Date:
August 30, 1970
Location: Lake Anten, Sweden
Three
round landing marks in a triangular formation were found
in the garden of Richard Johansson's small farm near Lake
Anten, Sweden. Several witnesses in the area had seen
a strange red light, almost the size of the moon, that
same night. Soil samples were taken and analyzed, with
the results showing an increased level of gamma activity
(radiation) in the test samples from one of the landing
marks.
Close-up view of the landing holes found in the garden
of the Johanssons' farm. Photographs by GICOFF. (FSR)
The Johansson garden and house, and location of the holes.
(FSR)
Diagram showing distances measured between edges of holes.
Sketch by GICOFF. (FSR)
Gamma-activity from (a) background, (b) reference soil,
(c) test soil. Graph by GICOFF. (FSR)
Source:
Sven-Olof Fredrickson, FSR Vol. 17 No. 1
A
LANDING NEAR LAKE ANTEN?
A new case from Sweden, with burn marks and analysis of
soil samples.
by
Sven-Olof Fredrickson
[The
author is Secretary of Goteborgs Informations Center om
Oidentifierade Flygande Foremal (GICOFF),* a group formed
by a number of science students.]
The
occurrence you will read about below happened the night
between August 29 and 30, 1970, at a place west of Lake
Anten, 40 kilometres north-west of Gothenburg, Sweden.
We,
GICOFF, became aware of it on Wednesday, September 2,
and, the day after, four of us went up to the place. First,
we talked to an inspector at the police station in Alingsas,
the neighbouring town. He told us the occurrence had not
really interested them. They had reported it to the military
authorities, but they did not seem to be interested either.
We
then went to the place where it had happened, a little
farm or rather a croft called Enebacken. On arriving at
the croft, we found another car standing there. The owner
of the house, Mr. Richard Johansson, 81 years old, was
being visited by his daughter and a friend of hers. She
came out to meet us and showed us a corner of the garden
about 25 metres from the house.
"There
they are," she said something she had probably
done several times, because we soon learned that a lot
of people from around about had been there. We went to
the corner as directed and saw three burned marks that
had been reported in the newspapers.
We
took a lot of photographs, we measured the marks and the
surroundings and we took a couple of earth samples, one
from the marks and one from a place 4 metres away (more
about this later).
Mr.
Johansson, 81, told us: "I did not see or hear
anything. You see, I went to bed at 9.00 p.m., but my
room is on the opposite side of the house. I am not particularly
bothered about the incident, but it has been amusing to
see people around this place. Whoever landed there has
taken care not to destroy anything."
Several
witnesses of strange light
Then
we had to find witnesses to the light observed above Enebacken.
This is how the Karlssons at a nearby farm described it:
Mr.
E. Karlsson: "I was going to go to bed
it was just before midnight when I saw that the
cars on the road were stopping and putting out their lights.
Then the boy came running in, saying something red in
colour was seen above Enebacken, about 500 metres away.
I went out to have a look, and caught sight of a strong
red light. It went to and fro above the forest."
Mrs.
I. Karlsson: "Just when I saw it, I heard a sound
from it."
Mr.
Karlsson agreed: "That was what puzzled me most.
First, I thought it was an aircraft, but then I realised
it could not be that. It behaved so strangely, and not
only that, it was round and bright and very red. It went
both up and down and to and fro above Enebacken. Sometimes,
it disappeared below the treetops only to reappear after
a while. The speed varied, sometimes it glided slowly
only to accelerate very fast. Once it was almost down
at the meadow in front of the forest only 200 metres away.
Then I saw some beams of light coming from it. They were
yellow-white in colour and seemed to come from the side
of the red sphere, which had the size of about half the
moon."
Mrs.
I. Karlsson: "We were standing outside for a while
but then we went in and watched it through the window.
When going to bed at about 2.00 a.m., the light was still
standing there."
We
managed to find witnesses from three cars:
Mr.
P. Nilsson: "My friend and I came driving from
Alingsas. It was about 11.15 - 11.30 p.m. We caught sight
of a red light moving to and fro and up and down, and
now and then it was standing still. My friend stopped
the car, and we got out. The light was to the left of
us above Enebacken. We looked at it for maybe 10 minutes,
before going home."
Mrs.
Olsson: "My husband and I were returning from
a visit to friends. We saw something which resembled a
rear lamp on a car, red-yellow in colour. First we thought
it was an aircraft, but we soon realised that it was not.
We looked at it for 3-4 minutes. The time was then 12.25
a.m."
Mrs.
E. Aronsson: "Shortly before 11.30 p.m. I saw,
together with a friend, a bright illuminated ball just
above the treetops. First I thought it was the moon, but
this was red and it was so bright."
All
these witnesses were located south or east of Enebacken.
We found a further eight witnesses who had been to the
north of the incident. One of them indicated how she had
seen the light between two trees. When checking with a
compass, we found it to be precisely in the direction
of Enebacken. Another, a Mr. E. Johansson, told us: "I
caught sight of the red, bright ball above Enebacken at
about 11.45 p.m. I was together with my wife and another
couple. We estimate its size to be a little less than
that of the full moon. It moved to and fro and up and
down above the forest. We could also see something like
a beam of light coming from the ground going up to the
light. It was very beautiful to look at. The light was
constant in brightness and created an illuminated streak
on the surface of Lake Haslingen."
The
distance between Enebacken and these witnesses is about
1,100 metres. At 12.15 a.m., Mr. E. Johansson and the
other man took the car to try to find out what the light
was. When turning into the side road leading to Enebacken,
they found another car, a blue SAAB, standing there. In
it were two young men, who said that they too had tried
to find out what the light was. While they were standing
there, the light went out, or disappeared.
