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This Ministry of Defence file, released through The National Archives and published by The Black Vault, holds the MOD's 2002 handling of Dr David Clarke's requests for UFO documents under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. It includes the MOD's 9 December 2002 reply, which covered reports from 1976, 1980, 1993 and 1996 and charged £260. It also contains internal emails and file requisitions, plus Foreign Office and United Nations papers from 1978 on Grenada's proposal for UFO research.
“Venus”14 pages
.. .. . ·!· vv .11;-10 Wing ComOJ.aD.der ADGE 1, MOD FAX Dear Wing Commander Royal Greenwich Observatory Madingley Road Cambridge CB..~ OEZ United Direct email ANNEX D TO D/QA0/1/13 DATED 13 NOV 96 I have examined the reports of bright lights seen on October 5 as ::set out in your fax of 11 November. When a bright star or planet is low down in the sky (even to elevation 20°) it is quite common for it t<.1 appear to show colours, which are often described as 'ftashing' or 'rotating'. It is important to consider- a person's eyesight in interpreting their descriptions of sightings. It seems to me in this case that the different observet·s may ha.ve been looking at diffe1·ent objects. Because of the uncertainties in the estimates o! elevation a.nd tt.zimuth I cannot be certain as to what was seen, but this is my best guess. I think that boLh Inspector ~-of Boston Police may have been looking at Venus. Venus has been except1onally bright in the early morning sky over the past weeks and has stood out from all around it. The actual positions o£ the planet on October 5 are a.s follows. UT BST Altitude Azimuth 02:00 03:00 -20 68° 02:09 03:09 70° Venus·rlse 03:00 04:00 +70 80° 04:00 05:00 +16° 92° 05:00 06:00 +25° 105° 06:00 07:00 +33° 118° 07:00 08:00 +40° 135° I confess to being puzzled as to what the c~:~w of MY CO NO COAST were watching. Presumably they would have had a. dear view of the whole sky. Can you rule out that they may have been seeing some laser show with the beams reflected in a hazy sky? I am also puzzled as to why they saw two sets of lights at approximately 180°apa.rt. An establishment of the b-L Particle Physics and Astronomv Research Cr'":'""•~ 1
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