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José Bonilla

Witness
Type
Witness

José A. Y. Bonilla (1853-1920) was a Mexican astronomer, engineer, and astrophotographer who served as Director of the Zacatecas Observatory starting in 1882. Born in 1853 and dying in 1920, he conducted his professional work at the Zacatecas Observatory.

On August 12, 1883, Bonilla photographed over 400 dark objects crossing the face of the sun through a telescope, creating one of the earliest photographic records of unidentified aerial objects. These photographs, which captured hundreds of objects passing in front of the Sun, are among the earliest examples of UFO photography.

His observations were published in L'Astronomie journal in 1886. His work provided significant early documentation in astronomy and UAP photography.