Friday, May 06, 2005

Ufo Size Estimator

 

Introduction

GO TO ESTIMATOR

(Best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution or higher)

Estimating the size of a UFO can be a tricky thing. This method of estimation requires fairly accurate determinations of the angular size of a UFO, and its distance from the observer, compared to the apparent size of a known object such as the Moon.

MEAN LUNAR DIAMETER/DISTANCE CONSTANT ( Cd )
Cdis the ratio of the Moon's diameter divided by its mean distance from the Earth.

There are a few methods for determining the angular width of a UFO but the one used here is based on comparisons with the angular size of the moon and a constant value derived from the Moon's actual diameter (2160 miles) divided by the Moon's mean distance from the Earth (238856 miles).
Cd = diameter / Distance = 2160mi / 238856mi = 0.009043105.

RELATIVE MEAN LUNAR DIAMETER ( Rm )
Rm is the ratio of the UFO's angular size to the Moon's angular size.

The first item to determine is the angular width of the UFO. How big is it compared to the moon? Is it twice the diameter? Half of the diameter? a tenth? Use the Angular UFO Size Chart below and find the silhouette closest to UFO size compared to the moon images.

UFO DISTANCE ( Dobj )

Distance is from the observer to the UFO. Distance can be determined a few different ways. One method is to estimate the angle of elevation of the UFO then measure the distance to the point on the ground directly below the UFO. You can then divide that distance by the cosine of the angle to arrive at the actual distance.

If Dg = the ground distance and Ae = the angle of elevation then the actual distance is

Dobj = Dg / cos( Ae)

UFO LENGTH ( Lufo )

Using the values from above one can estimate the length of the UFO with the formula

Lufo = Cd Dobj Rm

Using the distance example above (1103 ft.) let's say the UFO appeared to be twice the diameter of the angular moon then

Lufo=CdxDobjxRm
Lufo =0.00904x1103 ft.x2
Lufo =19.96 ft.

This UFO would be about 20 ft. wide

posted by Unknown @ 7:59 PM

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Ballester-Guasp Evaluation Calculator

"It has been a very nice surprise to see the Ballester-Guasp quantification method on your site. I applaud very much your excellent work being done on it, and I will certainly report it to others, in order to facilitate scientific-oriented investigators to use this tool. Thanks and keep up the good work! Very best wishes."
- Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos

Welcome to the Javascript Report Evaluator. (at bottom of page)
This calculator is based on the MUFON FIELD INVESTIGATORS MANUAL: SECTION XVIII ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES: PART 2: BALLESTER-GUASP EVALUATION OF COMPLETED REPORTS
Field Investigators should find this tool useful in evaluating reports prior to submission to ensure that all essential questions have been asked and answered.
Use the button after all selections have been made. Also note that the Certainty Index will remain at 0% until at least one selection has been made in each of the three sections.
Click to start over.
Click button for more information about a particular selection.
This script has been tested in most browsers and while it's appearance is slightly different in some, the essential functions still execute. If you have any problems running this program email me or use my feedback form.
Just make all the necessary selections in the following tables and read the result at the bottom

posted by Unknown @ 12:44 PM