What Are UFOs
UFO is an acronym for Unidentified Flying Object. The widespread use of the term began in the 1950s when it was coined by the United States Airforce. It was used to define an unusual object in the sky which could not be
identified easily as manmade or a natural phenomenon after investigations had been carried out. The phrase ‘flying saucer’ was popular after a sighting in 1947 by a pilot, Keith Arnold, who reported seeing boomerang-like objects in the sky. He described the movement of the nine ‘boomerangs’ as being like a saucer if you skim it across water. A news reporter at the time mistakenly stated that the objects appeared to look like ‘flying saucers’ – hence the perpetual use of the phrase since.
Investigators have shown an enthusiasm for the sightings of UFOs for decades. Whilst they are commonly believed to be visitors from other planets and galaxies, there is very little hard evidence on which to substantiate these claims. The vast majority of sightings can be explained as natural phenomena such as: stars, comets, a planet, a flock of birds, a mirage; or from a manmade source: a camera glitch during photography, aeroplane lights, a bunch of helium balloons, flares from aircraft in training activities, a rocket launch- all of which have been reported as UFO sightings through the years.
Psychology behind reported UFO sightings
The only stipulations required for something to be considered a UFO are ‘flying and unidentified’. It, therefore, does not come as huge surprise that sightings around the world are commonplace. However, objects spotted in the dark night sky are almost impossible for the human eye to distinguish. One of the difficulties for witnesses attempting to distinguish objects that they observe in the sky is that we have no innate skills which will help us to interpret distance except visual parallax. Unfortunately, this only helps us to make out objects that are relatively close to us. We can only determine how large something is or how fast it is moving if we know the distance it is away from us. As a result of this, it makes objects difficult to identify. Indeed, pilots have mistaken the planet Venus for a UFO on many occasions and the planet is approximately 25 millions miles away.
According to psychology research, it is well known that the human brain ‘fills in’ missing information in order to process things. This can often lead to being mislead. For example, if a witness sees three lights in the sky, the brain assumes that it will form a triangle (whether it does or not). The human brain regularly makes connections where there are, in actual fact, none.
It merely takes one person or several people who may not be able to identify something or a light in the sky to create a UFO sighting. However, a more experienced or trained individual may see the object from a different perspective and be able to identify it quickly. This makes reports of UFO sightings extremely unreliable. There is simply not enough evidence to be able to state that there are extraterrestrials in spacecraft or not.
Conspiracy Theories, Reported Sightings and Abductions
Conspiracy theories surrounding the subject of UFOs have existed for many years. A large number of people are convinced that governments around the world conceal evidence of extraterrestrial life and their aircraft. There has been an awful lot of speculation regarding some famous reports of UFO sightings:
•The Roswell UFO Reports in 1947 contains suggestions of an alien vessel that had crashed in Roswell in New Mexico. A rancher by the name of Mac Brazel found strange things in the field where his sheep grazed: metal sticks taped together and bits of plastic and reflectors. Brazel was not able to identify the materials so called the sheriff of Roswell who then informed the Roswell Army Air Force Base. The materials were collected by soldiers and hurried away in trucks. Many believed that this was the final evidence needed of the existence of extraterrestrials. When the government at the time altered the original statement about an aircraft to a weather balloon that had crashed, the public became suspicious of a cover up. The general public maintained that there were too many witnesses claiming to have seen the UFOs and bodies of aliens for it to be considered a ‘weather balloon’. In an attempt to disperse the rumours, the Pentagon released a selection of files in 1994 and a report was issued stating that the debris was, indeed, from a weather balloon. The Roswell site remains a tourist attraction with thousands of UFO believers visiting in the hope to discover the truth.
•Similarly, in 1954, reports of President Eisenhower being rushed to an alien aircraft wreck at the Edward’s Air Force base were heard, according to conspiracy theorists and rumour mills. Edward’s Air Force base is located in Nevada, and is home to the highly secretive ‘Area 51’. Although the base is not a ‘secret’ base, the happenings and research conducted here remain classified and ‘top secret’, giving way to rumours of UFO and alien research occurring there. Apparently, Eisenhower was on vacation when he went officially ‘missing’. A Pentagon consultant is one of the many who have claimed to witness this. There were, reportedly, three different meetings with alien species whereby they communicated through telepathic means.
Reported sightings of UFOs are plentiful. Whilst these can be explained as manmade, others are less explicable. Some examples are:
•In 1997, thousands of witnesses reported seeing patterns in the sky of a ‘V’ shape for around 300 miles along the Nevada. Termed ‘The Phoenix Lights’, there is an abundance of photographs and video recordings which document this case. In November, 1986, attendants on a Japan Air Lines cargo aeroplane reported seeing three UFOs while travelling over Alaska. The pilot, Kenji Terauchi, stated that he witnessed two lights approximately 8 feet wide. He also saw another larger light on the aircraft. It was never identified.
A substantial 4 million people believe that they have had encounters or have been abducted by aliens, according to a 1991 Roper poll. The very first alien abduction was reported in 1961 by Betty and Barney Hill, who claimed that they were taken from a New Hampshire road whilst returning from vacation late in the evening. The Hills reportedly encountered a UFO and alien visitors who, apparently, took them aboard and examined them medically. This information was gleaned from the Hills whilst under hypnosis by a psychiatrist. This lessens the likelihood of this being a hoax as they both gave the same information.
Another report of an abduction told the story of Amy Rylance who was taken from her home where she lived with her husband in 2001 in Australia. Her friend, Petra, witnessed Amy being carried out of the living room window at 11pm. Petra claims that Amy was carried in a sleeping position to a large ship outside the house. Approximately an hour and a half later, her husband, Keith, received a phone call from a lady in Queensland saying she was with Amy, who was dazed and dehydrated. She was found an 8 hour drive away from her home and it is inexplicable how she was able to travel that far in 90 minutes without any recollection of it. She does, however, remember laying on a bed with figures hovering over her taking samples. She was unharmed apart from some red marks on her thighs and heels. Many similar cases have been claimed over the years. Physical and emotional trauma encounters have been documented also. For example, reports of two women and a child suffering from physical and emotional harm in the Piney Woods of Texas near Huffman have been attributed to an encounter with a UFO in December, 1980. The one similarity these ‘abductees’ share is symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Planes and aircrafts have also disappeared without a trace. First Lieutenant Felix Eugene Moncla, Jr., was sent to investigate an unidentified flying object in Michigan in 1953. Upon nearing the object, Moncla’s plane vanished from the radar screen and was never seen again. The official report claimed that Moncla crashed in pursuit of another aircraft but others believe that it disappeared due to an encounter with an alien vessel. This fuelled the beliefs in the UFO world of believers that extraterrestrials do, in fact, exist.
Not surprisingly, there are different theories and arguments regarding the nature of ‘UFOs’. This link will take you to ‘The Final Call News: 5 Facts About UFOs That ‘Experts’ Won’t Tell You’.
In summary, whether we believe that UFOs are, indeed, from another planet or a magnificent example of how nature can produce strange and wonderful sights, UFOs and the subsequent interest in and research into them makes for very entertaining discussions around science and the paranormal and a powerful imagery for avid readers and movie goers!
Article By Ann Brenen