alot of information here, but I think it could be an interesting subject for a thread.
Heres some background information on "U.F.O.'s"...
A UFO or unidentified flying object in the original, literal sense is any airborne object or optical phenomenon, detected visually or by radar, whose nature is not readily known.
Perhaps the best scientifically accepted definition of :
"A UFO is the reported perception of an object or light seen in the sky or upon the land the appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminescent behaviour of which do not suggest a logical, conventional explanation and which is not only mystifying to the original percipients but remains unidentified after close scrutiny of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making a common sense identification, if one is possible."
Typical reported characteristics of UFOs
* Saucer, toy-top, or disk-shaped "craft" without visible or audible propulsion. (day and night)
* Rapidly-moving lights or lights with apparent ability to rapidly change direction — the earliest mention of their motion was given as "saucers skipping on water."
Disc-shaped craft are sometimes reported to move in an irregular or "wobbly"manner at low speeds.
* Large triangular "craft" or triangular light pattern
* Cigar-shaped "craft" with lighted windows (Meteor fireballs are sometimes reported this way).
Popular ideas for explaining UFOs
Depending on who is doing the evaluation, between about 3% and 30% of all cases remain unexplained.
The remaining residue of unexplained UFO sightings constitute a debate on their ultimate origin.
Some of the more popular hypotheses for explaining UFOs are:
* The Extraterrestrial Visitation Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_hypothesis
* The Paranormal/Occult Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal_and_occult_hypotheses_about_UFOs
* The Interdimensional Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdimensional_hypothesis
* The Psychological-Social Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosocial_Hypothesis
* The Natural Explanation Hypothesis, e.g. ball lightning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning
* The Earthlights/Tectonic Stress Hypothesis
No Link
* The Man-made Craft Hypothesis (see Military flying saucers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_flying_saucers
* More than one explanation--various combinations of the above
List of major UFO sightings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_major_UFO_sightings
The number of different shapes, sizes, and configurations of claimed UFOs has been large, with descriptions of chevrons, equilateral triangles, spheres, domes, diamonds, shapeless black masses, eggs, and cylinders.
Skeptics argue this diversity of shapes, size and configurations points to a socio-psychological explanation.
Other researchers argue that the large diversity of UFO shapes points to a possible paraphysical origin.
Still others argue that there is a large diversity in the shapes and sizes of human flying craft, reflecting different origins, propulsion systems, and purposes, so such diversity in UFOs is not necessarily unexpected or inexplicable.
Another argument is that the true underlying shape may, in some cases, be concealed or distorted by the ionization of air around the objects, believed by some researcher advocates, such as NASA engineers Paul Hill and James McCampbell, to be a characteristic of the propulsion system.
Air ionization could also partly explain the diversity of colors reported, as different air molecules are excited at different energy levels, as well as the electric, neon-like glow around the objects often reported, similar to what happens with polar auroras.
Another view is that the shape may be concealed or distorted by space-time distortions arising from an anti-gravity propulsion system. However, some feel that such speculation is overly premature because the very actuality of UFOs as alien craft is itself problematic.
Evidence and explanations
Some feel that UFO study is still a worthwhile topic because of open questions, especially due to occasional reports of UFOs from professional or military astronomers or pilots - individuals whose careers, and often their very lives, rely on their ability to recognize and assess aircraft, weather conditions, distances, and other factors vital to flight.
Some Ufologists argue such cases are more difficult to dismiss as misidentification of mundane objects. Gordon Cooper and Edgar Mitchell are two NASA astronauts who have expressed an interest in UFOs, and both have decried what they consider the biased attitudes of some professionals; Cooper claims to have seen UFOs in the early 1950s.
Skeptics and ufologists both agree that the vast majority of cases can be explained as natural phenomena, usually misidentification of objects that viewers are either unfamiliar with or see in unusual conditions. These turn out to be honest mistakes. Only a few percent of sightings have been actual hoaxes.
After investigation, most UFOs actually become IFOs -- Identified Flying Objects. However, a small residual, from 3% to 30% depending on who is doing the counting, remain unexplained.
The 1950s Battelle Memorial Institute statistical study, commissioned by Project Blue Book, found that it was actually the better cases with the better witnesses and evidence that tended to defy explanation.
Their percentage of unexplained cases out of 3200 studied was 22%, which went up to 35% for the best cases.
...
On the other hand, many still inexplicable cases are either ignored by the media or, if a purported skeptic offers an explanation that fails to fit the facts (e.g., Zig-zagging formation of lights and confirmed by radar are blamed on misinterpreting 'Jupiter'), it is often taken up by the press and the case is closed, as far as the media is concerned.
It is sometimes said that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", but many pro-research groups only claim that the topic deserves further investigation, not that UFOs are necessarily alien craft.
The threshold of evidence for further investigation is lower than that for a conclusion about the nature of UFOs.
Skeptics say there are indeed genuine sightings of strange flying objects, which are usually logically explained, that no physical evidence of an alien spacecraft has ever been produced, and that many claims have been proven as fraudulent.
