Close encounters of a kind over Lough Key
Yes, like many, I have always had a healthy skepticism about the existence of UFOs. You could go as far as calling it a dismissive attitude, fuelled admittedly by the hokum that this controversial subject always appears to attract.
But yes - believe it or not - I did see a peculiar aerial phenomenon hovering high over the Lough Key waters on Saturday evening during an organised UFO skywatch gathering in Boyle.
The eureka type moment arrived when most of the 50 plus hardy souls who gathered for the event on a cold and wet evening had already scattered for the warm embrace of their homes.
Saturday’s skywatch, which was an open invitation to members of the public, was organised by local UFO expert and astronomer, Dr Eamon Ansboro, as part of his ongoing research into extra-terrestrial life forms.
It’s fair to say many people are scathing about the notion of UFOs or UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) - as Dr Ansboro prefers to call them. But the Boyle based astronomer has spent 30 years gathering hard data on intelligent life forms beyond our planet, with his research appearing in many scientific journals over this time.
He also has presented his work to noted organisations such as the American Geophysical Union and will be presenting to the International Astronomical Union in Paris early next year.
One area that has particularly interested him is the presence of “plasma orbs” which are seen all over the world and have been noticed by NASA in their feeds from the International Space Station.
The high frequency of these orbs over Boyle skies prompted Dr Ansboro to move to the area several years ago, setting up an observatory in nearby Kingsland to further his investigations into possible intelligence behind these orbs.
The North Roscommon area has certainly proven to be very fertile ground for his work. Using sophisticated instrumentation involving multiple cameras and tracking systems, he has detected 40 unusual aerial sightings over the last 20 years or so.
Lough Key in particular has become something of a hotspot for these plasma orbs - the very location on Saturday where a group of UFO spotters gathered at the water shores in the park.
In advance of Dr Ansbro’s event, orbital tracking systems he uses indicated that unusual activity may appear in the skies above the lake in “a window of opportunity” between 5 and 7 p.m..
As the expectant UFO spotters gathered however, that window gradually expired and their hopes of enjoying an ET moment became as damp as the inclement weather.
The expectations may have faded but the ever-ebullient Dr Ansboro suddenly proclaimed his readings were now indicating activity in the general environment of the Gaelic Chieftain statue, sitting high on the outskirts of Boyle a few miles on the Sligo side of the town.
Skywatchers made their way to the new location but there was still no real sense of a pending sighting. Indeed, the deteriorating weather conditions were now prompting many to jump in their cars to depart for home.
But the few that did dig in until the end were drenched to the skin but ultimately rewarded for their endurance. Shortly after 8 p.m., one man in the small remaining group of skywatchers- including yours truly – signalled our attention to a white orbital bright light hovering in the sky above the Lough Key waters.
It wasn’t just hovering - it was moving in darting and rotating positions. It definitely wasn’t a star or a satellite given its sudden, jerky movements and this oval ball of white light definitely wasn’t a drone. During its appearance, where it moved in definite patterns for about ten minutes or so, it occasionally disappeared as if a switch had flicked its light off before reappearing again.
The experience was a very peculiar one for all concerned but equally, a sense of elation had descended over the last of the skywatchers. An expression of quiet validation had also unfurled across Dr Ansboro’s face as his prediction had materialised.
It was a productive night too for a TV production crew currently filming a documentary on the astronomer.
Speaking on Ros Fm Radio recently, Dr Ansboro explained that he had co-authored a paper two years ago which “got 150,000 reads by scientists”, showing that there is some form of intelligence behind these orbs.
“We have shown that there is a DNA connection here - it's a living sort of system in itself. It's intelligent. That's all we know,” he explained.
The witnesses to Saturday’s highly unusual occurrence left Boyle intrigued by a possible close encounter of a kind. The only disappointment was that we were too far away from this hovering orb to capture it in on a smartphone camera in dark and wet conditions.
