Welcome to the February 2009 round up of news and views on UFOs, alien abductions, crop circles, ghosts, the paranormal, the unexplained, the weird and the wonderful.

Life On Mars

Last month NASA scientists announced that they had found methane on Mars, prompting speculation that there may be life on Mars. Methane can be produced by life or by volcanic activity, but there's no evidence of any active volcanoes on Mars. Additionally, methane would soon evaporate from the thin Martian atmosphere, so the fact that a haze of methane is present suggests it is being steadily produced. NASA chose their words carefully, but the clear implication is that they thing the methane is the by product of life (probably microbial) deep under the Martian surface. The Sun broke this story and used quotes from Professor Colin Pillinger and myself, which were subsequently broadcast all around the world.  

UFO HQ Moves

With effect from 1st January 2009, responsibility for the UFO issue moved from the MoD to Headquarters Air Command at RAF High Wycombe. The MoD maintains that this is an administrative move and that there will be no change in policy. My view is that embedding the UFO project in an operational RAF headquarters will inevitably lead to changes in the way the subject is handled. Lazy reliance on the standard "no defence significance" soundbite is less likely to be tolerated in a predominantly military culture and my hope is that this will mean a higher proportion of sightings are investigated (at present only cases deemed noteworthy, such as sightings by pilots, are investigated) and that the investigations are more thorough, with witnesses being properly interviewed, radar tapes checked and scientific analysis carried out on any photos and videos sent to the Department.

UFO Hits Wind Turbine

UFO Hits Wind Turbine. This was the front page headline in The Sun on 8th January and the story subsequently made international news. Locals in Conisholme in Lincolnshire saw strange lights in the sky on the evening of 3rd January. Then at around 4am the following morning, residents were woken by a huge explosion. The following morning, damage was spotted to one of the wind turbines at a windfarm run by power company Ecotricity. The turbine is 290 feet high and each of the three blades were 65feet in length. One blade was bent out of shape and another had been knocked off completely. Residue from the damaged blades has been sent to the German manufacturers for forensic analysis. One theory put forward by defence insiders was that a prototype BAe Systems UAV named Taranis was involved. A search of the site with a metal detector failed to turn up evidence of anything unusual. This story also spawned one of the most creative and amusing headlines in recent media history, when The Sun ran a follow-up story under the headline "close encounters of the turbine". More on this story next month.

UFO Hunters

The History Channel (US) are now showing the second series of UFO Hunters. I did a lot of filming with them last year, both at the National Archives in Kew and in various other locations. I feature in three of the episodes. The first is one dealing with the famous UFO sighting over Chicago O'Hare airport on 7th November 2006. The second is an episode featuring pilot Ray Bowyer's 23rd April 2007 sighting in the vicinity of the Channel Islands. My major role, however, was in an episode entitled UFO Storm. This dealt with the release of the MoD's UFO files and some of the sightings from the UK's 'summer of the saucers', including the UFO sightings over Tern Hill barracks and the near miss between a UFO and a police helicopter at RAF St. Athan. Check out  http://www.history.com/minisites/ufohunters for details of this excellent show. UFO Storm was broadcast on 28th January but should be repeated and may well be posted on YouTube, Google Video and elsewhere.

Science Impossible

While on the subject of History Channel (US), watch out for a new series called Science: Impossible, looking at various fringe science and exotic technologies. If you're interested in subjects such as robotics, nanotechnology, mind control, invisibility and weather warfare, check out this new series. I contributed to several episodes in my capacity as a defence analyst, commenting on the history and potential military applications of some of these concepts. Broadcast dates are not yet available, so more on this story next month.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

If you haven't already seen it, check out The Day The Earth Stood Still, the remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic. A classic story of alien visitation, this is one of the best sci-fi blockbuster movies in recent years. Check out http://www.thedaytheearthstoodstillmovie.com/ for information and a peak at the trailer. Keanu Reeves is perfectly cast as alien visitor Klaatu and the special effects are breathtaking. High octane sci-fi at it's very best. Catch it in the cinema if you can and watch out for the DVD release, packed with extras, in the spring.

Biography:

Author, journalist and TV personality Nick Pope used to run the British Government's UFO Project and is now recognised as one of the world's leading experts on UFOs, the unexplained and conspiracy theories.

Check out www.nickpope.net for more information about Nick.

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