Date: From October 5th, 2000 onwards
Location: Bonsall, Derbyshire, UK
The Bonsall UFO was an incident which occurred in Bonsall, Derbyshire, UK near Matlock, where a woman named Sharon Rowlands of Slaley observed a large lumiinous object, with a shimmering pink colour, hovering and rotating over a nearby field.
She captured many minutes of the object with her camcorder. Described by UFO experts at the time as one of the best ever, the tape was sold to American TV for $thousands; frustratingly, only small snippets remain available for viewing.
Video Excerpt 1
This extract shows the shape-shifting UFO over Bonsall, Derbyshire
Video Excerpt 2 (taken from C5 documentary)
This particular clip is taken from a Channel 5 documentary called 'Britain's Closest Encounters and shows an out-of-focus sphere of light which, as the witness tries to zoom in closer, appears to made out of concentric circles. Note how a sceptical 'expert' is employed to try and suggest that Mrs Rowlands was simply recording a streetlight - snag is, there are NO street lamps over where the witness videoed; and as the 1st clip shows, the object clearly changes shape at one point - so we can rule out anything conventional.
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'£20,000 SAYS THIS IS A UFO!' Derby Evening Telegraph, Derbyshire
When
housewife Sharon Rowlands filmed what appeared to be a UFO flying over
her tiny Derbyshire village, little did she realise what rewards the
footage would bring her.
The 6-and-a-half-minute tape has been snapped up by an American TV
company for more than £20,000.
Mrs
Rowlands can also be proud of the knowledge her film is being ranked as
one of the best pieces of UFO video footage ever shot.
California-based
Kiviat Productions, which snapped up the film, is currently negotiating
with TV networks across the world to show the tape as part of its
'Could It Be True?' Series - but not before officials from NASA are
given a preview.
Mrs Rowlands (44), who lives with husband
Hayden (45), said: "I've watched UFO programmes and if there is such a
thing, this is as good a photograph as you're going to get.
"I
was a complete and utter disbeliever but seeing this has made me think
twice. It was huge and through the lens it looked like it was going to
hit me. I couldn't believe it - it's like nothing else I've ever seen."
The tape has been locked in a bank vault since her chance
filming on October 5, 2000, with a camcorder which she had received
only days earlier as a gift. Kiviat executive producer Robert Kiviat
found Mrs Rowlands' film while scouring the internet.
He said: "This is one of the top five pieces of video footage of UFOs
ever taken."
The
Rowlands are just a couple living in a remote area with no agenda and
no previous experience in UFO videos - they just appear to have had
their camcorder out at the right time."
A Meteorological
Officer spokesman said there were no freak weather conditions on
October 5 which could have caused the circular shape in the sky.
The
American space agency NASA is believed to be interested in the
Rowlands' photograph because of its marked resemblance to a photograph
taken during the 1996, STS-75 mission. The photograph was taken by
Astronaut Claude Nicoltier.
From 1970 to 1973, Claude Nicoltier
worked as a graduate scientist with the Institute of Astronomy at
Lausanne University and at the Geneva Observatory.
He then
joined the Swiss Air Transport School in Zurich and was assigned as a
DC-9 pilot for Swissair, concurrently participating part-time in
research activities of the Geneva Observatory.
At the end of
1976 he accepted a Fellowship at the European Space Agency’s (ESA)
Space Science Department at Noordwijk, Netherlands, where he worked as
a research scientist in various airborne infrared astronomy programs.
In July 1978 he was selected by ESA as a member of the first group of
European astronauts.
Under
agreement between ESA and NASA he joined the NASA astronaut candidates
selected in May 1980 for astronaut training as a mission specialist.
Mrs
Rowlands' footage capped a hive of activity in Bonsall which has seen
villagers reporting 19 UFO sightings in just four months leading up to
last October.
UFO enthusiast Omar Fowler founded the
Derby-based Phenomenon Research Association 10 years ago and has been
tracking UFOs since the 1970s.
He believes Bonsall is right up
there with the foremost UFO hotbeds - including Mexico city, the USA,
and Fleetwood in Lancashire.
Mr Fowler said: "I viewed Mrs
Rowlands' tape and I was amazed at what I saw. I consider it to be one
of the most important sightings of recent years - comparing very well
with a recent clip from Mexico - and it typifies activity in Bonsall."
Mr Kiviat said he will show the tape to NASA optical physicist Dr.
Bruce Macabbee.
"The
Rowlands' tape will shock a lot of people because the image shown is
the same as one taken by NASA's own cameras showing what appears to be
a UFO hovering in space, maybe three miles wide," Mr Kiviat said. "
Source:
Derby Evening Telegraph, Derbyshire / England | Andy Shipley - May 31
2001
