The Betz Mystery Sphere of 1974 Revisited

i really have a love/hate relationship with stories like this. they are interesting and intriguing and all but it just baffles me how they can go "missing" for decades on end with no trace at all of where the hell the thing is now?

just seems to much like a hoax. the typical "oh we have this awesome crazy thing we can't explain, but were not going to show it to you anymore"

when in this day and age we would actually have the tech to do something about finding out what it actually is but the people who found it just go off the radar.

reply to post by rayuki


One interesting note is the "final words" publicly made about the Betz Sphere in the media. Dr. James Albert Harder who was a professor emeritus of civil and hydraulic engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, did first-hand analysis and declared it a doomsday device.



According to the OP, the announcement by Dr. Harder was made June 24,1977 during the International UFO Congress in Chicago.

“He [Dr. Harder] asserted, based on his X-ray studies, that the two internal spheres are made of elements far heavier than anything known to science. While the heaviest element yet produced in any atomic reactor here on Earth has an atomic number of 105, and the heaviest element occurring naturally on Earth is uranium, with an atomic number of 92, Harder claims to have determined that the Betz sphere has atomic numbers higher than 140. If one were to drill into the sphere, he asserted, ‘perhaps the masses would go critical’ and explode like an atomic bomb.”

To add to the fear factor now being associated with the sphere, Dr. Harder reportedly went onto say,

“Because of this danger, and because the object is still presumably under surveillance by its supposed alien makers, Harder warned the audience against any attempt to go to Florida to investigate the Betz sphere.”

It appears as if everyone listened and the public investigation ceased.

I can see that message from a Berkeley man ceasing and desisting letting people pick at the thing AND I could see that determination making the sphere a matter of national security and classified. Items and instances have been deemed a matter of national security for what would seem far less justification haven't they?

Perhaps not though. Perhaps, and we could still hope, that Terry and Gerri or other relatives will learn of the renewed interest and once again share this for "careful" analysis and the doomsday device was a mistake the professor made. Again, more sources are necessary to confirm this is what Dr. Harder actually said.

What seems doubly odd though is that Dr. Harder, according to Wikipedia, was also deeply into UFO investigation as an academic and in the Betz instance he calls for the investigation to stop..."danger, Will Robinson, danger," type warning. Many on ATS may have already heard of him in context with other cases.

Dr. Harder was perhaps best known as a prominent UFO researcher who has studied the subject for over 50 years, first becoming interested in 1952. He was Director of Research for the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) from 1969-1982. APRO was one of the first civilian organizations to study the UFO phenomenon. When the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics held hearings on UFOs in 1968, he was one of six scientists asked to testify on UFOs before the committee. In a 1998 interview, Harder said the subject was generally treated with disdain by the scientific community, but he was still one of about 300 academics who were actively investigating the phenomenon.

Harder was the primary investigator on a number of classical UFO cases, mainly related to alien abductions, including the 1973 Pascagoula Abduction and the 1975 Travis Walton case. He also took over the Betty and Barney Hill abduction investigation and continued it for many years. According to Harder, in about 95% of abduction cases he's studied, abductees report the encounter as positive, benevolent, and/or enlightening. He also investigated the claims of legendary CIA remote viewer Pat Price (who allegedly died under suspicious circumstances in 1975). Based on his remote viewing, Price believed aliens had underground bases at four locations on Earth.

Wikipedia

I haven't found any sources yet that claim definitively this sphere has been debunked and was a hoax and all these people fell for it. Nor anything saying the doomsday device prognosis was a mistake the professor made and giving the all clear. The public trail at least for this sphere ends from the time of this announcement, according to OP's source.

You have to admit to at least a slight "fragrance de cover-up," given the "final words."



It's an interesting tale and appears to still be an unsolved mystery...*reaches up and administers a slight adjustment to straighten my tin foil hat.*

Now, the Black Knight satellite...yes if anyone can point to confirmation or debunking sounces on that tale...please do share. I've read about this mysterious satellite before, but that trail seems to have been circular and confusing, last time I looked.

Enjoying the read. Thanks all.

Peace

Originally posted by unknownusername
reply to post by Rubicant13

 

After reading the article @ Mysterious Universe I wonder where the sphere is today? After reading the descriptions in the article; it seemed that the sphere had characteristics similar to a gyrosphere. Who's gyrosphere?

To be honest I think the topic is fascinating but when the object disappears and nothing can be found I loose interest. That is why I think things like Lloyd Pye's "Starchild" is important because he has it in his possession and continual testing can be made. Just like mars artifacts, things will keep coming out.

Though this is an incredible topic, again my interests wains when contact with the object is lost.
But I think it is of monumental importance that we get updates of new information about it !

reply to post by Rubicant13


Very interesting. You may be onto something there. Appreciate the link, Thank you.

