Zacatecas Observatory - Mexico

08:00 hrs (local), 12 August 1883

Zacatecas Observatory's boss, leading astronomer Jose Bonilla and an assistant were preparing to study the Sun's corona when he saw distant objects crossing his field of view.

During the next 36 hours the two worked continuously (through daylight hours when Sun was visible) to record the transits of those "disks" across the solar face, using the Observatory's new camera equipment.

One of Bonilla's images First UFO Photos

Early on, they counted 283 of the `craft' in two hours, but, due to the bulky photographic plates' awkward set-ups and removals, they must have seen less than the true total `flying past' during their vigil. In total they observed the passage of 447 disks.

Bonilla said some craft showed as almost perfectly circular shadows when seen silhouetted against the Sun, that they [often] traveled side by side in pairs, and [often] in groups of up to 20, and that they moved across the Sun's face in a perfectly straight line, from West to East - ie. from right to left.

As an astronomer Bonilla was well qualified to mathematically work out their direction of motion and angular `speed', and his equipment had sufficently precise focussing for him to estimate their distance - he is reported at first as saying "not more than 300,000 kms" ie. approx 3/4s of the distance to the Moon

His report later said they were about 242,000 kms away - approx. two thirds of the Moon's average distance. But there is no reported statement as to their trajectory. Ie. were they departing - or approaching - the Earth / Moon system?

Below - a translation of report (seems that UFO = OVNI in Portuguese)
Below that - some calculations and a thought or two.

http://www.acasicos.com/html/a1foto.htm

Auto-translated from Portuguese (Beta)

1ª known Photo OVNI

12 of August of 1883, Zacatecas (Mexico), Jose Bonilla, astronomer, studied the Sun in the astroroof of the city where he was managing, when for its surprise (at the time it was not said in OVNIs), it identified a series of spots that crossed the solar record in line total straight line, to a distance which the astronomer calculated to be not superior the 300,000 km. In other words, these objects were to a distance long-distance equivalent of the Land to the Moon.

Bonilla immediately photographed enigmatic objects. Until test in contrast, those had been the first OVNIs photographs of that if it has register. The comment, according to Bonilla, lasted one day and part of the following day. Also according to it: "those objects passed of two in two over the solar record".

None of the eminent scientists of the time took the serious one when the astronomer took the public its sensational discovery. Discouraged, Jose Bonilla sent the photos to the L'Astronomie (reviewed of popular astronomy, metereologia and physics of the globe), of Paris, that considered them good and it published them in pages 347 of volume and 1885.

The same Bonilla writes in the L'Astronomie, published for Camille Flammarión: - "... In 12 of August of 1883, to 8:00h, I started to extract points of the Sun when, suddenly, I observed a small shining object that penetrated in the field of the telescope, being marked in the paper that I used to designate the points. It crossed the solar record and it was projected as an almost circular shade. When it was finishing to recoup me of the surprise, the same phenomenon was happened again in one such frequency that, during two hours, I was capable to count to 283 objects crossing the face of the Sun."

Bonilla and its assistant had registered 331 "objects" in related the 12 of August and 116 in the following day with a 447 total of OVNIs. The covered trajectory was of west to the east, with greater or south minor northward inclination or of the solar record.

- "As frequently I took off photographs of the Sun when its record showed to points and ' faculae ' (luminous regions of the fotosfera of the Sun, seen very easily close to its edges), to decide to photograph also this rare and interesting phenomenon of the ticket of the bodies through the Sun. With this objective I substituted, in the exactly equatorial one, the lens of 16 cm for another one of the same intensity, with a chemical focus (appropriate for the photographic work), and the ocular one for a camera. After some attempts adjusting the equipment, I obtained to take off some photos, having sent for the most interesting L'Astronomie. While I took off these photographs, an assistant counted the bodies with the equatorial finder of the telescope. The photograph was taken off using a humid plate with a time of exposition of 1/100 of second. This speed did not allow me to study and conveniently to prepare the banns and, moreover, the negative had of being a little colored by the revealer. The focus is not total in the Sun but yes in the body, that was more interesting in this occasion."

Jose Bonilla considered that in accordance with its calculations, those baffling "flotillas", which passed before the Sun in formations of 15 the 20 objects, could sail to a distance esteem of 242.000Km of the Land.

See also "1883" mention at

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/5924/

Orrery picture of Solar System on 12 August 1883

`Perceptions' calculations - using John Walker's on-line ORRERY for this image.
(Earth is seen at lower right, a blue circle with a white cross)
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On 12 August 1883 the Moon was at `first quarter' - that is, to the left of the Sun, distance: about 400,000 km from Earth.

Mars, Saturn & Neptune were to the right of the Sun (Mercury & Venus were respectively to the left and on far side of Sun).

`Fleet' was observed moving in plane of ecliptic, in line with the planets, across the Solar System.

The `disks' were seen to travel across the face of the Sun, moving to the left.

Therefore, if `fleet' was at distance of 240,000 to 250,000 km, it could have been traveling from Earth to the Moon -

- or, more likely, from the direction of Mars / Saturn / Neptune towards the Moon - Earth system; possibly to pass between them for night-side landings on either, or both.

a thought or two

Nineteenth century observatory chiefs were more independent scientists, being relatively unworried by national authority or Press comment, due to slow communications, relative isolation etc.

But now the dead hand of gov't bigotry intervenes in all science, not just in the funding but in results. The effects of bureaucratic and political intervention, bias and censorship have been growing through 20th century, as we have seen -

from western POV we've accused totalitarian countries of suppressing news of natural disasters, censored because the rulers felt it made them look helpless. D'you think that same psychology applies to our own "rulers" - increasingly using totalitarian tactics?

Are modern astronomy-chiefs gagged, legally & officially, by government?