LENTICULAR CLOUD IN MALAYSIA
By Ahmad Jamaludin
On June 6, 1982 a local newspaper carried on its front page a photograph of an anomalous bright object. The short account accompanying it reads as follows:
This UFO is still a mystery no one can explain. In Raub’s Chung Ching School, one teacher, Heng Chiang Teck, sighted a bright circular object in the sky while in the school field. He has heard about UFOs and thought it could be what people call a flying saucer. He was carrying a camera at the time and took a photograph of it. He was leading a group of scouts camping in the field at that time. The object remained in view for 1 minute before disappearing.
The author wrote to the teacher for further details of the sightings and received 2 copies of the color prints of the strange thing. The photo was taken at about 6.15 p.m. on August 30, 1981. The place was in Raub in Central Malaysia. The UFO was described as saucer-shaped and very bright. It remained stationary for about 6 seconds and then disappeared. Camera type was Yashica FX3 using Sakuracolor 135 ASA 100. Shutter speed was 1/125. Weather condition was described as fine.
From the photograph (see photo), the "UFO" is quite typical of what is known as a lenticular cloud. The brightness is due to the setting sun. Its stationary nature and situated right above the cloud makes it more obvious that it was just a cloud. If there had been no cloud, such as over the desert, the sighting may pass as a genuine UFO.
About 3 weeks before this photo was taken, on August 7, 1981 at Scudai in Southern Malaysia a brightly lit object was seen descending from the sky at 8.30 p.m. The sighting was reported to the author and the details are as follows: There were 4 witnesses, one adult and 3 children. They were sitting outside the house talking when their attention was drawn to a strange light. As they watched, the light started to get closer and bigger until at about 500 feet, a saucer-shaped object could be made out. It was described as dark in color and was rotating. The bright light was coming from what appeared to be windows. A bright beam-type of light was also coming out from its base. After 3-5 minutes the UFO ascended rapidly and was lost from sight.
There were two other sightings of anomalous lights in the sky for 1981. These are not of much value as they involve a small moving light following a straight course. The closing event for 1981 was the UFO sighting near Seremban. It was sighted in early November at about 10 p.m. by several drivers along the Seremban-Kuala Lumpur Highway. It was described as diamond-shaped, giving out red, yellow, and blue lights. The center of the object was white in color. The object was reported to be moving very fast.
Ground Saucer Watch analysis report on Malaysia photo, Nov. 21, 1982, by W.H. Spaulding:
The subject photograph was briefly analyzed using computer enhancement techniques. The brightness of the tenuous image is due to the backlighting angle of the sun and the nearly-elliptical shape is typical for lenticular clouds ( double convex shaped ).
The edges of the image are comparable to features on the other clouds in the photo. There is no evidence that the image is structured nor that it represents an extraordinary flying object.