Nancy amaranth case
A biologist watched an ovoid object hover over his garden for 20 minutes, after which nearby plants were found dehydrated.
1982 CE · 48.69, 6.18 · status: unexplained
The account
On 21 October 1982 the object hovered about a metre above the lawn and the grass under it stood up as it rose. GEPAN analysed samples of amaranth plants and found them dehydrated but with no radiation; it is one of the agency's best-known trace cases.
The sceptical view
Skeptical reviewers question whether the plant changes were linked to the reported object.
The researched reading
A careful witness and measured plant changes make this a respectable trace case, but it rests on one person and a few plants. An open verdict with a real anomalous share is fair.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Genuinely anomalous | 28% | GEPAN’s technical note measured dehydration and pigment changes near where the object hovered, and the witness reported the sighting promptly. |
| Something known, misidentified | 14% | A small object hovering low in a garden could be a toy, balloon or kite; one witness at close range cannot always judge size. |
| Undetermined | 13% | The share the reading had given to fabrication on doubt rather than evidence: the record does not settle it either way. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 12% | A rare electrical or plasma phenomenon could both glow and affect plants. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 12% | Expectation can shape the reading of a short-lived oddity, though the witness was a trained biologist. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 10% | Amaranth leaves dry quickly in an October cold snap or after handling; changes in a few plants need careful controls. |
| Secret human technology | 6% | Unlikely in a suburban garden. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 5% | A single witness with expertise in plant physiology could in principle stage results; there is no evidence he did. |
Official position: GEPAN investigated (Technical Note 17) and recorded measurable effects on the plants, leaving the object unidentified.