Paul Davies (credit: ASU)

Astrobiologist, physicist, and cosmologist Paul Davies has cooperated with SETI for thirty years, but believes scientists might have better luck finding evidence of extraterrestrial life here on Earth. According to Astrobiology Magazine, “Davies wants scientists to broaden their

The Allen Telescope Array (credit: SETI Institute)

The evidence could be on our very own planet. We just have to find it. That is, if any traces of extraterrestrial visitation have survived for “hundreds of millions or billions of years for humans to still find them today.”

Davies feels that the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life here on Earth would complement SETI’s skyward efforts, even though he acknowledges that using radio telescopes to listen for alien signals is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The artifact that has been analyzed. Specimen size about 10 mm long. End fragment clipped off for testing. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

A teacher at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell may have discovered the first scientific evidence of manufactured debris made on another planet. Furthermore, this debris was found near the location where pieces from an alleged flying saucer were discovered outside of Roswell in 1947.

Frank Kimbler (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

Frank Kimbler teaches high school level Earth Sciences and college level Geology at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. He says he has always had an interest in UFOs, and actually had his own unusual sighting in his twenties. So when he moved to Roswell, he decided to put his expertise to the test and take a shot at investigating the most famous UFO incident of all time, the crash at Roswell.

He says his main goal was to find some physical evidence. He started by looking at some satellite imagery of the alleged “debris site.” This is where rancher, Mac Brazel, had told the Air Force he had found pieces of the crashed object. Kimbler used these images to enhance the infra-red in order to highlight areas where the ground was disturbed. He was surprised to find an area that was similar to what witnesses had described. It was about ¾ of a mile long and a few hundred feet wide, and facing the direction witnesses had reported. He also noticed this area had very straight edges, something unusual for a natural occurrence.

His next step was to get out there with a metal detector to see what he could find. He began making trips to the site in May 2010. Using a metal detector that could find a piece the size of a BB, three inches below the surface, he would be able to find small pieces, which was exactly his goal. In previous archeological digs in the area they had sifted dirt through screens with holes large enough for very small pieces to fall through. Kimbler figured that if there was anything left it would be very small and perhaps in animal burrows, or ant hills. An ant hill was actually where he found his first piece.

Landsat multi-spectral satellite image showing the debris field. The image clearly shows a burn (or disturbed area) covering the exact location of the debris field as described by witnesses. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

What he found was a silvery metal that looked aluminum. This was strange because there were no indications of any sort of aluminum objects in the area. He occasionally found tin, which would come from parts of tin roofs blowing around, and some nails. He eventually found more of these silvery pieces, and says they looked shredded. Some of the edges even appear melted. He also found some aluminum buttons that appear to be the type used on military fatigues in the later 40’s. If that is the case it demonstrates that the military was in the area.

The buttons. Tentatively identified as military fatigue buttons late 40's early 50's. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Kimbler felt the small silvery pieces were interesting enough for further analysis. To get some help he went to the Roswell International UFO Museum and Research Center. Located in downtown Roswell, the museum is the main hub for Roswell UFO crash research. He showed the material to the museum’s director, Julie Shuster, and was able to meet with researcher Don Schmitt. They decided to fund the first test which was done by New Mexico Tech in Socorro. Using a micro-probe, they were able to determine the material’s composition. It turned out to be an aluminum, silicon, manganese, copper alloy. It is not unknown, but it is used in construction and not usually found in a foil form.

This further inspired Kimbler to get some isotope work done on the piece. Kimbler says the isotope work is so important because the ratios are “very much like our fingerprints.” Certain concentrations of elements on earth are unique to Earth. So if you know isotopic ratios for magnesium, it will be the same for anything on earth with magnesium, but if it is not from Earth, it will have a different ratio. For instance meteorites have different ratios because they are not from Earth. Isotopic analysis is necessary to determine if a material is from Earth or another world.

