Dear Mister Timothy Ley,
I first wish to thank you for your dedication in giving the most minute details of your observations.
I am currently preparing a presentation for an audience in september in Paris about the sightings in Phoenix in 1997
No money involved, the audience will be of about 100 people. This is called “Les Repas Ufologiques”.
I am trying to obtain informations of scientific value.
Your description of the sighting is so detailed that I think there are even more discoveries that we can make from it.
I am an engineer specialized in […]. I have access to tools for real time 3D renderings […].
I have started to make a 3D rendering of the passby of the V. I am specifically interested in trying to obtain the most visually and if possible scientifically accurate representation of the V and its special visual effects.
Since I have many questions, I can propose you that I call you on the phone. That would be much faster for you to reply simply by phone. I would then make the report.
Here are my questions:
At which moments precisely the mirage effect appeared below the lights. To reply to that question, I have posted on you tube my video that shows the pass of the V in front of you. Here it is : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIJu7qsc2TQ The video is Time Coded in the Top Left. Time is at 0 precisely when the front Tip of the V is at the closest distance from you. You would give me the Time Code when the mirage effects appeared (twice)
I understand from your blog that the first time it was when the tip was passing by, so that should be close to t=0. Is that right ?
You wrote : “We noticed that one of the lights on the far side arm seemed to flicker into two lights”
It was a light of the far side arm. Which light ? The second time is later. You wrote “That last light continued to move away from me towards the southeast when all of a sudden it appeared to act something like the one light we had observed when the craft was coming toward us. The light I was focused on seemed to split into two lights, one above the other, and slightly separated from each other. Both lights remained white but took on a slight reddish amber caste and it seemed that I was seeing the light through a kind of transparent waviness like a mirage.” When precisely ?
I may then if you accept produce close up high resolution images of these 2 instants, send them to you and then I would like you to draw the position and shape of the mirage image when they had their maximum size.
Your description is of high scientific potential. I think that with these informations, one should be able to infer the 3D temperature/air density profile below the lights. The change in color may be explained simply by the creation of an atmospheric duct.
Now about my video It is the output of a real time rendering with a sort of video game engine.
About the particles streaming :
I don't know their typical trajectory. The best would be that you draw the typical path of a few of them in a side view.
Did they go up swirling like going up in a tornado ? Did they have a tendency to go to toward the axis of symetry of the lamp while going up ?
Or did they go up strait like along a cylinder ? From Where did the particles of light appear ? From the whole volume below the lamp, from a surface (a disk for example) below the lamp, from a curve (a circle for exemple) below the lamp.
Georges Judson says in “The Phoenix Lights” documentary that “There was lights swimming around in this shape or form”. Do you think he is here talking about your particles of light ? Or is he talink about a feature of the main light ?
About any heat wave/shimmering effect below the lights :
Did the shimmering effect was limited to the area between the arms, or did you see some shimmering effect below the lights
What was the cause of the mirage effect that mirrored the light ? Heat located between and below the arms of the V or Heat located below the lights themselves ?
Is the amplitude of the shimmering effect in my video OK ? I can also increase the level of blurinness induced by wide amplitudes of distortion.
I should be able to simulate also the mirage effects.
I didn't know exactly how to represent the surface of the light. So I just made a sort of very flattened sphere with some emissivity. I also animated it with a video projected over it to give it some life, but I don't know if it is OK.
Do you know if anybody tried to be that accurate in the representation ? (except History Channel)
By the way, History channel showed the V with a lot of grey surface features and diamond type cut edges. Is there anything correct in that ?
In what Direction did the Omega appeared (azimut) ?
Could you give a precise measure of the angle over the horizon of the craft when you noticed it first (Omega)
I understand that it came from prescott, from a high altitude, then went dont strait to you
Did you already make a drawing of the Omega shape ?
You probably have more comments about the video. Give as much as you want and can (by phone is best)
I hope you are doing well, and hope to have news from you soon. We may also talk about the characteristics of the lights of the Vs seen in belgium. I see some similarity.
Laurent Chabin
Paris, France.
We had a messenger live conference on the 16th of january 2011, when I was able to ask him directly these questions.