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PARALLAX  »  UFOLOGY & AERIAL PHENOMENA  »  Sightings & Case Files  »  Phoenix Lights -- five years on, the "flares" timeline still doesn't fit
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Phoenix Lights -- five years on, the "flares" timeline still doesn't fit
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darkroom_Pete
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From: Ottawa, ON
#41▸ Posted: 05 Mar 1999, 19:44 EST
I've been analyzing the Chandler footage frame by frame. The temporal resolution of the camcorder is 33 milliseconds per frame. What this means is that motion blur is inherent to the medium. The object(s) in the frame show no obvious distortion consistent with rapid acceleration or deceleration. The color temperature is consistent across the sequence. I cannot determine whether we are looking at one object or multiple objects in formation due to the foreshortening effect and the distance involved. Consumer-grade optics in 1997 were not equipped to resolve fine detail at the distances we're discussing.
darkroom_Pete
adamski_scout_Art
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#42▸ Posted: 06 Mar 1999, 02:17 PST
I've been following this case since '97 and I have to say the geometry of the formation is consistent with a delta-wing configuration. The aspect ratio changes slightly as it moves through the frame, but that could be the craft banking. If we assume it's a single solid object of perhaps 5,000 feet in width, the observed speed is entirely consistent with low-velocity flight. I've cross-referenced this with the B-2 specifications and the proportions match. This is a single craft, possibly a classified project.
Art
Occams_Razorback
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#43▸ Posted: 06 Mar 1999, 11:33 CST
Art, I respect your work, but I have to push back on the single-craft hypothesis. The proportions you're citing rely on assumptions about distance that we simply do not have. The camcorder footage cannot resolve that level of detail. What I will concede -- and it costs me something to say this -- is that the 8:30 formation does not fit neatly into the flare explanation. The 10pm event, yes, absolutely. The descent profile matches the A-10 flares. But the earlier formation shows characteristics that are difficult to reconcile with any conventional explanation I can currently advance. Extraordinary baseline, ordinary evidence, and yet.
Occams
DesertGlass
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#44▸ Posted: 07 Mar 1999, 16:05 MST
Occams' concession is significant. For those who have followed this case, you know that Razorback does not grant ground easily. This reinforces what many of us have felt for some time: the 8:30 event and the 10pm event were distinct phenomena. The flares were real and they were documented. The formation remains open. I'm updating the case file to reflect this distinction.
--DG
MUFON_Gail
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From: Ohio, US
#45▸ Posted: 12 Mar 1999, 09:22 EST
We received a report this week from a woman in Ahwatukee who was driving northbound on the 10 at approximately 8:32pm on March 13, 1997. She did not report at the time because she was afraid of how the sighting would be received. She described the formation as moving slowly, deliberately, and in absolute silence. She was so startled that she pulled off the highway. Her vehicle details, the time of day, and the road conditions all align with our existing timeline. This is now case #287 in our formal investigation.
Gail
Anonymous Coward
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#46▸ Posted: 14 Mar 1999, 22:44 MST
I was driving home from work that night. I saw it. I'm not going to say more than that because I know what happens. I know what the Air Force says. I know what people think. But I was there. The formation was real. It moved like nothing I have ever seen before, and I have seen a lot. That's all I'm saying. I hope someone figures out what it was.
adamski_scout_Art
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From: Mount Palomar-ish, CA
#47▸ Posted: 15 Mar 1999, 14:11 PST
Occams, I appreciate the pushback. But consider this: the proportions I'm citing do not rely solely on the camcorder footage. They rely on corroborating witness testimony from the ground. Multiple witnesses describe a unified silhouette. A unified leading edge. A unified trailing edge. To me, this suggests a single object, not multiple objects in formation. I'm not claiming certainty, but the data does point toward a single delta-wing configuration.
Art
darkroom_Pete
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#48▸ Posted: 16 Mar 1999, 18:33 EST
Art, the witnesses describing a "unified silhouette" are looking at the object(s) from the ground, against a night sky, at a distance of perhaps 10,000 to 30,000 feet. At those distances, using naked-eye observation, the human eye cannot resolve gaps between closely-spaced objects. This is a well-documented phenomenon in visual perception. The Ponzo illusion and the Ebbinghaus illusion demonstrate this principle. Multiple objects in tight formation would appear as a single object to a ground-based observer. The camcorder footage is consistent with this interpretation.
Pete
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