Some of the metal alloy fragments found buried and scattered over the debris field area. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Kimbler went to the University of New Mexico Institute of Meteoritics, and talked to their expert on isotopes to get an analysis done. Kimbler had not told the expert anything about the samples. He looked Kimbler “square in the eye” and told him that the only reason he would want to get this sort of test done is because he suspected the material was from outer space. He wanted to know where the material was from, and when Kimbler told him he refused to do the test, stating that the idea of a spaceship crashing at Roswell was “a bunch of hooey.” One of the other scientists in the office actually argued the point that if it is something unusual, the importance of that possibility makes it worth taking a look at. However, the expert didn’t budge and refused to do the work. The second scientist was a micro-probe specialist at the University and although he could not do any isotope work, he was able to get more specific information about the material’s composition and confirm the early work that had been done.

Bigelow Aerospace showed some interest in helping Kimbler with his analysis, but after spending months with little results, Kimbler had to go elsewhere. Kimbler was able to find another lab with multiple certifications willing to do the work. The UFO Museum put up the money, and the results were back in five days. Kimbler says he almost fell over when he saw the information. The ratios were off, and as he puts it there were only two answers to explain the results, “either the lab made an analytical error or the material is not from Earth.”

Magnesium isotope fractionation chart modified from the graph used by Dr. Peter Sturrock in his analysis of the Ubatuba UFO fragment. Magnesium bearing compounds, metals, and minerals should all plot on or very close to the line. A chondite is a type of meteorite and since it does not originate from Earth does not plot on the line. The Roswell AH-1 alloy plots way of the line. The AH-1 plot is an anomaly that is either an analytical error or the material is not from Earth. More testing is needed to verify the data to see if it is an error or its from another world. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

However, Kimbler’s work is not finished. He says, “Following good scientific method protocol one set of data is not going to cut it.” In order to prove the lab did not make a mistake he needs to get more work done. He says he does have two more certified labs lined up to do more isotopic testing to confirm the work done thus far, and that he may have this work done within the next few weeks. Kimbler says in order to confirm the material is not from Earth, it is necessary to have two or three labs showing the same results.

Another important aspect of the material being aluminum and showing unearthly origins is that aluminum must be manufactured. Unlike some natural elements, such as gold or silver that can be found as nuggets in its raw form, aluminum is not found in nature. If this proves to be material not of this earth, it means this was something that was manufactured elsewhere. Thus far humans are not manufacturing anything in space, let alone something that would fall out of space and land outside of Roswell in a location where an alleged spacecraft was found in 1947.

Kimbler says he is being careful before making any definitive claims, but he is “hopeful.” He says certified labs don’t normally make mistakes, and that these people who did the work are some of the best in the business.

The implications if Kimbler’s material turns out to be of extraterrestrial origins and manufacture are of course startling. Could he have the smoking gun to prove we are being visited by an intelligent civilization from another planet, and that they crashed outside of Roswell in 1947? Kimbler says he will keep us up to date, and has been gracious enough to provide us with pictures of the material and the analysis.

Listen to Frank Kimbler discussing his finding on Open Minds Radio.

Note: Most captions provided by Frank Kimbler.

New Mexico Tech microprobe data shows element composition of AH-1. Na and Cl values from small salt crystals embedded on the surface analysis shows AH-1 contains AL Si Mg Mn and Cu with small amounts of Fe. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

University of New Mexico microprobe data shows element composition. Verified the NMT data with analysis showing AL Si Mg Mn Cu with a some Fe. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Magnesium isotope values from the certified lab that did the analysis. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

AH-1 alloy element composition from the same lab. Shows the AH-1 alloy is a AL-Mg-Mn-Si-Cu alloy. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

AH-1 under magnification shows banded or layered structures in AH-1. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

AH-1 under magnification shows more areas of banding. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Panelists from left: Frank Kimbler, Kevin Randle, Don Schmitt, Tom Carey, and Stanton Friedman. (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

Roswell is a household name, and mostly due to the research of a handful of men. Four of the top Roswell researchers met this past Saturday at the Roswell UFO Museum during their annual festival along with a gentleman with a new discovery. These four researchers have never been together on a panel before.

