We need a new logo

We’re looking to refresh our logo and lose the flying saucers. We need something more abstract, and something that we can vary a bit for the website, the podcast, and other uses. Any artistic volunteers want to submit your idea?

New for 2018 – Full Reports of Investigation (ROI)

Starting with this calendar year, we will publish our Reports of Investigation on this site, redacted of any possible witness Personally Identifying Information (PII). The data in these reports are not the story – often there is much more in the way of photos, videos, and detailed analysis.  Interested parties can contact us for full resolution photos and other details.

Witness PII will NOT be released without witness permission, and only to those persons of verified identity with whom we have an agreement on investigatory ethics.  Contact us if you need to discuss this.

We’re Reaching Out

Case 15-029 – not a hoax, but what is it?

We at API recognize that we’re unlikely to accomplish much by ourselves.  API is, after all, not an end in itself. As soon as an organization starts to exist for its own sake, it’s simply  a matter of time before its original vision is lost or even perverted. API only makes sense to the extent it makes a contribution to the overall vision.

As we see it, our overall strategy is competently investigating many vetted cases, and then looking for telling patterns in the highest probability cases, we are going to have to be part of a bigger network.The larger aim is to begin to ask better questions that ca be scientifically addressed. Grand theories can wait – we don’t even have good hypotheses yet.

To make this work, we need to establish links with other groups that perform quality, ethical  investigations and share data in a way that does not violate a witnesses’ need for anonymity.

In addition to the slow, careful process of adding new field investigators, there are other sorts of alliance that can work. We can share cases when all other requirements are met, or anonymized case data otherwise.  Just as importantly, we can share knowledge and skills.  Skills in areas like video forensics, tracking down long lost corroborators, or analyzing ATC audio tapes could be shared among small organizations worldwide.

One of the hoax photos from Argentina

In one case a few years ago, it was an Argentine UFO research group who found an object that exactly matched what we were seeing in a set of photographs, and this helped us conclude that the photos were probably hoaxed.

Eliminating hoaxes and misidentifications is an important part of this work – removing the “ordinary noise.” There is also “sophisticated noise,” as Hynek once pointed out, that may be part of the signal. Since we don’t know what the signal is, we need to help each other. I’m sure I don’t have a complete list of all the ways this can work.

What do you think?

Housekeeping announcement: retiring “Director” e-mail address

 

Antonio in New Mexico in 2013

As listeners to API Case Files Episode 12 already know, API’s founder Antonio Paris has resigned from API to devote more time to other pursuits. Antonio used the e-mail address “Director” here at aerial-phenomenon.org. Soon, e-mail to that address will bounce.

Please use the e-mail addresses on our About API page, or the contact form if you need to get in touch with us.  To report a UFO sighting, please use our reporting form.

API Case Files Episode 12 – Cylinders, Satellites and Stars, Oh My!

Released: 10 December 2017

Download the .mp3 audio file

 

  • Kiwi UFO—A blazing cylinder over New Zealand.
  • Blank Spots on the Map “outs” spy satellites whose operations may trigger UFO reports.
  • API introduces a new team member, chats about some interesting cases, and discusses explanations for common misidentifications.

In Episode 12 of Case Files, API Director Paul Carr, Chief of Investigations Marsha Barnhart, and new Lead Investigator Savannah Dollison join in a Team Round Table discussion about some of their more recent cases.

Marsha spotlighted her investigation of an unidentified case that was set in New Zealand. She also discussed a book, Blank Spots on the Map, by Trevor Paglen—a book that contains a chapter identifying characteristics of Spy Satellites which researchers might find useful when investigating reports of anomalous lights in the night sky.

Links:

Blank Spots on the Map
Trevor Paglen
Article on Trevor Paglen
Sky Map

LiveATC.net

US Government FOIA Requests
US FAA

API Website
Report A UFO

The Script for this Episode (Creative Commons)

Credits:

Host and Producer: Marsha Barnhart
Post Production:  Paul Carr
Episode 12 Music
DrastikMeazures:  https://soundcloud.com/draztikmeazures
BoxCat Games:  https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Box%20Cat%20Games
Alien Chronicler:  https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Alien%20Chronicler
D J Spooky

 

API Case Files Episode 11 now out

In Episode 11, host and API Chief of Investigations Marsha Barnhart guides us through some recent cases and plays some excerpts from her recent conversation with Mark Rodeghier. Paul Carr chimes in with Unidentified Science, this time talking about some astronomical weirdness.

As always, the show notes and audio are available on the API Case Files blog. You can subscribe to API Case Files on iTunes, or wherever fine podcasts are aggregated.