Sunday, June 11, 2006

Just what are these things, described as flying rods? Your guess is as good as mine, however in my personal opinion, they represent possibly the best evidence of alien life to date, or at the least, an exotic new form of life often described as sky fish, due to the undulating motion in which they travel. Rods were discovered accidentally by film maker Jose Escamilla in 1994, while filming in Midway, New Mexico. These "things" move much to quickly to be seen with the naked eye, but they can be captured on film and seen when the film is played back in slow motion. They appear to have appendages along their torsos which move in wave like motion, and the torsos bend as they move. Measuring from inches to several feet in length, flying rods have been observed and filmed all over the world.

Despite the difference of opinion on the nature of rods, close examination of the video footage has uncovered a number of consistent features. Analysis reveals that the rods seem to be cylinder-shaped 'creatures' that range in length from about 10 centrimetres to 3 metres, and can travel at speeds of up to 300 kmph. They appear to fly through the air by using an undulating solid membrane which vibrates extremely rapidly on each side of its body (similar to how a squid propels itself through water).

Because of the speed that they move, it can be difficult to capture rods on film. Even with 30 frames per second (fps), good video cameras still have problems capturing detailed pictures of rods. With rods moving upto speeds of 300 kmph, the video is only capable of capturing a few frames of footage before they disappear. Also, because of the fast movement, the video images of rods generally lack resolution, meaning that it is hard to see fine details, such as if these 'creatures' possess eyes or even a head.



What seems to be the best footage taken so far of rods was filmed by Mark Lichtle who is a professional cameraman for US television. He was making a film of parachutists jumping into a deep, vertical cave near San Luis Potosi, Mexico. As in most cases, the rods were only noticed when the film was reviewed later. On observing the slow-motion video, Lichtle saw numerous rods darting in and out of the frame and flying around the base jumpers as they fell through the air (see picture left). In one shot, a rod avoids colliding with one of the jumpers by veering sharply away at the last second.

Optical expert Bruce Maccabee, better known for his analysis of UFO footage, has viewed the film and confirms that the objects are between 2 and 4 metres in length, therefore ruling out the possibility of birds or insects.