Case · UFO Afrinews No 16, July 1997
The Saturn-like UAP 'following' Comet Hale-Bopp (Heaven's Gate)
1997 ยท not stated (Internet story; Heaven's Gate cult), United States
Outside the region. Hind reprinted this case from elsewhere; it has a file here but no place on the map.
What was reported
Inside a primer on Comet Hale-Bopp, Hind addresses the Internet story that a Saturn-like UAP was following in the comet's wake. Tragically, she notes, the alleged object contributed to the suicide of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult, who were waiting for a mother ship to collect them and take them to Heaven. The 'spaceship' was eventually shown to be a star that the comet soon left behind, yet some people remain convinced. Hind tells readers flatly that no such UAP exists and that their editors are not conning them; she and Maria Sullivan watched the comet through binoculars from the grounds of her Harare home and saw only a ball of white light with a long luminous tail.
What Hind made of it
Such a UAP does not exist; the object was a star.
Explanation offered
A star which Hale-Bopp soon left behind
In their words
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who were waiting for a mother ship to collect them and take them to Heaven.
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Believe us, such a UFO does not exist, and you are not being conned by your Editors.
Cross references
- Newsweek, 24 March 1997