70 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
70 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
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The following is a letter from Don Ware and Charles Flannigan
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concerning a recent article in the Pensacola News Journal
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dealing with the Ed Walters UFO photographs. The letter was
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sent to both the Pensacola News Journal and the Gulf Breeze
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Sentinel.
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---------------------------------------------------------------
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October 30, 1990
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Dear Editor,
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As the primary investigators of the famous Gulf Breeze UFO
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case now involving over 70 photographs, Charles Flannigan
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and I feel we must comment on the "road shot." This photo,
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#19, has received doubtful comment in newspapers and TV
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recently. One investigator said that the reflection on the road
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doesn't form a round spot, so the photo most be a double
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exposure. A careful look at the surface of Shoreline Drive,
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191B where the UFO hovered, will help explain the reflection
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resulting from the large bright light source on the bottom of
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the UFO.
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Looking down on the surface, you can see that about 30% is
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mostly white with some tan rock. This rock has a hard smooth
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surface. It is embedded in comparatively soft dark asphalt,
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and the light colored rocks have become oriented with mostly
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flat surfaces up. Over time, some asphalt has worn away 1 to
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2 millimeters below the hard rock surfaces. A series of photos
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taken with a 100,000 candlepower light shining at various
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angles on the road shows enhanced reflectivity at shallow
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angles. This seems to be the result of spectral reflection from
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the light colored rocks. Because the asphalt is worn down
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below the surface of the rock, only the rock is visible when
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looking farther down the road. This causes more photons to
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reach the camera than you would normally expect from
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light reflected at a small angle. Now the shape of the
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reflection from the UFO becomes easier to understand.
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For those who still have doubts about the authenticity
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of this photo, you might look carefully at two photos in a
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copy of THE GULF BREEZE SIGHTINGS. Turn to page 129 and
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look at the daylight photo of the road. Compare the brightness
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of the double-yellow line between the hood and windshield
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wiper with the brightness near the spot where the UFO hovered.
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Now look one page back at photo #19 and make the same
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comparison. (Good light is helpful here.) The double-yellow
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line appears brighter near the UFO. This tells us that light
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from the UFO is reflecting off the line; hence, NO DOUBLE
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EXPOSURE (emphasis theirs).
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We have had the good fortune of getting to know Ed and
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Frances Walters well since our extensive investigation of the
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many Gulf Breeze UFO encounters of 1987 and '88. They are
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two of the most considerate, hard-working, and lovable people
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we know. They have shown great courage and composure
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under public attack by several UFO debunkers. We wish them
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the best of luck in all of their endeavors, whether it is a $1-a-
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year job or the sale of a mind-broadening book.
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Charles D. Flannigan
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MUFON Field Investigator
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State Director
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Donald M. Ware
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MUFON Field Investigator
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Eastern Region Director
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