On August 12, 1883, Mexican astronomer José Bonilla captured what is considered the first known photograph of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). This historical event took place at the Zacatecas Observatory in Mexico, where Bonilla was observing sunspot activity. During his observations, he noticed numerous dark objects crossing the Sun's disk, leading to a series of photographs that sparked curiosity and debate among scientists and the public alike.
Observation
On that August day, Bonilla was conducting routine observations of sunspots. As he monitored the Sun, he noticed over 300 dark, unidentified objects moving across its surface. These objects were not merely fleeting shadows but appeared to travel in a deliberate manner, prompting Bonilla to document them using his camera.
Photographic Evidence
Bonilla used the wet-plate collodion process to capture the objects. This technique, common in the 19th century, required a very short exposure time, typically around 1/100 of a second. Over a period of approximately 48 hours, Bonilla managed to take 447 photographs of these mysterious objects. The images depicted dark spots against the bright backdrop of the Sun, providing a striking visual record of the phenomenon.
Publication and Initial Interpretations
The photographs were published in the French astronomy magazine L'Astronomie on January 1, 1886. The editor, Camille Flammarion, a prominent French astronomer, and physicist, presented the images to the scientific community. Initial reactions varied; some scholars suggested that the objects could be birds or insects passing in front of the telescope's lens. Others proposed that the spots were due to dust particles or camera artifacts. However, the sheer number and uniformity of the objects led many to believe that something more significant was at play.
Modern Analysis
In 2011, researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico revisited Bonilla's photographs. They proposed a new theory that the objects were fragments of a disintegrating comet. According to their analysis, the dark spots could have been the remnants of a comet that had broken apart, with the fragments passing between the Earth and the Sun. This hypothesis was supported by calculations regarding the objects' distances and sizes, suggesting that they were part of a larger astronomical event rather than mundane terrestrial phenomena.
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