Analysis of a White Fibrous Material Observed Floating from the Sky in The California Sierras (November 9, 2001)

Background

Following is the background regarding a white fibrous material observed floating from the sky. It is in Ed Gehrman’s words.

“I was driving from Quincy CA (hwy 70) in the northern Sierras to my daughter’s home in Ukiah.

A few minutes before 3:00 p.m. (11-9-01), I began to notice cobweb-like filaments floating in the air around me. I immediately began to realize that the air was full of this strange material. Some of the strands were as long as twelve feet and seemed quite large while in the air, but when they landed, they seemed to come together and lose mass. Some of the material landed on my car and attached itself to the antenna.

But then I noticed the most amazing thing. The long filaments were swinging in the air a good nine feet behind my car and would not come off the antenna, even at speeds of 70 mph. All this took place between Butte City (hwy 162), 15 miles as the crow flies, through Princeton, then west again to I-5, then continues down I-5 until Williams and then on for two miles west of Williams on hwy 20.”

This event is typical of other, similar phenomena which have been observed in the past and designated by many as “angel hair falls”. Two samples were submitted: one from the truck mirror; and the other from a rest stop. (See sample description in procedure section.) The object is to identify this material in order to elucidate its source.

Conclusions

1) The truck mirror “angel hair” appears primarily as bundles of fine strands combined in rope-like fashion. Some single fine strands are also observed. These have very fine droplets adhering to the surface. The strands are identified as a polymer containing secondary protein amide linkages typical of a protein structure. It is probable that a biological source is involved in its manufacture. However, at this point the specific source remains unidentified. The spectral data are close to that of silk made by caterpillars.

2) The rest stop sample is similar in appearance to the truck mirror sample. However, it is composed of at least three components. Prominent is the same protein type strands identified in the mirror sample. Some celluloidal material is also present, i.e. plant derived material such as cotton, paper, wood etc. This component is speculated to be contamination picked up by the sticky protein “angel hair”. Additionally, a small amount of ester, which could be a natural ester, is detected.

3) The protein fibrous material compares to that from “angel hair” falls in Los Gatos, California (October 19-20, 1977), Shenandoah, Iowa (October 4, 1981), Sacramento, California (November 11, 1999), and Burlington, West Virginia (September 19, 2000) which were also analyzed by this laboratory.

4) It should be noted that the suggestion the material is from a biological origin does not rule out a possible “intelligent” influence. The “jury is still out” on the specific source of this material until further research is completed.

The Analysis

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Originating Organization: Phyllis Budinger


angel hair, Phyllis Budinger Collection, trace evidence