蘭根堡事件：第二類近距離接觸

這是一個熱門系列中的第七枚硬幣，該系列講述了加拿大一些最迷人的無法解釋現象的故事，從奇怪的目擊到親密接觸。

The Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled the seventh coin in a captivating series that explores some of Canada’s most intriguing tales of unexplained phenomena, ranging from strange sightings to close encounters. For 2024, the coin commemorates the 50th anniversary of the enigmatic Langenburg event, which occurred on the morning of September 1st, 1974.

加拿大皇家造幣廠推出了一系列迷人的硬幣，該系列探索了加拿大一些最有趣的無法解釋現象的故事，從奇怪的目擊到親密接觸。 2024 年，這枚硬幣是為了紀念 1974 年 9 月 1 日上午發生的神秘朗根堡事件 50 週年。

The ‘Langenburg event' arrived towards the end of a golden age for UFO sightings, when reports of seeing physical craft had tapered off. What was especially intriguing about the Langenburg UFO sightings, as many believe they were, is that this encounter left behind physical evidence of large circles in a wheat field. This classifies the sighting as a close encounter of the second kind, which captured the imaginations of countless UFO enthusiasts.

「蘭根堡事件」發生在不明飛行物目擊黃金時代末期，當時有關看到實體飛行器的報道逐漸減少。正如許多人所認為的那樣，蘭根堡不明飛行物目擊事件特別令人感興趣的是，這次遭遇留下了麥田中大圓圈的物理證據。這將這次目擊事件歸類為第二類近距離接觸，激發了無數UFO愛好者的想像。

Edwin Fuhr, a 36-year-old farmer, was swathing his fields near the town of Langenburg, Saskatchewan, when he noticed five highly polished, steel-like objects at the edge of a slough. Upon closer examination, he observed that these unusual saucer-shaped objects were rotating rapidly and hovering just above the ground. He continued to observe them until they suddenly rose up, emitting a strange vapour as they silently disappeared into the sky.

36 歲的農民埃德溫·福爾(Edwin Fuhr) 正在薩斯喀徹溫省朗根堡(Langenburg) 鎮附近的田地裡進行耕種，這時他注意到泥沼邊緣有五個高度拋光的鋼狀物體。經過仔細檢查，他發現這些不尋常的碟形物體正在快速旋轉並懸浮在地面上方。他繼續觀察，直到它們突然升起，散發出奇異的蒸氣，無聲無息地消失在天空中。

Seeing a UFO up close is an incredibly rare experience, as most people just see lights in the sky, but Fuhr got closer. He got off of his tractor for a closer look, but still kept at least 15 feet back. Fuhr backed up and got on his tractor, sitting there for the next 15 minutes watching them hover, too scared to move as if in a trance. All of a sudden, the objects then took off and made no sound as they flew away so fast that they were gone in an instant.

近距離看到不明飛行物是一種極其罕見的經歷，因為大多數人只能看到天空中的燈光，但福爾卻走得更近了。他從拖拉機上下來仔細觀察，但仍保持至少 15 英尺的距離。福爾倒車，上了他的拖拉機，在接下來的 15 分鐘裡坐在那裡看著它們盤旋，嚇得不敢動彈，彷彿處於恍惚狀態。突然，那些東西就起飛了，沒有任何聲音，飛得很快，轉眼間就消失了。

Fuhr waited a few more minutes to make sure they were gone and then walked to the edge of the reservoir where he saw five ring patterns in the field. The grass in the centre of each circle was standing, while the grass surrounding it was flattened in a clockwise circle. With no idea what he had just seen, Fuhr headed home for lunch, but his wife Karen and his parents could tell something was wrong. He explained to his family all he had just seen, the sightings, the objects and how swiftly they disappeared.

福爾又等了幾分鐘，以確保它們已經消失，然後走到水庫邊緣，在那裡他看到田野裡有五個環形圖案。每個圓圈中心的草都是直立的，而周圍的草則順時針方向被壓扁。福爾不知道自己剛剛看到了什麼，就回家吃午飯，但他的妻子凱倫和父母看出出了什麼問題。他向家人解釋了他剛剛看到的一切、目擊事件、物體以及它們消失的速度。

However, the objects hadn’t just vanished without a trace and later that night, it was Fuhr’s brother in law who asked if the local police had fielded any UFO reports.