Julie Shuster, Director of the Roswell UFO Museum, introduced the panel. (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

The panel included nuclear physicist, Stanton Friedman, Don Schmitt, Tom Carey, Kevin Randle, and Frank Kimbler. Although the incident took place in 1947, once the Air Force claimed they had mistaken pieces of a weather balloon for a crashed flying saucer, the story quickly faded away. However, Friedman shared how he rekindled this case. In 1978, embarrassed for making Friedman wait for an interview, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana TV station manager gave him a tip. He told Friedman that he should contact one of his ham radio buddies for information on UFOs. This buddy turned out to be Jesse Marcel, the Air Force intelligence officer who was the first to look at the debris. He told Friedman about the strange properties of the material and that it was definitely no balloon. Friedman enlisted the help of a fellow researcher, Bill Moore, and within a couple of years they had located over 60 other witnesses. This work all culminated into the book, The Roswell Incident, written by Bill Moore and Charles Berlitz, and featuring Friedman’s work.

Friedman explains to the audience how it all began. (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

Still not a household name, the Roswell event continued to gain popularity and was eventually featured on the television program Unsolved Mysteries. The episode was very popular, and left the public hungry for more information. In the right place at the right time, Schmitt and Randle published their research on the incident in 1991, UFO Crash at Roswell, which included more witnesses and details. During the panel they each discussed some of the more interesting interviews, and recalled just how difficult it was to track these people down. Friedman had gained access to a Roswell Army Air Field yearbook with names and pictures of the men who were stationed there in 1947. Much of the work of the researchers consisted of tracking these people down to find out if they had any involvement with the alleged UFO crash. Prior to the internet and cell phones with long distance included, it was an expensive and tedious task.

Schmitt making a point. (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

Friedman wrote his own book on Roswell titled, Crash at Corona, in 1992, and Schmitt and Randle published a second in 1994. This was the same year that a Showtime movie aired titled, Roswell, based on Schmitt and Randall’s first book. The movie starred Kyle McLachlan and Martin Sheen. All of this momentum launched the Roswell UFO Crash into the worldwide sensation that it is to this day.

Randle shared the story of how he got involved with Roswell in the first place. In the late eighties, he was a science-fiction writer, and while attending a conference was asked to take part in a debate. He and three other writers were going to debate two UFO researchers. The second UFO researcher wasn’t able to make it, so to make things fair, Randle volunteered to debate on the UFO side. His partner was to be Schmitt. This was the beginning of Schmitt and Randle’s partnership.

Kevin Randle shares research stories. (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

Randle has also had a long career in the military, serving with the Army in Vietnam and the second Gulf War. After 911, Randle joined the Iowa National Guard, and his unit was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Randle eventually retired from the military as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2009. He says this obviously hampered his ability to participate in UFO research.

During this time, Schmitt took on a new partner, Tom Carey. Inspired by Friedman’s work, Carey wanted to get involved with the research himself. After meeting Schmitt they teamed up and eventually published, Witness to Roswell, in 2007. The book highlighted their continued discovery of witnesses to the events.

Don Schmitt and Tom Carey signing books and talking to visitors in the Roswell UFO Museum. (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

The last panelist is not a long time researcher, but a newcomer to the search for answers to the Roswell mystery. Frank Kimbler is a teacher of geology at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. Taking an interest in the case, he was able to spot an unusual scorch pattern in infra-red satellite images of the desert near where the debris was supposed to have been found. He then went out to the site and found unusual metals. Under analysis the material tuned out to be an aluminum silicate. He then was able to get the Roswell UFO Museum to sponsor an isotopic ratio analysis which also came back with interesting results. From what they discovered, the sample he gave them was not created on earth. Kimbler says he is a scientist and is handling this carefully. There is a possibility that the first lab made a mistake. He will seek further analysis to make sure the findings are correct.

Frank Kimbler explains his discovery. (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

After all of these years, could Kimbler have the “smoking gun” evidence that everyone has been waiting for? We will talk with Kimbler on Open Minds Radio this Monday to discuss this further.

Overall, the panel was great. Hearing the various perspectives on how this amazing case unraveled from the lead investigators, all together for the first time, was a UFO geek’s paradise.

