Number of words: 371

In our computer modelling of the comets and how they plunge through the atmosphere, we came across a result that we did not advertise. We learnt that water clouds produced by the occasionally large small comets, those that penetrate deep into the atmosphere, would have a peculiar shape. If you look at how these water clouds are formed, how they might become frozen then you can see how someone might go out in full daylight and look at the sky and see a saucer shaped object that looks like it is moving very very rapidly.

Normally, of course, a small comet should not be visible during the day. And at night you should simply see a short streak across the sky. The average small comet does not penetrate deeply enough into the atmosphere. But not all the comets are expected to be of the same size. Some will be large. Of course the larger the size the fewer such comets you would expect to see. But also the larger the size, the deeper into the atmosphere they would fall. If the comet is large, but not large enough to hit the Earth, then as it descends into the cold parts of the atmosphere, 10 to 20 miles above, the hot steam would slow down and perhaps cool sufficiently to condense into ice crystals and become visible. The underside of the water cloud would be shaped like an ablation cone. It would look just like a curved saucer.

Human perception is such that someone seeing the sort of an object would have considerable difficulty judging whether it was located a hundred yards away or 20 miles away. Then as the ice crystals on the surface of the cloud disappeared, the object would appear to diminish and the observer may get the impression that the object was receding at tremendous speeds. This shrinking cloud could then be picked up by the winds producing the illusion that the object had made a sudden sharp turn. My scenario, of course, will not account for the reports of tiny aliens snatching frightened humans from their homes and taking off from pumpkin patches in flying saucers.

Excerpted from pages 87-88 of ‘The Big Splash’ by Louis Frank