Post by Laurance on Nov 2, 2010 15:56:56 GMT 1
Did you know that one of the most famous people to report the sighting of a UFO was Christopher Columbus himself? That's right! Long before UFOs made the news, before the term "flying saucer" or "swamp gas" or even "Unidentified Flying Object" ever came about, he saw something unusual in the skies during his ocean voyage. On none-other-than his 1942 journey to the New World he, along with many of his crew, recorded a strange observance. He wrote that the object appeared to be "a light glimmering at a great distance." It vanished and reappeared several times during the night, moving up and down, "in sudden and passing gleams." According to the ship's log, the sighting took place on October 11, 1942 at approximately 10:00pm. This particular sighting intrigues researchers, not only because of the person who reported it, but because of the era that it was reported. Of course this was long before any type of flying craft, and certainly before any type of lighted craft.
Although the October 11th sighting was recorded in the log, Columbus was known to have written and spoken about other sightings that occurred during that famous voyage - and others he took. His sightings involved both aerial phenomena - unexplained lights in the sky, flashes and streaks, etc - as well as reported phenomena below the surface - one written record states that several witnesses on different ships observed a bright lighted object under the water pass below their ships, and then come out of the ocean, and shoot up into the sky. Were these accounts claims that had been passed down from person to person they may be less interesting from a research standpoint, but because the original written records of these sightings are available and directly attributed to Columbus and others on his crew, the sightings become compelling evidence added to the UFO case files.From an analytical standpoint of course there is no physical evidence, and natural phenomena such as ball lighting could explain some of the lights that were witnessed, but even a critical viewpoint finds it difficult to fully explain all of the claims.
On a final note, whether connected to the unusual events or not, it is interesting to mention that the October 11th sighting occurred in the area we today identify at the Bermuda Triangle.
Although the October 11th sighting was recorded in the log, Columbus was known to have written and spoken about other sightings that occurred during that famous voyage - and others he took. His sightings involved both aerial phenomena - unexplained lights in the sky, flashes and streaks, etc - as well as reported phenomena below the surface - one written record states that several witnesses on different ships observed a bright lighted object under the water pass below their ships, and then come out of the ocean, and shoot up into the sky. Were these accounts claims that had been passed down from person to person they may be less interesting from a research standpoint, but because the original written records of these sightings are available and directly attributed to Columbus and others on his crew, the sightings become compelling evidence added to the UFO case files.From an analytical standpoint of course there is no physical evidence, and natural phenomena such as ball lighting could explain some of the lights that were witnessed, but even a critical viewpoint finds it difficult to fully explain all of the claims.
On a final note, whether connected to the unusual events or not, it is interesting to mention that the October 11th sighting occurred in the area we today identify at the Bermuda Triangle.