They also note that the burden of proof lies with whomever makes a claim....
...Supporters also often argue that the subject is prejudiced by ridicule and stigma, (Kaku agrees with this; in the article cited above he writes that
Majestic 12:
Majestic-12 (sometimes written simply as MJ-12 or MJ-XII) is the codename of a secret committee presumed to have been formed in 1947 at the direction of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, in order to investigate UFO activity.
This alleged committee is an important part of the UFO conspiracy theory.
The existence of MJ-12 has been denied by the United States government, which insists that documents suggesting its existence are hoaxed.
The FBI investigated the documents, and concluded they were forgeries. Opinions among UFO researchers and enthusiasts are divided: Some argue the documents may be genuine, others contend they are phony, due primarily to errors in formatting and chronology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic_12
UFO conspiracy theory:
The UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many conspiracy theories in which it is suggested that major world governments (particularly the United States government) have proof that UFOs are the result of alien visitation, but are suppressing this information either for nefarious purposes and/or out of the belief that mankind is unprepared to deal with the psychological, social, or theological implications of such a reality.
Such theories often incorporate the idea that governments are in fact in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrials. Some of these theories claim that the government is explicitly allowing alien abduction in exchange for technology.
In fact, the United States' government has demonstrated a sometimes keen interest in UFO reports, but has also typically been reluctant to admit this or to discuss their opinions or findings.
Some high-ranking military officials have reported that the military's private views of UFOs were very different from their public statements on the subject: In a signed statement to the United States Congress (also reported in the New York Times), dated February 28, 1960, former CIA Director Vice Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter stated,
The Brookings Report is a genuine study commissioned by the U.S. government, which suggested that evidence of extraterrestrials might prove disruptive to human society; this study has led to speculation that government agencies might cover up evidence of extraterrestrials, whether on Earth or elsewhere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_conspiracy_theory
U.F.O. Photos
http://spacejay.com/Evidence/Ufo-Fo.../icmag.com/ic/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=8#
Upload Pics
U.F.O. Videos
http://video.raelian.com/
Black Triangles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_triangles
"Alien Beings?"
Suspecting there was more to the Roswell story, Popular Mechanics undertook its own investigation to learn if anything new had emerged in this 50-year-old techno-mystery. After interviewing witnesses who had seen and handled crash-site debris, and reviewing documents that were still classified when the GAO undertook its investigation, we have concluded that there really was a crashed disc, dead bodies and a secret that could have been politically deadly to presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/1282456.html?page=1&c=y
Heres some background information on "U.F.O.'s"...
A UFO or unidentified flying object in the original, literal sense is any airborne object or optical phenomenon, detected visually or by radar, whose nature is not readily known.
Perhaps the best scientifically accepted definition of :
"A UFO is the reported perception of an object or light seen in the sky or upon the land the appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminescent behaviour of which do not suggest a logical, conventional explanation and which is not only mystifying to the original percipients but remains unidentified after close scrutiny of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making a common sense identification, if one is possible."
Typical reported characteristics of UFOs
* Saucer, toy-top, or disk-shaped "craft" without visible or audible propulsion. (day and night)
* Rapidly-moving lights or lights with apparent ability to rapidly change direction — the earliest mention of their motion was given as "saucers skipping on water."
Disc-shaped craft are sometimes reported to move in an irregular or "wobbly"manner at low speeds.
* Large triangular "craft" or triangular light pattern
* Cigar-shaped "craft" with lighted windows (Meteor fireballs are sometimes reported this way).
Popular ideas for explaining UFOs
Depending on who is doing the evaluation, between about 3% and 30% of all cases remain unexplained.
The remaining residue of unexplained UFO sightings constitute a debate on their ultimate origin.
Some of the more popular hypotheses for explaining UFOs are:
* The Extraterrestrial Visitation Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_hypothesis
* The Paranormal/Occult Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal_and_occult_hypotheses_about_UFOs
* The Interdimensional Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdimensional_hypothesis
* The Psychological-Social Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosocial_Hypothesis
* The Natural Explanation Hypothesis, e.g. ball lightning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning
* The Earthlights/Tectonic Stress Hypothesis
No Link
* The Man-made Craft Hypothesis (see Military flying saucers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_flying_saucers
* More than one explanation--various combinations of the above
List of major UFO sightings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_major_UFO_sightings
The number of different shapes, sizes, and configurations of claimed UFOs has been large, with descriptions of chevrons, equilateral triangles, spheres, domes, diamonds, shapeless black masses, eggs, and cylinders.
Skeptics argue this diversity of shapes, size and configurations points to a socio-psychological explanation.
Other researchers argue that the large diversity of UFO shapes points to a possible paraphysical origin.
Still others argue that there is a large diversity in the shapes and sizes of human flying craft, reflecting different origins, propulsion systems, and purposes, so such diversity in UFOs is not necessarily unexpected or inexplicable.
Another argument is that the true underlying shape may, in some cases, be concealed or distorted by the ionization of air around the objects, believed by some researcher advocates, such as NASA engineers Paul Hill and James McCampbell, to be a characteristic of the propulsion system.
