UFOs – UNIDENTIFIED FLIYING OBJECTS, UAP – UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA

The McMinnville UFO photograph

One of the most famous and studied photographs deemed to be authentic.

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have been the subject of great interest and debate over the years. While most sightings of UFOs have a natural explanation, a small fraction remains unexplained, fueling speculation and interest in the topic.

Many scientists and skeptic organizations, such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, have provided reasonable and prosaic explanations for a significant number of claimed UFO sightings. These explanations include natural phenomena such as meteorological events, optical illusions, and atmospheric effects, human-made technology such as drones or experimental aircraft, delusions, and hoaxes. However, despite these explanations, some ufologists continue to support unconventional, pseudoscientific theories, often claiming that UFOs are evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.

The beliefs surrounding UFOs have even inspired parts of new religions. One example is the Aetherius Society, founded in the mid-1950s by George King, who claimed to have received messages from extraterrestrial beings through psychic means. The society’s beliefs revolve around the idea that UFOs are piloted by highly advanced beings who are here to guide humanity towards spiritual enlightenment.

While unusual sightings in the sky have been reported throughout history, the modern era of UFO sightings began after World War II, when reports of strange objects in the sky became more frequent. This was largely due to the technological advancements made during the Space Age, which led to an increase in space exploration and the possibility of encountering extraterrestrial life.

Various governments, organizations, and individuals conducted studies and investigations into UFO reports throughout the 20th century. The most well-known of these were Project Blue Book in the United States, which investigated thousands of reports of UFO sightings between 1952 and 1969, and Project Condign in the United Kingdom, which was a classified study into UFO sightings and their potential threat to national security. However, despite these efforts, the true nature of UFOs remains a mystery, and the debate over their existence and origins continues to this day.

However in the light of recent events I.E. the New York Times 2017 UFO Article, then the U.S. government acknowledging the existence of the ATIP program (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program) and other programs, the TIC TAC and gimbal and other videos publicly released, new congressional hearings, new whistleblower laws, new out-in-the-open governmental offices to study and report publicly on UFOs/ UAPs, AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) a seismic change has occurred. But there is a caveat: we will just have to watch how the government proceeds…

The concept of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) has become a part of our modern lexicon, and it is now widely recognized across the globe. The term UFO refers to any object or light seen in the sky or on land that cannot be identified. The term is often used to refer to extraterrestrial spacecraft, but in reality, over 90% of all reported UFOs are later identified as IFOs (Identified Flying Objects), which can range from aircraft landing lights to planets and other astronomical or meteorological phenomena.

J. Allen Hynek, a late astronomer who served as the Air Force’s astronomy consultant to Project Blue Book and its predecessors for more than 20 years, provided the most scientifically accepted definition of a UFO. According to Hynek, 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 behavior 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.”

The UFO phenomenon has been puzzling people for more than half a century, and it has been reported from virtually every country in the world. Even physicists and astronomers have reported sightings of UFOs. While many skeptics dismiss the existence of UFOs, a several-decades-old Gallup Poll estimated that more than ten million American adults alone have seen what they believed to be a UFO. The reality of UFOs is a topic of debate, but it is undoubtedly one of the most widely reported unexplained mysteries of this or any other century.

Evidence suggests that sightings of UFOs date back much further than the modern era, with the collected books of Charles Fort (1874-1932), sometimes considered the father of ufology, containing accounts of similar apparitions and manifestations. One such account, from the log of Capt. F. W. Banner aboard the bark Lady of the Lake, dated March 22nd, 1870, described a remarkable object or “cloud” that sailors reported seeing. The object was circular in shape, with an included semicircle divided into four parts, and was a light gray color. It moved from a point about 20 degrees above the horizon to a point about 80 degrees above, traveling against the wind for half an hour before disappearing in the evening darkness. This sighting, more than a century old, replicates many of the characteristics common to modern UFO sightings, including circular shape, metallic color, and the ability to travel against the wind.