
morning, clear blue sky.
It was
while driving to work that my attention was drawn to a man and a child who
were standing beside the road on my left, directly opposite to the road, where
I had to turn into. The mans arm was raised as he pointed up to something
that was in the sky for the child's attention. I tried to see what the man
was pointing at, and although I saw a shape it was obscured by trees growing
along the roadside.
It was
only when I turned right into the road and bending forward slightly that I
could get a good look at the craft, through my front windscreen.
(Drawing of craft done shortly after)
My
immediate impression was of a T shaped craft, angular, with triangular shaped
panels along the front, it had a protrusion or knob at the top, and underneath
was a dense black. There were no portholes windows, or lights, and the overall
colour was a burnt dark silver, or pewter.
It
was difficult to determine its size for I was looking up to a hovering craft,
against a clear blue sky with no points of reference. If I had to approximate
I would say it was 8-10 meters wide
Another
lasting impression was that the craft was very 'old' almost Victorian in
the appearance of its construction.
Around
the outer perimeter of the craft there was a burnt hazy look, which extended
a few feet around the craft.
I took
my eyes of the craft as I quickly drove forward to a parking spot. When
I got out of the car, the UFO was gone.
It
was shortly after this event that I joined the Internet, and while in conversation
with a researcher I was encouraged to read Paul R Hills book: ‘Unconventional
Flying Objects’ (ISBN 1-57174-027-9) On page 67 of this excellent publication,
I came across a passage where Mr. Hill was describing how the force field
or plasma generated by a UFO, can affect how we as individuals perceive
the craft, and I quote:
‘The
absorption characteristics of the plasma can also partly account for the
daytime hazy or smoky appearance of the atmosphere around the UFO. When
the surrounding illumination is brighter than the plasma, the plasma absorption
may be greater than its emission, making it look darker or hazy’ Also: ‘If
it looks very dark or smoky, the UFO primary radiation is probably inducing
chemical Reactions of the atmospheric impurities’.
Considering
that the sighting took place in a town which has the largest petrochemical
works in Scotland, then atmospheric pollutants may indeed have played a part
in how the craft was observed. And confirmed that the field that is generated
by a UFO, may have this hazy, smoky burnt look around its immediate perimeter,
when encountering pollutants in the atmosphere.
Since
my sighting I have also found out that the extended bottom part of the craft
(tube) may only be evident when hovering, and may not be a characteristic
of this type of UFO when in flight
I searched
in vain for a photograph to match what I saw without success, until I had
a breakthrough.
Although
I searched many web sites for a photograph to match what I had witnessed,It
was not until I visited http://csr.phys.ualberta.ca/~jdejong/personal/trip/ufos.htm
that
I came across a report submitted by a Canadian student.
This
student (Jeffrey de Jong) had been on holiday in Scotland, and had his photograph
taken, while posing besides The Robert the Bruce statue in Stirling.
In
the background and unaware to both the photographer and the subject was
a UFO.
Click
photo for original
Enlarged
photo of craft
My
drawing done shortly after I first saw the craft.
Many
thanks to Robert Morningstar for the above three Photo enhancements
What
makes this photograph remarkable, was the fact that it was taken on
20/7/1998 which was 2 months after my sighting, and even with only a
cursory inspection, you can see it has the same thick, chunky shape,
as the craft I witnessed. And as I have already mentioned the extended
tube, although not visible, was only a characteristic of this craft
while hovering, and not while in flight.
Also
note the hazy distortion around the perimeter of the craft, as the field
that is generated by a UFO,interacts with the atmosphere
It
is my firm conviction that this photograph, out of the many fake UFO
photos that abound, is a true and genuine UFO photograph.
Subsequent
to the discovery of the De Jong photograph, I decided to see if there
was any way to magnify or enhance the image, to discern if possible,
that if on closer inspection there was evidence of the protrusion,or
knob, at the top of the craft.
As
this required specialized equipment I was directed to DR. Bruce Maccabee,
who has for many years studied UFO photos and videos. On examining
the photograph he stated 'that there does appear to be a protrusion
at the top'
Which
confirms in my mind at least, that my sighting and this photograph,
may have been the same type, if not the same craft itself.
Joe.
