SOBEPS (an acronym for Société belge d'étude des phénomènes spatiaux, "Belgian society for the study of space phenomena") was a
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
investigation group, famed for its investigation of the
black triangle Black triangle may refer to one of the following:
* Black triangle (badge), a Nazi concentration camp badge worn by inmates deemed "asocial"
** LGBT symbols#Triangle badges of Nazi Germany, Lesbian or feminist symbol reclaimed from the Nazi use
* A ...
incidents in Belgium, known as the
Belgian Wave, in 1989 and 1990.
History
The society was formed in 1971 and had 700 registered members before the end of the year. It was hosted in a small office room owned by its general secretary, Lucien Clerebaut, and its main activity was the publication of a magazine, ''Inforespace'', in 1972. Membership rose to 1750 in 1976, and Clerebaut purchased a building in
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
for the society the same year. However, its popularity then started to decline, with a drop in membership down to 500 members in 1985; ''Inforespace'' went from a publication rate of six per year down to only two per year.
But in November 1989, a wave of UFO sightings struck Belgium, bringing the SOBEPS into the mediatic spotlight. It received hundreds of testimonies and collaborated with the
Belgian Air Force
The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...
on a fruitless UFO hunt in April 1990.
Due to financial difficulties, the SOBEPS dissolved on 31 December 2007, and the COBEPS (''Comité Belge pour l’Étude des Phénomènes Spatiaux'' or ''Belgian Committee for the Study of Space Phenomena'') was formed to continue some of the SOBEPS's activities.
Bibliography
* ''Des soucoupes volantes aux OVNI'' (1976), a compilation of articles from ''Inforespace''.
* ''La Chronique des OVNI'' (1977), a history of UFO sightings previous to 1947, by Michel Bougard
* ''Vague d'OVNI sur la Belgique'' (two books, 1991 and 1994), a catalogue of the observations of the Belgian UFO wave of 1989 and 1990.
References and further reading
;Articles criticising the work done by the SOBEPS
* Leclet, R., Maillot, E., Munsch, G., Scornaux, J. & van Utrecht, W. .
* Abrassart, J-M (2010). ''The Beginning of the Belgian UFO wave''
SUNLite, vol. 2, num. 6 p. 21-23.
External links
*
Official website of the COBEPS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobeps
Non-profit organisations based in Belgium
UFO organizations