Mr.
E. Johansson and his friend thought someone at Enebacken
was using a balloon, or something like that, so they turned
the car and went back. After coming home, they caught
sight of the light again. At about 1.00 a.m., they tired
of it and went to bed. What happened to the blue SAAB,
they do not know. It was still standing there when they
left. (We have not been able to trace it.)
The
next morning, Mr. E. Johansson and a couple of others
went over Lake Halsingon by boat, went up to Enebacken
and found the round marks.
We
also found one witness west of Enebacken. A woman had
seen the light from her house.
Description
of the site
Enebacken
is situated in pretty rough country. There are lakes,
forests and mountains and hills, and not many people living
in the neighbourhood. The croft is surrounded by forest,
and around the house, there is a garden and a meadow.
The corner of the garden where the marks were found is
a little higher than the surroundings. It is an old lawn,
rather uneven, with old fruit-trees standing on it. The
marks were about 40 cms. in diameter and 4 cms. deep.
They were not all alike but differed a little around the
edges and in depth. One was a little less round than the
other two. It did not seem as if something had been standing
there, but rather as if three jet-beams had been used.
The marks were located relative to each other as shown
in fig. 2. See also the photographs.
We
also checked the weather at three places around Alingsas,
and found that it was cloudy at the time. The clouds were
at a height of about 200 metres (mist-clouds). The wind
was south-west and about 5 metres/sec. This has been confirmed
by several of the witnesses.
Explanations
While
we were conducting our investigations, there was a lot
of speculation in the press. One paper explained the mystery
by saying that the young men in the blue car had made
the marks and used a balloon as a hoax. Another explained
it with a warm-air balloon being lost and then landing,
sending for a car, and then taking off again, and, of
course, there were several other explanations.
The
police and the military authorities seem to have accepted
the balloon theory completely. Two young men were pointed
out as having perpetuated this hoax. When we talked with
one of them, he denied it completely. We have several
reasons for believing him. One is that he was pointed
out because he had a green FIAT, whereas the mysterious
car was a blue SAAB.
Radioactivity
tests
We
left some of the soil we had taken at Enebacken with a
man working at the Chalmers Institute of Technology, the
Institution for Nuclear Chemistry. Two men have been investigating
it. There have been three tests over differing periods.
The following is based on the last test which took 24
hours, 8 hours with empty instrument, 8 with the reference-soil
(4 metres from the marks) and 8 with the test-soil (from
one of the marks).
The
soil samples were analysed by using a Hewlett Packard
Multichannel Analyser, 54OOA. This instrument takes a
gamma radiation spectrum.
In
the reference-soil, there was no activity, except the
natural background one. The test-soil showed a weak gamma-activity
at an energy of 660 keV, which had not decreased two weeks
after the first test. This activity could possibly come
from a barium isotope 137 Ba (gamma-activity at 662 KeV),
which is created when a cerium isotope 137Ce radiates
beta-radiation (137Ce has a half-life of 30 years). The
measured activity is very low, less than 900 pulses in
8 hours, but nevertheless is exceptional. The man doing
the last two tests has told us that 137Ce, to the best
of his knowledge, can only be found in certain nuclear
processes. Furthermore, the fact that no activity (except
the natural background one) was present in the reference-soil,
seems to rule out the possibility that the activity had
come from a nuclear test in the atmosphere.
There
seem, therefore, to be only two possibilities:
1.
Someone has had a little fun at our expense, but he must
then have used a substance to create the marks, which
contains 137Ce, and such substances are not common. There
is no possibility that he would have put the 137Ce there
knowingly because the actual amount involved is too small.
2.
Something unfamiliar to us, using something which contains
137Ce had been at Enebacken on the night in question.
There
might be one more possibility left: that gamma-activity
is not coming from 137Ce but from an even more unusual
substance. But if so, we do not know from what (see fig.
3).
Other
sightings
We
have recorded at least 10 other sightings in this area
since September 1, 1969. Most of them are described as
being round and red or yellow in colour. They are often
seen for long periods, and on a couple of occasions, there
has been more than one object. In one case, when the witness
thought it went very low over his house, a whistling sound
was heard. All this has happened in an area of less than
one square mile (1 Swedish mile 10 kilometres)
around Lake Anten.
This
case has some very interesting details, but poses a lot
of questions. Let me point out some of these questions:
Mr. E. Johansson says that when they came to Enebacken
on the Sunday morning, they saw car-tracks on the lawn
only 10 metres from the marks. Were they already there
on Saturday, or did anyone go there in the night or early
in the morning, or was there a hoax by a person or persons
who had their car standing there? What happened to the
blue SAAB? Did the lightbeam come from the object or from
the ground?
Mr.
E. Johansson said the light went out. Did it do that,
or did it only go down below the treetops? If it went
out, does that prove it was a hoax?
We
do not think this is the end of this story, but we have
decided to publish the results so far and we hope that
some new facts will come to light in consequence.
This
case-report has been prepared by GICOFF. All information
presented is based on GICOFFs investigation. We have not
used any second-hand material. I have shortened the report
a little and translated it into English.
Comment
by R. H. B. Winder:
With
great respect to the investigators, who seem for the most
part to have done a very good job, the scientific examination,
although it sounds impressive, is actually a little weak.
They ought, for example' to have considered chemical tests
to confirm the presence of Cerium my professional
chemist friend tells me this and they ought to
have been more specific about the sample. If it consisted
of the ashes from the mark, the burning might well have
concentrated material deposited from the atmosphere. The
suggestion that it came from a nuclear propulsion system,
or the like, is not supported by the evidence.
Source:
http://www.ufoevidence.org/cases/case604.htm