Air ionization could also partly explain the diversity of colors reported, as different air molecules are excited at different energy levels, as well as the electric, neon-like glow around the objects often reported, similar to what happens with polar auroras.
Another view is that the shape may be concealed or distorted by space-time distortions arising from an anti-gravity propulsion system. However, some feel that such speculation is overly premature because the very actuality of UFOs as alien craft is itself problematic.
Evidence and explanations
Some feel that UFO study is still a worthwhile topic because of open questions, especially due to occasional reports of UFOs from professional or military astronomers or pilots - individuals whose careers, and often their very lives, rely on their ability to recognize and assess aircraft, weather conditions, distances, and other factors vital to flight.
Some Ufologists argue such cases are more difficult to dismiss as misidentification of mundane objects. Gordon Cooper and Edgar Mitchell are two NASA astronauts who have expressed an interest in UFOs, and both have decried what they consider the biased attitudes of some professionals; Cooper claims to have seen UFOs in the early 1950s.
Skeptics and ufologists both agree that the vast majority of cases can be explained as natural phenomena, usually misidentification of objects that viewers are either unfamiliar with or see in unusual conditions. These turn out to be honest mistakes. Only a few percent of sightings have been actual hoaxes.
After investigation, most UFOs actually become IFOs -- Identified Flying Objects. However, a small residual, from 3% to 30% depending on who is doing the counting, remain unexplained.
The 1950s Battelle Memorial Institute statistical study, commissioned by Project Blue Book, found that it was actually the better cases with the better witnesses and evidence that tended to defy explanation.
Their percentage of unexplained cases out of 3200 studied was 22%, which went up to 35% for the best cases.
...
On the other hand, many still inexplicable cases are either ignored by the media or, if a purported skeptic offers an explanation that fails to fit the facts (e.g., Zig-zagging formation of lights and confirmed by radar are blamed on misinterpreting 'Jupiter'), it is often taken up by the press and the case is closed, as far as the media is concerned.
It is sometimes said that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", but many pro-research groups only claim that the topic deserves further investigation, not that UFOs are necessarily alien craft.
The threshold of evidence for further investigation is lower than that for a conclusion about the nature of UFOs.
Skeptics say there are indeed genuine sightings of strange flying objects, which are usually logically explained, that no physical evidence of an alien spacecraft has ever been produced, and that many claims have been proven as fraudulent.
They also note that the burden of proof lies with whomever makes a claim....
...Supporters also often argue that the subject is prejudiced by ridicule and stigma, (Kaku agrees with this; in the article cited above he writes that
Majestic 12:
Majestic-12 (sometimes written simply as MJ-12 or MJ-XII) is the codename of a secret committee presumed to have been formed in 1947 at the direction of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, in order to investigate UFO activity.
This alleged committee is an important part of the UFO conspiracy theory.
The existence of MJ-12 has been denied by the United States government, which insists that documents suggesting its existence are hoaxed.
The FBI investigated the documents, and concluded they were forgeries. Opinions among UFO researchers and enthusiasts are divided: Some argue the documents may be genuine, others contend they are phony, due primarily to errors in formatting and chronology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic_12
UFO conspiracy theory:
The UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many conspiracy theories in which it is suggested that major world governments (particularly the United States government) have proof that UFOs are the result of alien visitation, but are suppressing this information either for nefarious purposes and/or out of the belief that mankind is unprepared to deal with the psychological, social, or theological implications of such a reality.
Such theories often incorporate the idea that governments are in fact in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrials. Some of these theories claim that the government is explicitly allowing alien abduction in exchange for technology.
In fact, the United States' government has demonstrated a sometimes keen interest in UFO reports, but has also typically been reluctant to admit this or to discuss their opinions or findings.
Some high-ranking military officials have reported that the military's private views of UFOs were very different from their public statements on the subject: In a signed statement to the United States Congress (also reported in the New York Times), dated February 28, 1960, former CIA Director Vice Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter stated,
The Brookings Report is a genuine study commissioned by the U.S. government, which suggested that evidence of extraterrestrials might prove disruptive to human society; this study has led to speculation that government agencies might cover up evidence of extraterrestrials, whether on Earth or elsewhere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_conspiracy_theory
U.F.O. Photos
http://spacejay.com/Evidence/Ufo-Fo.../icmag.com/ic/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=8#
Upload Pics
U.F.O. Videos
http://video.raelian.com/
Black Triangles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_triangles
"Alien Beings?"
Suspecting there was more to the Roswell story, Popular Mechanics undertook its own investigation to learn if anything new had emerged in this 50-year-old techno-mystery. After interviewing witnesses who had seen and handled crash-site debris, and reviewing documents that were still classified when the GAO undertook its investigation, we have concluded that there really was a crashed disc, dead bodies and a secret that could have been politically deadly to presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/1282456.html?page=1&c=y
Last edited:
with the results - i along other ppl usually saw 3 sightings per night and one of them would be awesome, from about 9pm till 2am..
[another confirmation of what i've shared before, no looney here]
