Насекомые в роли "инопланетян"

"Pravda", December 16, 1978:

Carefully analyzing the facts in the book F. Salisbury "UFO in Utah", American entomologists Callahan and Mankin was struck by the similarity of the behavior described in the book "UFOs" (unidentified flying objects) with the movement of large insects. As a result of special studies they came to the conclusion that residents of Utah were observed only swarms of insects, whose illumination is the result of ordinary atmospheric phenomena, known under the name "fires of St. Elmo". These lights occur as a result of air ionization in a region with strongly varying in space electric field (usually near pointed objects in stormy weather). Callahan and Mankin observed in laboratory conditions, the glow appearing on the tips of the antennae and legs of insects in the artificially created electric fields, like atmospheric. The teachings state that there is no doubt that in appropriate weather conditions nature can produce a strong enough electric field to flying insects could cause the illumination of the air.

Confirmation of the findings of American biologists serve information from the archives of the U.S. forest service on the peak of breeding wood beetles on the forests near the city of Roosevelt, Utah, in the late 60-ies. The inhabitants of this city around the same period and observed a "UFO", described in the book F. Salisbury. Thus, the "lights St. Elmo", which in the middle ages the subject of many legends, were once again the subject of a sensation.

About St. Elmo's fire, perhaps the most commonly mentioned, talking about ghosts and spirits. But these lights is not uncommon. In bad weather they usually appear on the steeples of churches, ship masts, spires, or at the ends of aircraft wings.

The interest of American researchers Callahan S. and R. Mankin for the lights Elmo awakened book "UFOs in Utah: report of the biologist", written by F. B. Salisbury, head of the Department of plant breeding at the University of Utah. Reading his reports of nocturnal UFO sightings (unidentified flying objects), they are surprised that sometimes the descriptions recorded in Salisbury, is very similar to the description of the evolution, who do a huge flying swarms of insects.

In the book "UFO in Utah", says that witnesses "ran outside and saw a large object, flat bottom, with a dome on top hovering over the house, and it seemed that he was almost balancing on the roof ridge. He was twice the size of the house." People have heard a buzzing noise and "seen around the bottom edge of the object lights, which flickered and was mostly red, but sometimes they seemed green and yellow" (observation, September 20, 1966).

Here is the testimony from October 11, 1967:

"Suddenly this big ball of light, which was about 200 metres away, started to move towards me. He was a three-meter diameter and gradually became more and more, and his color was orange. Then the color began to change, acquiring a bluish color of the fluorescent source, and then it stopped right over the truck."

And another fact was the fall of 1966:

object "fell very slowly, as if floating; and down lower and lower. He stopped, I would say, at a height of about a quarter of a mile from the ground, and then out of it came the light that was sent into the sky, and it seemed that rays of light are intertwined. It became very bright for a while, then darkened, and then there was a new flash of light."

At first glance, luminescent flying object with some correct contours can not be a swarm of insects. But a sharp edge of a swarm of locusts is well known to entomologists. Moreover, no matter what strange shape of ROI may have taken, whether poles or wavy curtains, it still seems that someone controls them from above, causes insects to stick together.

But if the night swarms in some places mistaken for UFOs, there must be some mechanism of luminescence. Let us think a little about it. Chitinous outer "skeleton" of insects can be mistaken for a kind of dielectric and conductive environment of the fluid of their body. But can it, under certain conditions, to generate lights Elmo?

Callahan and Mankin experimented with five types of insects. There were tiny rounded bugs, and insects with long antennae, and six-legged with the characteristic protruding points on the elytra, which is convenient for the study of brush discharges or, equivalently, the corona discharge from the tip. Was taken in the experiment and pests - the moths that fly at night.

Experimental insects they are either placed between the capacitor plates, or glued with rubber glue on top of the Tesla coil, which is often referred to as a Tesla transformer. Rubber glue to prevent insect contact with the coil.

When the field strength of about 2.1 kV/cm gave the insects the brightly colored flashes of light or racemose bluish-white radiation of the protruding points of the body (the outer end of the lower jaw, antennae, icelady, the place of articulation of the feet). The spiracles or some of them occasionally appeared red, green or orange lights. Insects taped to the Tesla coil, giving a continuous radiation, and the capacitor is intermittent. The increase in tension caused them to break out more often.

No visible damage to the strong electric field they did not cause. The insects walked on the Tesla coil, behaved normally after release and was eating food. However, in the constant field of the capacitor moths and bugs sometimes ruined the spark arc. Dried insects are not light.

Colorful light flashes, enveloping the insect in a strong electric field is nothing like a corona discharge, similar to the lights Elmo. Experts say that the pointed object appears a corona discharge if the electric field about 2 kV/cm. This often happens in the atmosphere near thunderstorm clouds. So, when the weather nature can create an electric field sufficient to enable flying insects began to glow.

Separate a luminous insect in a dimly lit laboratory was seen in six metres. A thousand insects buzzing in the night the swarm will be visible to 180m. It is clear that larger clusters visible from much greater distances.

What are the insects in Utah could be mistaken for a UFO?

Most likely it was a night flight Choristoneura fumiferana - moths are pests of coniferous forests that cover the local mountains. The scales of these insects is a great insulator, and due to friction are about large static charges. A cloud of these pests can create a real storm core in the atmosphere.

Swarms of pests of pine needles go in the late evening or early night, usually from March to November. This is the time when the matter is announced about the UFO sightings.

If cases of UFO sightings recorded in the book of Salisbury, to take over 100%, about 90% of UFO in Utah appeared in the summer 1965 to the winter of 1968; more than half of the cases occur in the autumn. Now, the forest service of the Ministry of agriculture of the USA has registered it in 1965-1968 huge reproduction of insect pests of coniferous trees in Utah. And fall is the time of the riot atmosphere.

Your article published in a respectable scientific publication, Callahan and Mankin finished with the following words: "If the reader conclude that the authors do not believe in aliens from outer space, it is not. However, the reason for writing the article are just insects".

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»