I believe that these people who found this thing eventually sold it and were paid a generous sum by top secret government officials under the condition that they remain silent and never again discuss the subject. ~$heopleNation

I'm pretty sure that it came out that this was part of a check valve for a POL company somewhere. Definitely an interesting story. It's been several years since I last read of it.

reply to post by _Del_


Nice, but strange theory. It has not been explained. I can't see a check valve in any way acting as how this ball was reported to have. I have scoured the internet. If it was solved, I would have found it.

Sorry if it's been posted but I thought these were some good pics. (sorry I don't know how to post the actual pic into my thread)







From reading the entire story the OP posted, I don't see how it could be part of a check valve. They needed extra strong X-Rays to see inside it and there were two other objects inside, there were no markings, seams or weld spots on the outside of the object, only the strange triangle symbol (do we have a picture of that anywhere?). Also, a manmade part doesn't roll back to the person who rolled it, it doesn't roll in place when you tilt the table (as mentioned in the original article) and it doesn't give off microwaves or strange organ music. I'm calling this authentic. I just wish someone could get in contact with some of the Betz's to see what the status of this is or if they can recount the tale for us. Maybe Coast to Coast could try and contact them.

Back in 1974 I was a mere lad of 16 years old. I had been into UFO's and Paranormal for some time and in one of the many books I read there was a sentence to the effect of "For further information write ......"

I took that to heart and started writing NASA and several authors when I wanted more info.

Regarding the Black Night satellite I had just gotten a telescope when I first read about it and figured that I'd have a look-see for this object. I don't recall the book I read or the exact year.
Anyway - I wrote the author of the book and asked for more information about this "satellite which no nation had sent up and which had several nations baffled and on high alert."

I did receive a letter back, but it only stated that there were no information of position or path.

Nowhere I searched could I find any information on where to look in the night sky.

And suddenly it wasn't mentioned anymore - anywhere.

My conclusion then was that too many astronomers and amateurs looked for it and it became embarrasing to continue to claim it's existence.

And then it turned up again. But now it was either retreived by USA or USSR. Or it was downed by same. Or it was recalled by the venusians.

reply to post by DrZrD


..."the MUFON story reports Mrs. Betz told MUFON Director Walt Andrus the sphere has 3 or 4 smaller spheres inside with its north and south magnetic poles separated by 150 degrees while the MU story reports the Navy x-ray images showed 2 round objects inside and that it had 4 magnetic poles, 2 positive and 2 negative (+ & - v.s. N & S ??). ..."

The above text stated in an EARLIER POST does give SOME CLUE as
to the Betz sphere's possible Earthly Origins. It's sounds like a 3 or 4 axis
Gyroscope used to STABILIZE satellites or the CAMERAS they're carrying
along the X, Y and Z axis! This allows SPY satellites or SPY AIRCRAFT
to point their long lenses to a specific direction and location AND to
stabilize any oscillations which may occur during orbit or air-based flight.

Rotating spheres spinning on a fixed axis within a larger sphere will PREVENT
motion jitter, roll, yaw and pitch of the object to which the outer sphere would
be attached to. The thick stainless steel makes sense since the internal spheres
would be rotating anywhere from 15,000 RPM to over 60,000 RPM (OR MORE!)
A thick walled layer of steel would prevent catastrophic shell failure and thus
protect the EXPENSIVE camera gear.

The magnetization indicates to me a sort of Internal Navigation System used for
determining orientation...basically a MUCH LARGER version of the MEMS based
3D-axis orientation sensor used in today's iPhones and iPads to determine the
current plane of orientation and acceleration.

This is possibly a U2 or SR-71 Spyplane camera stabilizer...OR.. it could be from one
of the Corona KH series (Key Hole) or MIDAS satellites from the 1960's or 1970's.

See Link (Corona):
en.wikipedia.org...

Hexagon Satellite:
en.wikipedia.org...

OR It may have been from a SECRET version of a fully active
USAF orbiting manned laboratory system:
en.wikipedia.org...

and because it WAS the Cold War back then
it could have been from a Soviet Zenit-type spy sat:

en.wikipedia.org...

...BUT...based upon the TYPE of steel used and the TIME FRAME
only the Office of Special Activities would have had access to that
sort of steel machining tech at the time:

en.wikipedia.org...

and of course Lockheed ( Now Lockheed Martin) who did make
the SR-71 and U2 spy planes that used SOME of that particular steel grade!

So it's a possible multi-axis camera stabilizing gyroscope in my opinion
BUT I am also open to OTHER EXPLANATIONS!

reply to post by StargateSG7


AND to add ONE MORE Possibility, during this time the Soviet Union
and the USA were testing new methods and type of steel construction
for submarines and TEST systems for explosive reaction compression
testing which necessitated the building of BOTH HUGE (greater than 20 feet)
SPHERES that could FULLY CONTAIN an interior explosion!

