Announcements
Due to the current pandemic there are no Indiana MUFON State Public Symposiums currently scheduled. When one is, it will be posted on this web site. For information on past Symposiums click the logo link on the right bar.
"Indianapolis Monthly" magazine published several pieces on UFOs in Indiana: One piece lists the “The 10 Weirdest Cases in Indiana History”. A second piece details the nationally known “Reed Family” case, one of the oldest know abduction cases in the U.S. and outlines the Indiana events which were a part of it.
Contacting Indiana MUFON
If you are interested in contacting Indiana MUFON directly you may do so by E-mail. Simply click on the "e-mail me" button on the left bar. The "Report a UFO" button on the left bar provides the MUFON National report form. Once completed this form is automatically posted on the national MUFON web site (last 20 Reports) and forwarded on to the state MUFON chapter for the state in which the event occurred.
UFO Activity in Indiana
MUFON is a volunteer International reporting, investigation and research organization for the reporting of unidentified flying objects and other strange phenomena state by state. Certified MUFON Field Investigators attempt to contact all reporting witness to verify reports, obtain additional information for data base files and to make identification determinations.
Orange balls of light (OBOL’s), white and colored lights, night time triangles, day light disks and other objects are commonly reported darting about Indiana skies. Currently our Field Investigators are investigating a number of cases in Indiana. Current as well as past Indiana UFOs reports submitted to MUFON in the witnesses own words are available for public viewing on our “Indiana UFO Sightings ” page (button on left bar) as well as on the MUFON UFO Stalker Map at "www.mufon.com".
Book Review Page
New on our Book Review page: Ultra Terrestrial Contact, Appalachian Case Study, Sightings, Encounters & Unexplained Phenomena, Exposing U.S. Government Policies On Extraterrestrial Life, CRASH: When UFOs Fall From the Sky. Also "UFOs: The Great Debate".
Historic Indiana Events
STRANGE EVENTS ON MICHIGAN LAKE 43 YEARS APART
A couple of strange events separated by approximately 43 years occurred on a fishing lake in southwestern Michigan not far from the Indiana state line. "When I heard of the events it got my curiosity up" reports Steven Hile, independent researcher. "This is the type of occurrence which doesn't get reported very often except these occurrences were on the same lake and the witnesses knew each other".
APRIL 2004 NORTH/CENTRAL FLAP ONE FOR THE ARCHIVES
The April 2004 north/central Indiana flap had the most unusual events since the southern Indiana UFO wave of 1987. Tree top sightings caught the attention of the area media. Tweleve reported sightings in five counties date from April 8 to April 10th 2004. Numerous CE1K's were reported, magnetic effects found, and one CE4K abduction factor. Media coverage resulted in other witnesses coming forth. For more information see 2004 North/Central Indiana Flap UFO Reports page.
Indiana reports (April 2004 time frame).
INDIANA CASE MAY HAVE SWAYED DR. J. ALLEN HYNEK?
Classic UFO Reports page: The noted astronomer and Ufologists, the late Dr. J. Allen Hynek's break with a physical reality for UFOs may have come right here in Indiana. In 1980 he received and interviewed witnesses to a strange sighting near Bloomfield Indiana. This report had the situation of an object actually changing shape several times as it moved toward and over the witnesses. This led Dr. Hynek to the response that these objects may not be of a physical nature.
HISTORIC INDIANA UFO REPORTS PAGE
A Historic or Belated UFO Reports page lists those type of reports which were submitted to MUFON Indiana recently, but years after the event actually happened. Reports sometimes up to Ten or more years are not uncommon. Independent researcher Steven Hile states "These types of reports indicate witnesses who have lived with a perturbing event, having chosen not to come forth initially. It tells us they have lived with a disturbing incident in their lives for which they have no answer and are only now bring it forth in their own way.
The Jerry Sievers ... ...
Science Corner
Our Science Corner is dedicated to the late Jerry Sievers, a long time past Indiana MUFON State Director and NICAP Investigator who had an inquisitive mind for science and was the inspiration for this corner. Our Science Corner addresses the mysteries of the Universe and the origins and characteristics of our planet the Earth. We have only recently seen developments in technologies with applications which only a few years ago were beyond realization. In the days before light pollution one could easily look up into the night sky and see stars scattered like shards of glass caught in a spotlight. It was easy to view from one star to the next and gain a chilling sense of serenity. Today here in Indiana such may not normally be the case but technology every day is opening the universe and our world to better understandings.
