Fig. 74: Frequency during the year, with 4 points per month
We find that only one peak of the frequency curve in our Chronology shows an increase that could correlate with any cyclical meteoritic activity (the Perseids of August). The two other peaks are around March 17th and especially October 10th, as seen on the above graph, and those are not periods of meteoritic activity.
11. How can the impact on society be characterized?
Much of the attention devoted by a few courageous sociologists to unidentified phenomena has focused on the modern literature of ufology. The overwhelming majority of specialized books repeat the standard story of pilot Kenneth Arnold, who saw an apparent formation of “flying saucers” in June 1947, dating the beginning of the phenomenon from this event. Never mind that Mr. Arnold never said the objects were shaped like saucers, and that his observation came after several years of sightings of unexplained lights in the sky over Europe, Asia and America.
Such sociological research is correct, however, in characterizing the interaction between the witnesses, the media and the few scientists who took the trouble to study the reports. In recent years, this interaction has fueled the feeling among much of society that governments and military authorities must be covering up the truth about what seems to be a secret awareness of (and possibly secret contact with) external intelligences controlling the phenomenon.
The study of ancient cases should caution us about such conclusions, attractive as they are superficially. If the phenomenon is as old as the Pharaohs, the cover-up must be very sophisticated indeed, and unlike any process of information control in history. Censorship is certainly a factor, but isn’t it more likely that it acts locally, like the Inquisition’s efforts to impose Christianity by denying the expression of alternative beliefs?
12. What is the next step?
Better documentation is mandatory. Our limited efforts in this book have shown that much new information, and new knowledge, could be obtained by a well-organized group using modern communications technology. We did it with no money, in an environment of little interest to scientific organizations, official folklore researchers, or most publishers. We hope others will be inspired to use this model on a larger scale.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This compilation, and the massive dredging of old text it implied, followed by critical study of every source, would have been impossible without the collaboration of a unique team of scholars who worked with us in this research.
The Magoniax Group, recruited and maintained by Chris Aubeck, has worked for seven years through the Internet to assemble and validate an enormous amount of raw sighting data. It has also exchanged information with interested researchers the world over on every related topic, from the fairy faith in Celtic countries to the review of archives of geophysical effects, cometography, modern astronomical records, as well as the tracking down of ancient Egyptian parchments.
Among the contributors most active in this remarkable group are: Rod Brock, Jerome Clark and Thomas Bullard from the United States, Mikhail Gershtein from Russia, Daniel Guenther from Germany, Eduardo Russo and Giuseppe Stilo from Italy, Javier Garcia Blanco and Jesus Callejo from Spain, Peter Hassall from New Zealand, and Fabio Picasso from Argentina. We are grateful for their tireless contributions.
We have also benefited from the help offered to us by many librarians, researchers, publishers and curators who were kind enough to respond to enquiries about data we were seeking to validate. Mr. Franck Marie, a tireless French researcher who has assembled a private collection of some 30,000 references on aerial phenomena and related events, many of them within our period of interest, gave us access to this valuable resource.
In our initial efforts to create an index of cases reported in the general literature we consulted the work of many private UFO researchers and writers including Desmond Leslie, Harold Wilkins, Guy Quincy, Aimé Michel, Jean Sider, Godelieve van Overmeire, Michel Bougard, Christiane Piens, Ion Hobana, Lucius Farish, Gordon Creighton, Matthew Hurley, Jean-François Boëdec, Claude Maugé, Ron Brinkley and numerous other dedicated collectors who helped us through their writing and sometimes in person, providing their own catalog data or research into specific ancient cases.
The contribution by Yannis Deliyannis, a classical scholar who tracked down and translated for us many hard-to-find references, deserves a special mention. Yannis holds a postgraduate degree in archaeology from the Sorbonne and has contributed to the development of a manuscript computer database at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève. In 2001 he was involved in the creation of the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris.
Without such careful and critical reviewithout such careful and critical review of the original data available on this complex subject, we would have drowned in a sea of uncorrelated and often poorly documented rumors about a variety of phenomena, many of which turned out to be explainable as natural atmospheric or physical effects.
Finally, this book owes much to the encouragements of Professor David Hufford and to the advice of Dr. Jeff Kripal, chairman of the department of Religious Studies at Rice University, who provided valuable contacts with other researchers. Michael Murphy, at the Esalen Institute, allowed us to test some of our ideas before knowledgeable and stimulating audiences, and publisher Mitch Horowitz turned the concept of this book into a reality.