For small spheres, they made 1 to 3 foot stainless or other tensile steels
which could withstand the force of an interior explosion. After a test, the
spheres would be cut open and the metals TESTED for fatigue and other
pressure vessel deformation characteristics.

Sometimes, sensitive instruments enclosed WITHIN their OWN
tough spheres would be embedded into the larger sphere which
then recorded various test data. Those SMALLER spheres MAY
have just been used as a protective vessel for sensitive instruments
during an explosion test.

The Soviet Union created HUGE SPHERES 20 feet in diameter or more
with 8 feet thick OR MORE steel walls testing REALLY POWERFUL
internal explosions. They had to be welded together in SLICES much
like a cut watermelon. This allowed the Soviets to model the
compression effects of high explosives which furthered their research
into "Explosive Lensing" used to compress and ignite the fuel in
a nuclear bomb.

Nowadays, we hook together grids of workstations and supercomputer
to create grid processing networks for particle and fluid dynamics simulations
which can model these types of tests in much more repeatable and SAFER fashion.

I just thought I'd let you in on another Cold War tidbit!

I dont think this was posted yet

page 41 palm beach sentinel "mysterious sphere awaits UFO panel"

page 15 waycross herald "sphere due for more tests"

Navy makes claim to mystery sphere

It appears 2 were found. Most likely human made and from an industrial plant.

Mystery of second sphere solved

Mysterious sphere just a steel ball

mystery sphere belongs to nasa - seperate incident in same time and location

Family quiet about mystery sphere - still think it's from a UFO

reply to post by VonDoomen


Very nice find. I have been trying to track down the Betz family for the past few weeks due to the curiosity of where the sphere may be now. I haven't had any luck thus far.

reply to post by Rubicant13


I would check with the county offices and see if you can peruse their census data. Find out if there are kids or cousins that are traceable

reply to post by VonDoomen


I have been trying website searches like crazy. I can't seem to get a lock on the Betz family. I am going to keep trying.

reply to post by Rubicant13


I dont want to crush your hopes, but a couple of the link i posted above stated that the object were determined to be parts from industrial machinery.

reply to post by VonDoomen


They do not say definitively that the two are the same. It's an impossible feat (at least by what I have seen) to create a metal sphere that is hollow by what I have worked with in metal fabrication, especially without weld seams. I just want to find these people to see if they still have it.

reply to post by VonDoomen


And on one of the original article links, it was stated that one of the
spheres contained a gyroscope, which is what I thought once I heard
about the THREE INTERIOR spheres and magnetization which is typical
of INS (Inertial Navigation) type gear and orientation/stabilization systems.

One of the OTHER spheres SEEMED to be a check valve for a pipeline.

OTHER found spheres at various time have been found:

See this one:
news.blogs.cnn.com...

which is a Titanium rocket fuel tank..


or this one:

rense.com...

which was originally thought to be debris from the destroyed
Space Shuttle Columbia but SEEMS to be have been re-stated
as being a hollow ball used to CLEAN large oil pipelines
i.e. spinning or floating through the pipe to get rid
of scaling and algae-like oil scum.

If you want MORE STRANGE ARTIFACTS try here:
en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by Rubicant13
reply to post by VonDoomen

 

They do not say definitively that the two are the same. It's an impossible feat (at least by what I have seen) to create a metal sphere that is hollow by what I have worked with in metal fabrication, especially without weld seams. I just want to find these people to see if they still have it.

====
YES SEAMLESS MANUFACTURING of hollow structures CAN BE DONE TODAY!

Try these links if you want to see SEAMLESS 3D manufacturing:

Electron Beam 3D Printing:
en.wikipedia.org...

Titanium 3D printing:
blog.netfabb.com...


Youtube video of Electron Beam and Power Laser Sintering of metals: (from ARCAM)
www.youtube.com...

and

Build a bicycle with a 3D printer:
www.youtube.com...

with 3D printers you can build ANY SHAPE, even hollow ones!!!!!!

reply to post by StargateSG7


The first two links you posted have been found to be fuel tanks of off of rockets or planes and are larger with man made weld seams.

Originally posted by Rubicant13
reply to post by StargateSG7

 

The first two links you posted have been found to be fuel tanks of off of rockets or planes and are larger with man made weld seams.

The first link I posted IS a titanium fuel tank...it's the SECOND link that has some doubt attached to it
because ORIGINALLY it was said to be part of the Columbia Space Shuttle maneuvering thruster fuel tanks
...BUT... later on some oil engineers said it was a cleaning ball used for LARGE DIAMETER oil pipelines.
I have no other info on WHICH it TRULY was.