On the side bars can be found links to numerous information and data which is occurring on an ever increasing basis. Universe Today has a wealth of just released information and news almost on a daily basis. Space.com's 'Night Sky' provides the sky tonight. Heavens Above and Space Weather cover current activity going on over our heads. Below we review particular releases which address our dedicated interest.
While water was abundant in the ancient past on Mars, it has long since disappeared. Liquid brines possibly trickle at times but all of Mars’ remaining water is frozen in permafrost and in the polar ice caps. Now a study of Phoenix data reaffirms the harsh conditions.
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, named Curiosity pioneered precision landing technology and sky-crane touchdown inside Gale Crater on Aug. 6, 2012. During this nearly two-year prime mission the roving labatory will investigate if the region ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life.
New
Most recent high-resolution views of Pluto and its main moon Cheron.
Astronomical Research
Planetary Atmospheres in the Solar System: Here on Earth, we tend to take our atmosphere for granted. Our atmosphere has a lovely mix of nitrogen and oxygen (78% and 21% respectively) with trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gaseous molecules and dust/dirt. What’s more, we enjoy an atmospheric pressure of 101.325 kPa, which extends to an altitude of about 8.5 km. In short, it is plentiful and life-sustaining. But the other planets of the Solar System? Every planet in the Solar System has an atmosphere of one kind or another and these range from incredibly thin and tenuous to the incredibly dense. And depending on the composition of the planet, whether it is a terrestrial or a gas/ice giant, the gases that make up its atmosphere range from either hydrogen and helium to more complex elements like oxygen, carbon dioxide, ammonia and methane.
Our Special Solar System: Scientists researching solar system formation have up until a few years ago accepted that our solar system was just average and that all solar systems were like ours. But in looking at the 3,400 plus confirmed extra solar planets that have been discovered and the systems they are in, none so far are anything like our home solar system.
New
Asteroid Belts at Just the Right Place: Life-bearing planets may be rare if they are dependent on the presence of a just right asteroid belt. The location of an asteroid belt, shaped by the evolution of a star's planet-forming disk and the gravitational influence of a nearby giant Jupiter-like planet, may determine whether complex life will evolve on an inner Earth-like planet.
Kepler Mission: Designed to search our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover Earth-size planets in or near star habitable zones and determine how many stars in our galaxy have such planets.
WMAP Resolving the Universe: Nine year analyses on high-resolution map of microwave baclground emitted only 380,000 years after the Big Bang event. This work is now carried on by the ESA Planck.
Universe May Be Just the Right Size: Scientist believe our Sun is a third generation star in a universe that appears to be just the right size. What is required for human life places requirements on the universe to form stars in a sequence leading to the types and abundances we witness today.
Narrowing the Mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy
Scientists almost universally acknowledge the enormous "problems" represented by the extreme fine-tuning inherent in dark matter and dark energy (e.g. space-energy density or vacuum density). The following links narrow the mysteries of these universal question marks. Dark energy theoretical values (also known as "the cosmological constant) differ from the observational values creating a discrepancy for the majority of scientists. Then the Spitzer Space Telescope is used to look at the invisible "heavy stuff" in our Milky Way galaxy and else where:
Black Holes Found to be Key to Evolution of Universe A supercomputer simulation has retraced the evolution of the Universe giving new clues pointing to black holes as key to galaxy formation. Called BHCosmo, researchers started with initial conditions that matched the cosmic microwave background radiation, and seeded particles of ordinary matter surrounded with the gravitational force of dark matter. Researchers then watched how the particles of matter collapsed to form galaxies and black holes. One of the most important findings of the simulation was the impact of black holes. Galaxies look the way they do because of the super massive black holes at their centers. Eventually they hope to model the entire Universe with a resolution that matches the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Moons Like Ours Uncommon Observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that moons like Earth's, formed out of tremendous collisions, are uncommon in the universe.
Neutrino Evidence: Neutrinos permeate the Universe at a density of about 150 per cubic centimetre. The Earth is immersed in an ocean of neutrinos, without us even knowing it.
Earth Type Planet Research
Alpha Centauri System: An Earth mass planet just 4.3 light years away has been determine to be orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B. The planet of mass about the same as Earth is also the lightest exoplanet ever discovered around a sun-like star. With an orbital period of 3.2 days this planet is extremely hot for life considerations but indicates a binary star systems may possibly host other worlds. See the research teams paper (PDF).
Exoplanet Research: Models show Earth like planets may see major condition shifts in the vast majority of star systems. New findings indicate Earth like exoplanets in habitable zones might fluctuate between being habitable and
being inhospitable to life because of the forces exerted by gas giant
neighbors with eccentric orbits.
