Dan Madsen ran the official fan clubs for both Star Trek and Star Wars, and he worked closely with the people involved with both franchises. We talk with Dan about his interesting career, his thoughts about the recent sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, and about UFOs. We also discuss the possibility of upcoming manned moon missions, a recent UFO sighting in Denver, and other space and UFO news, on this episode of Spacing Out!
On November 5, 2012, Adrian Musat recorded video of a UFO hovering over the forest area of Clunie Wood north of Perth, Scotland. The Courier reports that Musat, who lives in the Walker Court area of Pitlochry, first observed the bright object from his living room window at approximately 7:30 am. He saw the UFO again at approximately 5:30 pm that evening, but this time, the object emitted pulsating light. He estimates the flashing UFO was approximately five meters wide, and claims the object’s colors were constantly changing.
Musat took his video to The Courier, then subsequently sent a copy to the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA).
But on November 14, the BBC reported that BUFORA had identified the UFO. According to the report, BUFORA is “confident the light was actually within the trees and not above them.” The organization concluded that the mysterious object was simply a “spotlight on a forestry vehicle.” According to the BBC, “The Forestry Commission has confirmed it had tree-felling operations under way in the woodland at the time.” The Scotsman reports that a Forestry Commission Scotland spokesman said, “We had a team in that woodland doing harvesting at the time. They were using a cabin-mounted light as they were in the area before full-light and after dark – they do a long shift.”
An example of a harvester used by the Forestry Commission.
(Credit: Forestry Commission)
Before the Courier published the initial story about this UFO, they posted the following message on their Twitter account: “We had a serious power cut tonight. Ahead of our exclusive Pitlochry #UFO story. Coincidence? Or conspiracy? See Tuesday’s paper for more!” Although this comment was most likely made in jest, there are sure to be many who suspect something much more spectacular than a spotlight was recorded by Musat, and is therefore being covered up by the Forestry Commission and others.
So what do you think? Does the object in Musat’s video look like a “spotlight on a forestry vehicle,” or is the true identity of the UFO something else?
Democrats and Republicans may not agree on much, but here's something that
apparently brings people together -- more than two-thirds of a U.S. poll say
President Barack Obama would be better suited than Mitt Romney to handle an
alien invasion.
So reports National Geographic Channel, which recently polled Americans on
their UFO beliefs. More than one-third, by the way, say UFOs exist, 11 percent
say they've spotted one and one-in-five people know someone who claims to have
seen one.
Overall, 65 percent say they'd rather have Obama face a force of angry aliens
than Romney. Here’s hoping we can leave that stone unturned.
Image: Like
the election, the role of alien-fighter-in-chief goes to Obama. Credit: NASAWatch.com
A co-founder and chief scientist of San Diego-based Qualcomm donated $3.5 million to improve the search for life on other planets, the SETI Institute announced today.
SETI The Allen Telescope Array.
The Mountain View-based organization uses radio telescopes to search for unnatural signals. The gift from Franklin Antonio of Qualcomm will be used to double the sensitivity of an antenna feed from the Allen Telescope Array, a grouping of 350 telescopes about 300 miles north of San Francisco, according to SETI officials.
The antenna feed will be named after Antonio.
The telescopes are generally aimed toward stars where the existence of planets have been deduced by earthbound astronomers and through use of the Kepler telescope.
The institute also announced it will seek another $1 million in a fundraising campaign.
"Donations will help support our scientists to make a difference in the world,'' said Jill Tarter, co-founder of the SETI Institute. "People who value creativity, education and technology support SETI Institute's mission.''
A variety of efforts involving SETI, which stands for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, took place during the 1970s and 1980s, but NASA pulled funding during the early 1990s, so current programs are run privately.
Phoenix, Arizona - 11-02-12
After eating dinner at Baja Fresh, my wife and I came out and were getting in the car. I noticed three solid white lights coming from the southeast followed by a helicopter.
I could hear the helicopter, but heard no other sound from these white lights. I have heard other choppers being being clumped together in travel and I didn't hear that from these lights.
So I grabbed my iPad and started recording the lights. I didn't feel funny or anything like that.
I just happened to be with it enough to grab my iPad and record what I witnessed with my wife.
(Editor's Note: At first appearance this doesn't look like a big deal, but the three lights appear to be moving as a group. We have added a close-up at the end, and if you look real close to the right of the three objects you can see the helicopter mentioned by the submitter.)
