SOURCE: LA CRONICA DE HOY
DATE: May 12, 2004
Scientist Dismiss Campeche UFOs as Possible Meteorite Fragments
Mexican scientists consdiered the possibility that the alleged UFOs recorded by Mexican Air Force pilots over Campeche are not alien spacecraft, stating that there is no scientific evidence to substantiate such a visit.
In an interview with Cronica, researcher Jaime Maussan, who has studied the UFO phenomenon for over a decade, stated that the video broadcast by Televisa shows the presence of "intelligent life that has been manifesting itself on Earth for a long time and hails from other parts of the universe."
He stated that humankind's depredations on the planet's animal and vegetable life, aside from missions to other planets (Mars) has caused an increase in "sightings of these objects, because we have surely violated some code and they wish to make their presence known."
He said that the decision of military authorities to deliver the video "with the evidence" is unprecedented in the country and perhaps in the whole world, and places Mexico in the forefront of such matters, "since it is time that goverments pay attention to these manifestations, which should be reseached objectively."
In the video recorded on March 5 by Air Force pilots, 16 brilliant objects can be seen as captured by infrared cameras as they soar over Campeche -- static, aligned with each other, then making sudden high-speed turns.
While scientists engaged in reconnoitering missions to detect drug-traffic, their radar suddenly picked up a contact: UFOs, which according to the witnesses, followed them for several minutes.
The pilot's conversations can be heard in the video:
"Put on your seatbelts"
"Don't scare me"
"I wouldn't know how to identify it...buy they must be completely real," said Lt. Mario Adrian Vazquez, operator of the infrared equipment, who insisted that tampering with said images was impossible.
Jaime Maussan called upon Mexican scientists to research the UFO phenomenon in order to render an opinion and "not dismiss videos a priori that show the existence of intelligence of unknown origin" and that "astronomers or other scientist quit their prejudiced notions and cease deriding those who have studied the phenomenon and know that there is intelligent life present [from other worlds] as fools, madmen, dreamers or mystics."
However, Mexican astronomer Jose de la Herrá® provided his scientific arguments regarding the impossibility that [the lights] could be alien spacecraft, as has been speculated. He claims that they could have been meteorite fragments.
He explained that when a meteor crashes into the Earth's atmosphere, it shatters into many pieces which appear as though they were static and aligned with one another as they give off an intense glow. "And of course, people who do not know such phenomena occur, interpret them in many ways upon seeing them. For example, they can say they were alien spaceships by virtue of having seen them."
Rafael Navarro of the Plasma Chemistry and Planetary Study Laboratory of the UNAM Institute of Nuclear Science, added that these are undoubtedly unidentified spherical objects shown by the Air Force, but under no circumstances do they show the visit of alien spacecraft.
The space scientist told "Cronica" that it is almost certainly "space junk" resulting from hundreds of satellites burning up upon reentry into earth's atmosphere after finishing their service cycle.
The Mexican scientist cautioned that UFO reports may increase, since humanity is launching an increasing number of satellites that will burn up as they are attracted by Earth's gravity.Navarro regretted that these speculative news items should exert such a hold on the public's imagination as opposed to serious efforts conducted in Mexico and elsewhere in the world to detect the presence of extraterrestrial life.
Source:
http://www.cronica.com.mx/
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Translation (c) 2004 Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU). Special thanks to Christian Quintero, PlanetaUFO.