Water World? As astronomers design theoretical models for exoplanets outside our solar system their success surprisingly continues to be realized. Such an example is the recently discovered planet GJ1214b. This planet is six and a half times more massive than Earth, has a larger diameter but measures three times less dense. Located in reference to its red dwarf star, it could be a rocky planet with an out gassed hydrogen-rich atmosphere or a mini-Neptune, or it could be a water world. If a water world, the planet would be ~25% rock and ~75% water consistent with mass and radius, perhaps covered by a thick gas envelope such as hydrogen and helium. It would be a world with no land continents and oceans hundreds of miles deep and other strange characteristics..
Gas and Dust Disks Around Young Stars: The disks of gas and dust that surround newborn stars are known as proto-planetary disks. Research is showing planets eventually form from this gas and dust. These disks disappear as the stars mature, but some stars can still be seen with a cloud of material around them called debris disks. One of the most famous of these is the disk surrounding Beta Pictoris, located only 60 light years away.
Planet-Formation Found To Be Constrained in Binary Star Systems: Virtually all stars around which planets have been discovered are similar in class to our Sun or red dwart stars. However most stars similar to the sun reside in binary (two-star) systems. Studies now show binary systems significantly impact the formation of planetary systems. Planets form from a disk of material orbiting a star. However, observations of a young star cluster have revealed that disks around binary stars dissipate in about half the time of those around single stars. Since the disk-dissipation time around single stars is about the same as the time required to form Earth-like terrestrial planets, this result means that planet formation around stars in binary systems is going to be much more rare. Additionally, since the disk dissipates faster in binary systems, any terrestrial planets are likely to be smaller than those in our solar system (and thus not life-supporting candidates). This finding coupled with the star-planet systems found to date does not comport well for the life seeking extraterrestrial models.
Star Disk-Planet Interactions Reveal How Unique Our Solar System Is: The study of planet formation continues to reveal the dynamics that our solar system went through to arrive at a planetary system where the Earth could exist and support complex life. During formation of planets around stars, gas giants form before rocky terrestrial planets. Earlier research showed that gas giants had eccentric orbits which will prevent the formation of inner earth-sized, watery planets. Now, a team of international scientists has shown how interactions of gas-giant planets within the dust disks around their stars cause the eccentricity of the gas giants to grow-even if their orbits were initially circular. One feature of our solar system that remains unique among all known planetary systems is the very circular orbits of the multiple outer gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune). This circularity ensured the gravitational stability of Earth through time and provided an environment for the development of the Earth including the accumulation of water from the comets.
Pillars of Creation: Probably the most famous photograph every taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is of the "Pillars of Creation"; a star forming region inside the Eagle Nebula (M16). Astronomers have wanted to know just how much star formation is actually going on inside the nebula. A composite between the original Hubble photograph overlaid with data from Hubble's co-Chandra X-Ray Observatory is now helping to answer that question.
Gamma-Ray Bursts, Super Nova Signatures
Star Death; Gamma-Ray Bursts, Some Rare in Milky Way Galaxy: As large stars die, they supernova explode, thereby producing and distributing throughout the universe almost all elements heavier than helium. However, some particularly violent explosions known as Long GRB's would significantly disrupt life in any galaxy where the GRB occurred. According to a recent study, these particular explosions occur only in galaxies with low abundance of metals. Consequently, GRBs are rare in metal-rich galaxys like our own Milky Way Galaxy, but were more abundant in the early universe when they enhanced metal element enrichment.
Gamma-Ray Burst Remnant Found in Our Milky Way Galaxy: While a Long GRB would be rare in the Milky Way galaxy they are not in others galaxies. The recent discovery of a gamma-ray burst remnant (GRBR) near by in our galaxy provides strong evidence for a mass extinction event on the Earth. If GRBRs play this role, their frequency must be small enough to not destroy all Earth life, but sufficiently large to actually affect Earth's habitability in order to account for the appearance of the Earth's fossil record. A team of North American astrophysicists has detected one GRBR dated at a few ten of thousands years ago. One or two more detections would increase the likelihood of GRBs having had a direct impact on Earth life at different points in time without catastrophically diminishing Earth's capacity to support life at all. Such events leave a fine-tuned or intelligent aspect to the development of life on Earth. Some scientists now readily admit to a strange habitat preparation of the planet for the introduction of more advanced species with each mass extinction event which matches up to the fossil record.