然而，這些物體並沒有消失得無影無踪，當天晚上晚些時候，福爾的姐夫詢問當地警方是否收到了任何不明飛行物報告。

Ron Morier, then a 27-year-old RCMP constable, received a telephone call at the Langenburg precinct. Being an RCMP officer in small-town in Saskatchewan during the 1970’s he certainly had time to check the incident out. The next day, Morier checked out the markings in Fuhr’s field and saw five circles fit the description of the same five objects Fuhr saw. Morier’s report says the flattened centre portion of the circles was approximately 18 inches. The total diameter of two of the circles was 12 feet, while the other three were 10.5 feet. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police incident report, they left behind “five different distinct circles, caused by something exerting what had to be heavy air or exhaust pressure over the high grass” which was curious enough to warrant serious attention both locally and worldwide.

當時 27 歲的加拿大皇家騎警 Ron Morier 在蘭根堡分局接到一個電話。身為 1970 年代薩斯喀徹溫省小鎮的加拿大皇家騎警警官，他當然有時間去核實這件事。第二天，莫里爾檢查了富爾視野中的標記，發現有五個圓圈符合富爾所看到的五個物體的描述。莫里爾的報告稱，圓的中心部分被壓平後大約為 18 英寸。其中兩個圓圈的總直徑為 12 英尺，另外三個圓圈的總直徑為 10.5 英尺。根據加拿大皇家騎警的事故報告，他們留下了“五個不同的不同圓圈，這些圓圈是由某種東西在高高的草地上施加了沉重的空氣或排氣壓力造成的”，這足以引起當地和全世界的嚴重關切。

Ultimately, Fuhr was the only person at the farm who saw the UFOs and despite how fantastic the story was, Morier could not come up with a reason why this quiet farmer would make it up.

最終，福爾是農場裡唯一看到不明飛行物的人，儘管這個故事多麼精彩，莫里爾卻想不出這個安靜的農夫會編造這個故事的理由。

The extraordinary story was eventually picked up by the media and thousands of people flocked to Fuhr’s farm, but unfortunately the notoriety couldn’t have come at a worse time. It was the harvest season and people were literally getting in the way of the family’s work. Curious tourists, UFO enthusiasts and onlookers from all over were trying to get to the site and take their own photographs. Eventually, Fuhr’s father finally set fire to the grass surrounding the reservoir where the circles were in the hopes of permanently deterring onlookers. Much to the disappointment of the family, this didn’t help because markings were still visible on the ground which Fuhr explained they might have been made by legs stretching out from the UFO’s.

這個非凡的故事最終被媒體報道，成千上萬的人湧向福爾的農場，但不幸的是，這個惡名來得實在是太糟糕了。當時正值收穫季節，人們確實妨礙了家庭的工作。好奇的遊客、不明飛行物愛好者和來自世界各地的旁觀者都試圖前往現場拍攝自己的照片。最終，富爾的父親最終放火燒毀了水庫周圍的草地，希望能永久阻止旁觀者。令家人非常失望的是，這並沒有幫助，因為地面上的標記仍然可見，福爾解釋說這些標記可能是由不明飛行物伸出的腿造成的。

Edwin Fuhr and his wife retired from farming in 1989 and lived a quiet life in a bungalow while still residing in Langenburg.

埃德溫·福爾 (Edwin Fuhr) 和妻子於 1989 年從農場退休，仍然居住在蘭根堡 (Langenburg)，在平房裡過著平靜的生活。

One particularly fond memory during the hectic days of international attention he received was taking a telephone call from the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. During the two-hour conversation, Armstrong told Fuhr that astronauts saw UFOs when travelling through space, but were told not to divulge that to the public, but according to the conversation, Fuhr was convinced that UFO’s were indeed real.

在他受到國際關注的忙碌日子裡，一個特別美好的記憶是接到第一個登上月球的人尼爾阿姆斯壯的電話。在兩個小時的談話中，阿姆斯壯告訴福爾，太空人在太空旅行時看到了不明飛行物，但被告知不要向公眾透露這一點，但根據談話，福爾確信不明飛行物確實是真實的。

The reverse side of these rectangular-shaped coins are designed by Steve Hepburn who presents an artist’s rendition of the well-documented Langenburg Event, which occurred in September 1

這些矩形硬幣的反面由 Steve Hepburn 設計，他以藝術家的方式再現了 9 月 1 日發生的有據可查的朗根堡事件