Witnesses report seeing UFO in Crenshaw County, Ala. on Oct. 20

Today marks the fourth Thursday of the month, so this week I’m giving you an update on UFO reports in Alabama from the previous month, courtesy of the Mutual UFO Network. A search for UFO reports in Alabama between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31 on MUFON’s website, www.mufon.com, resulted in just one report from within our state during that time.

That incident occurred around midnight on Sat., Oct. 20, in Highland Home, which is in Crenshaw County, about 60 road miles from Evergreen. The witness in this case was sitting on the back porch with his wife and daughter-in-law when something very unexpected happened. While the daughter-in-law was seated facing the house, the husband and wife were facing west and were surprised to see an unidentified flying object pass between the house and a wide gap in nearby trees.

This unusual object flew left to right and appeared to be wider than the gap in the trees, the husband said. They continued to watch as the object moved behind some trees and then through another gap in the trees. The husband stood up for a better look, but the strange object was no longer visible.

The man said that the object moved silently, emitting no sound. Whatever the object was, the husband could see a reflection of clouds and sky on its top surface as well as the reflection of the plowed ground beneath it on its bottom. In all, the man only saw the object for about five seconds, but it was clearly visible, he said.

While it may have no bearing on the report above, I think it’s worth noting that early morning hours of Oct. 21 was one of the best times of the year to see the Orionid meteor shower. Stargazers up early that morning could see a number of bright “shooting stars” streaking across the sky. This annual meteor shower typically peaks before dawn.

There was a waxing gibbous moon in the sky that night and it didn’t set until around 4 a.m., so the sky wasn’t totally dark at the time of the incident in Highland Home. For those of you who have witnessed the Orionid meteor shower, you will know that it can be impressive. At its peak, this meteor shower can produce up to 20 “shooting stars” per hour.

Interestingly, the Orionid meteor shower is called such because the “shooting stars” appear to radiate from the northern part of the constellation, Orion the Hunter. From our neck of the woods, if you’re trying to find the Orion constellation in the October sky, look in the sky to the southwest for three stars in a straight line. These three stars make up the hunter’s “belt.”

I think it’s worth pointing out that the Highland Home witness was facing west when he saw something unusual in the sky. Perhaps the incident has something to do with the meteor shower? Then again, maybe it was something altogether different.

Before closing out this week, I just want to put it out there again that I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has witnessed a UFO, especially in Conecuh County. I think a lot of other people would be interested in hearing your story too, and I’m willing to accept your report anonymously.