Citizen Scientists at the best

I attached a episode from a podcast about citizen scientists

Actually, I did not. I can’t seem to find it but it is Ross Couthburt(?) podcast interviewing Tedesco and others about the book, Night Crawler, Eyes on the Sky.

11-01-2024, 12:33 AM

I attached a episode from a podcast about citizen scientists. I ordered the book referenced in that episode, which is called Nightcrawler, Eyes on the Sky. These folks have built an RV from the frame up and packed it with instruments, about 25:two types of radar, a variety of cameras, stuff I cant even tell you what it is. Even several spectroscopy instruments. (Which are something I have wondered about since I was a kid and have even suggested it to the Skinwalker Ranch folks).

It is not just a book to read. It tells what they are doing and why, and how, and has lots of examples. I think it will be more of a handbook. It is very technical.

All that to say, I have thought about this since I was young. There was a place in north Alabama where they were experiencing a saucer flap and there happened to be an old fire tower there. This idea started then.

So, here is my question. Suppose a bunch of broke folks wanted to also collect real data. What kind of instrumentation, devices, could they get for not a lot of money. Tri-field meters, possibly. A compass. Are there handheld or goggle type spectroscopic instruments? Preferably ones that could show the results. Range finders? Hunters use them . Night vision goggles, IR, FLIR, Night vision, Audio recorders, parabolic mics, maybe going down into infra-sound. There’s all kinds of stuff but I know just enough to be dangerous. Cameras? Would film or digital make any difference?

What would you folks use?

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Hello Jim,

Thats awesome! Thanks for the update and the book review. I will keep an eye out for a copy. To answer your question, here are some relatively affordable tools and instruments that could be useful for collecting data on a budget:

  • EMF meters: As you mentioned, tri-field meters can measure electromagnetic fields and are relatively affordable.
  • Geiger counters: These can measure radiation levels, which could be interesting in some contexts.
  • Infrared thermometers: These can measure surface temperatures from a distance and can be used to detect temperature anomalies.
  • Spectrometers: While professional-grade spectrometers can be expensive, there are some DIY spectrometer kits available that can be built relatively cheaply.
  • Night vision cameras: These can be used to capture images and video in low-light conditions.
  • Microphones: High-quality microphones can be used to record sounds, including infrasound.
  • Weather stations: Affordable weather stations can provide data on temperature, humidity, wind speed, and other meteorological variables.

I would love to hear what other suggestions folks may have.

Funny, I was just making a list today of research tools and this list almost duplicates it!

Add. A compass might well react to a UAP. You could also turn it on edge and hopefully get an angle and calculate altitude. I hear a bug detector can also act as a detector.

There are infrasound detectors you can get on your phone.

A laser pointer? Maybe help start an alien invasion. Or just point out things to others.

Are there spectra scopes that can record and give results? Cheaply? In real time?

Parabolic mic?

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I know I am kind of being obsessive on this subject, so forgive me. I started trying to figure out differences with FLIR, thermal imaging or just infrared imaging and night vision. I figured out that, at one level it is very simple. It rapidly becomes monstrously complex. I went for simple. I also included, mostly a repetition of my previous post, some thoughts on instruments we could use but added one that nobody had mentioned.
For a very long time I have been trying to get a handle on the difference between FLIR, Infrared, and Night Vision devices

NIGHT VISION: Night vision collects ambient light even if we are barely able to see it ourselves. It allows us to see in the dark, though it can be tricked by shadows and camouflage. For our purposes here, it is not the most useful tool unless we are looking for non-human biologic entities lurking around us. Though I have been told that by looking up at the sky with them you can see incredible, almost Star Wars like epic battles taking place. That actually seems to be a thing, so I am not being snarky, just a bit skeptical.

FLIR AND THERMAL IMAGING: Thermal imaging is the umbrella that FLIR and infrared imaging fall under.

In short, FLIR is merely one more thermal device. Its name seems to have become synonymous with thermal devices. Much like Xerox or Kleenex, have become both the brand and the item.

So, I will just talk about thermal imaging in general.

All objects absorb energy and reradiate it back into space. This is called black body radiation. We are all familiar with the visible light spectrum, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. (ROYGBIV). The infrared is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that falls just below the visible spectrum.

Thermal or infrared devices are passive, detecting the heat emitted from an object which can be seen if it is warmer than the surroundings. A running car in a snowstorm, easy. A snake, not so much as it takes on the temperature of its surroundings It reads the medium (3–5μm) and longer wavelengths. (8 to 12μm)

How would this relate to us?

If Secret of Skinwalker Ranch has taught us nothing else (and I am continually blown away by it) it is that UAPs seem to have a heat signature, even if they are not always visible to the naked eye. Simply put, that heat could make it stand out like a lighthouse on a lee shore. It could give an idea of the heat of the object. It would be most useful for detection.

OTHER DEVICES:

There are other devices which could be useful after detection.

SPECTROSCOPE: A spectroscope would probably be the next most useful.

Using prisms or Fresnel lenses, the light from a glowing object can be broken into its elements.

Every element has a signature in the visible light spectrum. It will show a pattern of lines that are unique to that element. A combination of elements will show a combination of colored lines. And it takes people a whole lot smarter than me to sort those into coherent results.

BUT! If someone used thermal imaging to catch a UAP, then observed it with a spectroscope the information could prove invaluable as the light emanating could reveal some of the workings of the UAP.

LIGHTFIELD CAMERA: Another device, though not well known, is a Lightfield Camera. Its lens is composed of thousands of smaller lenses. This myriad of lenses gathers ALL the information in the exposure so it can be processed by computer to show more images, more information that was ever available. You can zoom in or out, change focus, get rid of depth of field, whatever you want, and never have the negative effects of a regular camera

The only maker I am aware of that still exists is Lytro.

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM DECTOR: Other devices would include an electromagnetic spectrum detector. The Skinwalker folks us a Trifield Meter, which is only two or three hundred dollars. Also, a Bug Detector can pick up radio signals. A compass could also.

AUDIO: A parabolic mic could be useful, especially if coupled with an infrasound detector. I have one of those as a free app on my smartphone.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS: A Geiger counter might have value and can be had for a very low price. A powerful flashlight beam could be useful for pointing out things. A laser pointer could also. Either action could trigger an alien invasion.

A few questions I have:

Would film or digital camera make a difference. Could one show something that the other could not.

Is there a spectroscope that could capture the light, separate it and give you the results, obviously using a computer or AI. Without spending a million dollars.

Who has found these items that are serviceable at reasonable prices. (I consider 500 dollars to be tops). Or maybe one real expensive thing in your quiver of tools.

“Spectral for pictures” imaging techniques that capture and process information about the wavelengths of light within an image going beyond the traditional red, green, and blue (RGB) bands. This includes multispectral and hyperspectral imaging, which capture multiple bands across the electromagnetic spectrum

Lately Ive been trying to learn similar by converting radiowaves to image or video
these guys know how to transmit that kind of stuff with lasers to

I would be intrested to know which software application can do video spectrals.
other than to maybe break down a videos frames per second where only left with hundreds of individual pictures. Probably a application for that to break down the frames per second.
Might have to convert a file from video to something else for processing in another application

Other than that Probably Hardware recording specific with a application with those functions provided. Hardware specific for breaking down specific recordings captured for spectral.

maybe ask meta a.i A bunch of questions youll find your answers im sure
sounds like convert / demodulate a videos signal first and foremost.