What About Life Basis in the Quantum World !
In our high tech society it seems the more we lean the stranger it gets. Now it turns out water is one of the weirdest liquid compounds and many of its bizarre features may just make life possible. For one it’s higher density as a liquid allows its solid form, ice to float. And unlike many other liquids, it takes a lot of heat to warm water up even a little, a quality that allows mammals to regulate their body temperatures. Computer simulations show quantum mechanics nearly rob water of life-giving features. In fact if it did not behave precisely as it does, freezing from the top downwards etc, life would not be here at all.
Surveyor 3 On the Moon: A Small colony of the bacteria streptococcus mitis stowed away for nearly three years on Surveyor 3, an unmanned spacecraft that landed on the moon in 1967. The crew of Apollo 12 recovered the organisms and brought them back to earth under sterile conditions. This unplanned experiment proved that certain microorganisms can survive years of radiation exposure, the vacuum of space and deep-freeze, without any nutrient, water or energy sources.
Origins of Life: An oxygen-antioxidant paradox seriously challenges naturalistic attempts to explain the history of life on Earth. Consequently, confirming the validity of such a paradox would go a long way toward pointing in the true direction from which life arose. The results of recent tests underscore a major dilemma for naturalists.
Biochemical Design: Organization of Simplest Life. Only a decade ago microbiologists viewed bacteria as "containers" of haphazardly arranged molecules, but recent advances show this view is incorrect. It's now understood that these simplest of life-forms possess remarkable organization at the molecular level. New research on the cell cycle of bacteria that belong to the genus Caulobacter expands upon this emerging paradigm. This work identifies master regulators that direct the localization of proteins which control the progression of the cell cycle. Such internal organizations of simple life-forms are now fast becoming markers for biochemical design.
On the above basis it logically follows that life can not just happen. Biochemists have discovered that many biochemical systems function as molecular-level machines. In fact, some display an eerie resemblance to man-made machines. One of the most remarkable advances in the last two decades of biochemical research is the recognition that some biomolecules inside the cell are comprised of components that are strict analogs to the components used in man-made devices. Here is just a sampling:
Insect Flight Muscles Reveal Machine-like Properties of Biomolecules: Scientists studying projectin and kettin, proteins that impart stiffness to the flight muscles of insects, demonstrate that when these two proteins are exposed to mechanical stresses, which cause them to unfold, they rapidly refold utilizing a molecular spring-like mechanism.
Another is the bacterial flagellum, a literal rotary motor complete with rotor, stator, drive shaft, bushing, and universal joint. New studies show machine-like behavior suggesting complex design.
Biochemists have also discovered that many enzyme systems located inside cells function as molecular-level machines. Typically, these machines operate with a remarkable degree of efficiency, far exceeding the operational capacity of man-made machines. In recent years, chemists have tried to design and synthesize molecular machines that emulate those found inside cells. A recent study describes the production of a man-made molecular motor that can rotate in both directions. This achievement, the first of its kind, is an example of science at its very best. Yet, this molecular motor's operation is crude and cumbersome when compared to those found inside the cell. Does it make sense to conclude that the designs found in nature stem from random undirected processes when they are far superior to that which the best scientists and engineers can accomplish?
Note: Click here for Science Magazine Registration Information.
Myosin Molecular Motors (Full Text PDF File with Videos): Greater understanding of the cellular processes is boosting evidence for biochemical design. New studies highlight the machine-like characteristics of myosin VI, a protein that transports cellular cargo along actin fibers throughout body cells. Functioning as literal linear motors their relationships provides a swivel direction for the myosin lever arms and the direction of myosin movement along actin filaments. Researchers detect precision, optimal design in this relationship making the myosin VI motors point toward elegant design in stark contrast to man-made motors.
Biochemical Design: Proteins with Machine-Like Parts. A watch requires a watchmaker. And machines don't assemble themselves. The British natural theologian William Paley argued 200 years ago that just as a watch requires a watchmaker, so too, life logically required a designer.
Paley's analogy suffered criticism for nearly two centuries. Now twenty-first century science adds vigor to Paley's argument. Biochemists have discovered "Paley's watch" in cyanobacteria. The biochemical systems of these microbes display periodic behavior linked to the day-night cycle. This so-called "circadian oscillation" is regulated by a biomolecular machine composed of proteins that literally function as a clock. This actual biochemical watch renders the philosophical criticisms leveled at Paley's watchmaker argument irrelevant. The cyanobacterial rotary clock logically compels the existence of a designer far beyond human capability.