Much remains to be done. We believe we express the consensus of this group of researchers when we say that the study of ancient unexplained aerial observations has only begun. We invite scholars and interested amateurs from all countries and cultures – and especially from the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia, to join this continuing effort.
An important further note from Jacques Vallee
Although my name comes first on the cover of this book, the reader should know that Chris Aubeck did the pioneering work in researching, critiquing and documenting material that had been neglected or treated with considerable inaccuracy in the literature. When we discovered we shared a passion for such ancient reports we began working together, merging our sources and catalogues and enlisting our personal networks in support of the research.
In the process Chris made me aware of many previously unknown instances of aerial phenomena, but more importantly he taught me to look at them in new ways.
Wonders in the Sky is the product of many, sometimes heated debates and compromises about the relevance of each case. In this creative interaction, which continues today, I have learned to value the high standards of authenticity and accuracy Chris has brought to the field, and I am proud to contribute in making them more widely understood for a new generation of paranormal researchers.
LIST of ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 1 Abduction of Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). Engraving by Gustave Doré: The Bible (1865).
Fig. 2 Abduction of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-3). Engraving by Matthaeus Merian, Iconum Biblicarum, Francfort 1627.
Fig. 3 Sighting in Hadria (interpretation by J. Vallee).
Fig. 4 Flying Apsara from the Mogao Caves, China.
Fig. 5 Clovis guided by a pillar of light (interpretation by J. Vallee).
Fig. 6 Annals of Ireland. Edited by John O’Donnovan. Dublin: Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society, 1860. (Front page).
Fig. 7 Miniature. Radziwill Chronicle, 15th century. [Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg]
Fig. 8 Crosses in the sky. Lycosthenes, Prodigiorum ac ostentorum Chronicon. Basel: Henrici Petri (1557), p. 494.
Fig. 9 Arabian “rocket”. Lycosthenes, op. cit., p. 494.
Fig. 10 Girolamo Cardano, portrait, 16th century: unknown artist.
Fig. 11 Ignatius of Loyola saved by an angel: unknown artist.
Fig. 12 Michelangelo, portrait, 19th century reproduction. [Univ. of Texas Libraries, Austin].
Fig. 13 Boaistuau, Pierre. Histoires prodigieuses, Paris, 1560.
Fig. 14 Cellini, portrait.
Fig. 15 Ein Erschrecklich vnd Wunderbarlich zeychen…, Nürnb
erg: Joachim Heller, 1554. [GNM Nürnberg. HB 781/1204]
Fig. 16 Objects seen at Nuremberg. Erscheinung am Himmel über Nürnberg am 14. April 1561. [Zürich Zentralbibliothek PAS II 12:60]
Fig. 17 Objects seen at Basel. Coccius (Koch), Samuel. Wunderbare aber Warhaffte Gesicht…, Basel: Samuel Apiarius. 1558. [Zürich Zentralbibliothek Ms. F. 18].
Fig. 18 Agrippa d’Aubigné, portrait: unknown artist. [Bibliothèque Nationale de France].
Fig. 19 Discours au vray des terribles et espouvantables signes…Troyes: Odard Aulmont, 1608. [BM Troyes, cl.12.9905].
Fig. 20 Beschreibung der am 3.4.5. vnd 6. Julii dises 1612. Jars erschienen vnd grausamen erschröcklichen Wunderzeichen am Himmel. Basel: Johann Schröter (1612). [Herzog August Bibliothek, HAB 38.25 Aug. 2°, fol. 799.]
Fig. 21 Anne Bodenham’s magic. Bower, James, The Tryal…, London: Horton, 1653.
Fig. 22 Wonders in England: The five strange wonders, in the north and west of England, etc. London: W.Thomas (1659). (Front page).
Fig. 23 Stralsund phenomenon. Francisci, Erasmus. Der wunderreiche Ueberzug unserer Nider-Welt/Order Erd-umgebende. Nürnberg (1680), p. 624.
Fig. 24 Francisci, Erasmus. op. cit. (Front page).
Fig. 25 Mittelfischach phenomenon. Abriss des Erschrecklichen wunderzeichens, so sich den 15. Novembr. 1667 beim dorff Mittelfischach…, [s.l.] (1667). [Goethe Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt-am-Main, coll. Gustav Freytag, Einblattdr. G.Fr.11].