SETI's Allen Telescope Array (credit: SETI)

While their Allen Telescope Array is inactive, SETI continues to operate. University of California, Berkeley astronomers recently announced a listening project in progress that involves pointing the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia at 86 planets that have been selected as worlds most likely to resemble Earth, with the hopes of detecting an alien signal. The data collected from this project will be analyzed by a network of computers running SETI software called the SETI@home project.

LOFAR in the Netherlands (credit: Topfoto Assen/LOFAR)

Mike Garrett, director of ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, told TheWorld.org that LOFAR might help to broaden the search for alien signals. He explained that LOFAR “would be a great complement to [SETI], since no one knows what part of the radio spectrum might hide signals from an alien civilization.”

Astronomers working with LOFAR hope that SETI is able to resume full operations soon, so that a broader spectrum of frequencies is being scanned for that elusive communication from an extraterrestrial civilization.

Read more about SETI in the news.

UFO in Scotland. Zoomed image in lower left. (credit: Border Telegraph)

Fireball UFOs certainly aren’t a new phenomenon, and they have been seen all around the world. While meteorites and other debris entering Earth’s atmosphere can account for some of the observed fireball objects, some of these UFOs reportedly display unusual behavior like directional changes, shape-shifting, and color changes.

The cameraman who photographed the fireball in Scotland doesn’t know what he saw, but he told the Border Telegraph, “It was probably nothing, but I still don’t understand what could explain something like that in the sky.”

Artist's concept of Titan's underground ocean (credit: NASA/JPL)

Rose-Marie Baland of the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Brussels is the lead author of the new study. Previous studies found that “Titan’s tilt and moment of inertia don’t make much sense if the moon is a completely solid body — but that the numbers could work out if the moon has an underground ocean.”

Baland and her colleagues used the information from previous studies to launch their research, which led to the team’s conclusion that “Titan’s orbital behavior indeed makes sense if the moon is assumed to have a solid interior surrounded by a liquid-water ocean, which itself sits beneath an icy ‘shell.’”

The results of the study will be reported by Baland and her team in an upcoming issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The video shows multiple lights over Lake Erie. The lights vary in color, and may or may not be flashing or blinking. At times, the lights appear to hover, motionless in the sky, while at other times, the lights appear to slowly move through the sky, in different directions.

Hill says he has been filming Lake Erie UFOs for “a long time.”

According to Fox 8, a group that previously researched the strange lights over Lake Erie concluded that they were airplanes. Additionally, officials at nearby Hopkins International Airport told Fox 8 that planes from the U.S. and Canada frequently take off and land over the water.

Hill disagrees with the airplane conclusion, and points to his latest video as evidence.

Watch the video below:

Book cover of 'First Contact' (credit: Simon & Schuster)

A Washington Post colleague, Joel Achenbach, recently interviewed Kaufman about his new book, First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth. In the interview, Kaufman briefly discusses SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), stating that he has “never been a fan or even particularly knowledgeable person about SETI.” He explains that, after walking through a SETI telescope array, he came to the conclusion that “if we’re in fact interested in trying to learn whether technologically evolved life exists out there,” we don’t have many alternatives to SETI’s current approach. However, he still feels that the SETI approach to searching for extraterrestrial life is “mostly a crapshoot.”

SETI made headlines this week following the announcement that, due to budget cutbacks, the institute was forced to suspend operations at their Allen Telescope Array.

Kaufman’s book, First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth, was published by Simon & Schuster this month, and is in stores now.

Lights recorded by Kolpikov (credit: Sergey Kolpikov/BCM)

Another video from Russia continues to make headlines today—the video of the alleged dead alien body. As we reported yesterday, this video is widely considered to be a hoax, and new reports claim that police tracked down a teen boy who admitted constructing the “body” out of chicken and breadcrumbs. But these reports have yet to be confirmed by credible news sources.

Flaming ball UFO seen in Hawera (credit: Aaron Sellwood/Stuff.co.nz)

Strange lights in the skies above Hawera and the surrounding areas have been common in recent months.

According to Stuff.co.nz, the Airways Corporation, responsible for monitoring New Zealand air traffic, has no explanation for the UFOs, and recorded nothing unusual on Tuesday night when the strange flaming ball of light was witnessed by residents.