From: Ralph Howard <rhjr.nul>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2011 08:55:27 -0700 (PDT)
Archived: Thu, 12 May 2011 12:04:22 -0400
Subject: Radar Detection Of UFOs [was: SETI Summary]


>From: Peter Davenport <director.nul>
>To: <post.nul>
>Date: Thu, 5 May 2011 12:41:18 -0700
>Subject: Re: SETI Summary

>Albert, Kathy, et al,

>I suspect that detection of UFOs has been occurring for a long
>time, probably since the early 1960's, when the U. S. Navy first
>began operating the "Fence," their "passive" radar system for
>detecting and tracking orbiting craft and space debris. If UFO's
>are a real phenomenon, it seems highly unlikely that the
>Navy's system would NOT have detected them, over some 50
>years of its continuous operation.

>For details on the U. S. Naval Space Surveillance system,
>please read my paper (2004) on the subject, or visit the
>USNACSPASUR website:

>http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/track/nsss_fs_2002-09.pdf

>In addition, the University of Western Ontario also operates a
>"passive" radar system, ostensibly to detect meteors. The
>system registers and analyzes radio signals bounced off the
>ionized trail behind the meteor, and is able to calculate the
>altitude, flight path, velocity, and perhaps the size of the meteor.
>The system is funded by MIT and NASA, I am led to believe, a
>fact which, in my opinion, may "cloud" its real purpose. All I
>know for certain is that the administrator of the project,
>Professor Peter W. Brown, Ph.D. (physics) apparently did not
>want to either talk, or correspond, with me about the technical
>aspects of that detection system. He chose to ignore my first
>6-8 attempts to communicate with him, and finally had one of
>his graduate students communicate, in his stead. Very unusual
>behavior, in my opinion!

<snip>

>Peter
>NUFORC

Concerning radar detection, just an FYI for everyone's use... In
looking into the potential for use of NEXRAD weather radar data
in UFO sighting investigations, I recently found that there is a
"scientist and meteorite hobbyist", a Ph.D. fellow at the
Planetary Science Institute in Tucson AZ, who runs a
blog/website devoted to providing NEXRAD weather radar data as a
resource for finding meteorites. Additional quotes from Dr. Marc
Fries' blog:

http://radarmeteorites.wordpress.com/

"It turns out that Doppler weather radars are a valuable resource for
not only finding meteorites from fresh falls but also for studying the
dynamics of the fall itself. In the US, the NEXRAD radar network
operated by NOAA provides continuous coverage of most of the US
landmass. Any meteorites that fall here have to fall through
airspace that is monitored by NEXRAD, and when the conditions
are right we can spot them on the way down."

A quick review gained my interest as far as Dr. Fries' efforts having
the potential to show anomalies. For example, on the site, go over
to the right and under "Archives" select January 2011. Click on your
one choice there, "Southern MS, or LA? (12 Jan 11, 0244 UTC)."

Read or scroll down to about halfway to above the graphics and
you'll see mention of returns "moving towards the approximate
north at about 14 knots" and on down, one where the "velocity is
towards the radar at a uniform 13.6 kts <snip> this one behaves
more like an aircraft than a meteorite fall." What is any object doing
at above-jetliner heights moving at 13 or 14 knots (15 or 16 mph)?

If a weather balloon, that idea isn't mentioned by Dr. Fries, I'm
thinking because the return doesn't look like one.

I'm not a radar expert and may be misunderstanding what's being
said here. And I'm sure the vast majority of the detected events are
just well-witnessed fireballs, meteor or space-junk entries/re-entries
and so on. But still, keeping up with this website makes a lot of
sense, because of the potential for NEXRAD recording something
anomalous.



Ralph O. Howard, Jr.
State Director & Field Investigator
MUFON Georgia
Atlanta, GA




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