Fig. 26 Regensburg phenomenon. Wunderzeichen, Zu Regensburg gesehen am 18.Augusti 1671, Frankfurt am Main, 1672. [Goethe Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt-am-Main, coll. Gustav Freytag, Einblattdr. G.Fr.12].
Fig. 27 Jane Lead’s vision. Lead, Jane. A fountain of gardens watered by the rivers of divine pleasure…, London: J. Bradford, 1696, p. 264.
Fig. 28 Mecklenburg phenomenon. Nachdencklich-dreyfaches Wunder-Zeichen…, Frankfurt am Main, 1697. [Goethe Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt-am-Main, coll. Gustav Freytag, Einblattdr. G. Fr.13].
Fig. 29 Nightwatchmen in London. The Age of Wonders: or, a farther discriptton [sic] of the fiery appartion [sic]…, London: J. Read, 1710. [British Library, 1104.a.24]. Copyright Mary Evans Picture Library, London. Reprinted by permission.
Fig. 30 Bern prodigies. An Account of Terrible Apparitions…, Glasgow, 1721. (Front page).
Fig. 31 London “waving rocket”. Phil. Transactions, vol. 43, London, 1745, p.524.
Fig. 32 Ramsberg sockens kyrkobok, E1:1 (1786-1774). Handwritten entry by Rev. Vigelius. [Landsarkivet Uppsala, Sweden].
Fig. 33 Charles Messier, portrait by Ansiaume, 1771. [Bib. de l’Observatoire de Paris].
Fig. 34 1808 Moscow phenomenon. Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, 2 July 2006.
Fig. 35 Arago, portrait.
Fig. 36 Reverend Webb: unknown photographer.
Fig. 37 Le Verrier, portrait.
Fig. 38 The Dropa hoax. Das Vegetarische Universum (July, 1962), German magazine by Reinhardt Wegemann.
Fig. 39 Flying Vimana at Ellora Caves, India. Ancient carving.
Fig. 40 Tulli papyrus (detail). Doubt, no. 41 (1953).
Fig. 41 Moses and the blue object (Plagues of Egypt, Exodus 5-9).From the Ashkenazi Haggadah, 15th century. [British Library, Add.Ms.14762].
Fig. 42 Manna from Heaven (Exodus 16). Miniature from the Maciejowski Bible, 13th century. [Pierpont Morgan Library, NY, Ms. M 638].
Fig. 43 Silver shields (interpretation by J. Vallee).
Fig. 44 Qu Yuan: From Wikipedia.
Fig. 45 Star of Bethlehem.
Fig. 46 Emperor Constantine, 19th century: unknown artist.
Fig. 47 Cross-shaped illusions. Flammarion, Camille. L’Atmosphère et les Grands Phénomènes de la Nature, Paris: Hachette, 1905.
Fig. 48 Apparition to Mohammed. Miniature from the Jami’al-Tawarikh by Rashid al-Din. Tabriz, Persia, 1307. [Edinburgh University Library].
Fig. 49 Bulletin des Antiquaires de France, Paris: Klincksieck, 1911. (Front page).
Fig. 50 Miniature. Hildegard von Bingen, Liber Scivias, 12th century.
Fig. 51 Celestial phenomena. Schedel, Hartman. Liber Chronicarum, Nürnberg, 1493, BSB-Ink S-195. Reproduced by permission of Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, Rar.287.
Fig. 52 Freiburg meteor. Mennel, Jakob. De signis, portentis, prodigiis…, 1503. [Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, cod. 4417].
Fig. 53 French jeton, ca. 1656 [private collection].
Fig. 54 Tuscany phenomenon. Reproduced in Alata Quaderni, no. 1 (Feb 1979).
Fig. 55 Casanova, portrait.
Fig. 56 Goethe, portrait.
Fig. 57 The meteor of August 18, 1783, as seen from Windsor Castle, painting by Paul and Thomas Sandby; 1783. [British Museum].
Fig. 58 Japanese object and occupant. From the Japanese Toen-Shosetsu (1825).
Fig. 59 Commodore Decatur, early 20th century reproduction: unknown artist. [Library of Congress].
Fig. 60 Batman, Stephen. The Doome, warning all men…, London, 1581. (Detail).
Fig. 61 Boetius: unknown artist.
Fig. 62 Matthew Paris. Self portrait from the original manuscript of his Historia Anglorum, 13th century. [British Library, MS Royal 14.C.VII, folio 6r].
Fig. 63 Grégoire de Tours and Salvius facing King Chilperic. Miniature from the Grandes Chroniques de France de Charles V, 14th century. [Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS FR 2813].
Fig. 64 Three suns in 1492. Flammarion, Camille. L’Atmosphère, Paris: Hachette, 1872 [1871], p. 233.
Fig. 65 Full and True Relation: A Full and True Relation of the Strange and Wonderful Apparitions…, London, 1715. [British Library].
Fig. 66 Vision of Zacharias (Zacharias 6, 1-15). Engraving by Gustave Doré: The Bible (1865).
Fig. 67 Annunciation (detail). See below.
Fig. 68 “Annunciation,” by Carlo Crivelli, 15th century. [National Gallery of London].
Fig. 69 Dialogue about Flight. From the Del Volo Dialogo of Pier Jacopo Martello, 1723. Opere di Pier Jacopo Martello, Bologna, 1723-1735, vol. 5, p. 371 (in text plate).
Fig. 70 Case Distribution by period (J. Vallee)
Fig. 71 Case Distribution by country (J. Vallee)
Fig.72 Case Distribution by duration (J. Vallee)
Fig.73 Case Distribution by time of day (J. Vallee)
Fig. 74 Case Distribution by week during the year (J. Vallee)
Note: The authors have made every effort to contact individuals and organizations with regards to copyright permissions prior to publication. However, many items came to us through the general literature and the Internet with limited documentation about ownership. If you feel that we have infringed on any rights or have erroneously quoted specific references, we will be grateful for information that might be useful in correcting such mistakes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In addition to the sources and references cited throughout this book, we have found the following works important to verify the reliability of many cases in the literature.
Burns, William E. An Age of Wonders: Prodigies, Politics and Providence in England 1657-1727. New York: Manchester University Press, 2002.
Christian, William A. Apparitions in Late Medieval and Renaissance Spain. Princeton University Press, 1989.
Corliss, William R. Remarkable Luminous Phenomena in Nature: A Catalog of Geophysical Anomalies. The Sourcebook Project. Glen Arm, MD, 2001.
Kronk, Gary W. Cometography: Volume 1, Ancient-1799. A Catalog of Comets. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Olivyer, I. L., and J. F. Boëdec. Les Soleils de Simon Goulart: Vague OVNI de 1500 à 1600. Marseille: Ada, 1981.
Rasmussen, Susanne William. Public Portents in Republican Rome. Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider, 2003.
Wildfang, Robin Lorsch and Isager, Jacob. Divination and Portents in the Roman World. University Press of Southern Denmark, 2000.
Among essential online sources are:
Newspaper Archive: www.newspaperarchive.com
Internet Medieval Sour
cebook:
www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
Internet Archive: www.archive.org
For further contact:
Chris Aubeck invites comments through the Internet at:
[email protected]
Jacques Vallee can be contacted at:
PO Box 641650
San Francisco, California 94164
USA
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jacques Vallee holds a master’s degree in astrophysics from France and a Ph.D. in computer science from Northwestern University, where he served as an associate of Dr. J. Allen Hynek. He is the author of several books about high technology and unidentified phenomena, a subject that first attracted his attention as an astronomer in Paris. While analyzing observations from many parts of the world, he became intrigued by the similarities in patterns between moderrn sightings and historical reports of encounters with flying objects and their occupants in every culture. The result was the seminal book Passport to Magonia, published in 1969.
After a career as an information scientist with Stanford Research Institute and the Institute for the Future, where he served as a principal investigator for the groupware project on the Arpanet, the prototype of the Internet, Jacques Vallee cofounded a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, where he works.
Chris Aubeck was born in London. His interest in the historical and sociological aspects of unexplained aerial phenomena began at an early age. He moved to Spain at age 19 and now lives in Madrid, where he works as an interpreter and English teacher at the Madrid Development Institute. A student of folklore and philology, he has helped compile the largest collection of pre-1947 UFO cases in the world. He has spoken on his research in many articles and on public radio. In 2008 he was awarded a prize for his contributions to the field by the Spanish organization Fundación Anomalía.
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