Why astronomers don’t report UFOs

[Angel of Ioren]

What? Really? Did you catch how big that object was?

We just don't know what he truly saw though, and we never will. There will always be doubt and it's more fun to think that it was something extraordinary that no one would be able to explain if they were there.

 

[pixelsmith]

It's because of the way they are reported. If you jump to the conclusion that the UFO was non-human, well that's where the problem is.

I called our local airport and reported an object in the air space used by a medical helicopter. It was an accident waiting to happen. I did not say I saw a UFO. The airport and FAA said NOTHING was there, not even the jet chasing the object. I did not jump to any non human conclusion yet I was made to think I was seeing things and was told there was nothing to discuss.

 

[stphrz]

It's because of the way they are reported. If you jump to the conclusion that the UFO was non-human, well that's where the problem is.

Actually you are wrong here Angel. You don't even need to offer up any conclusions. Merely reporting an object that breaks what are considered to be unbreakable physical laws is often more than enough to get you grounded and an appointment with the psyches if you are a civilian or military pilot. It can sometimes destroy a scientist's reputation. If you consider just how important reputation is to a scientist it is easy to understand why so many are reluctant to risk it.

 

[Angel of Ioren]

Actually you are wrong here Angel. You don't even need to offer up any conclusions. Merely reporting an object that breaks what are considered to be unbreakable physical laws is often more than enough to get you grounded and an appointment with the psyches if you are a civilian or military pilot. It can sometimes destroy a scientist's reputation. If you consider just how important reputation is to a scientist it is easy to understand why so many are reluctant to risk it.

Perhaps I am wrong - I have never reported a UFO, so I wouldn't know.

 

[pixelsmith]

Actually you are wrong here Angel. You don't even need to offer up any conclusions. Merely reporting an object that breaks what are considered to be unbreakable physical laws is often more than enough to get you grounded and an appointment with the psyches if you are a civilian or military pilot. It can sometimes destroy a scientist's reputation. If you consider just how important reputation is to a scientist it is easy to understand why so many are reluctant to risk it.

A friend's father (now deceased) was the guy who blacked out all the stuff in Project Blue Book. He has some very interesting stories about his father and also about a sighting he had with his AF flight instructor. I won't get into details other than to say in the debriefing and viewing of the VHS recording of their instruments after they landed, the instructor said he saw nothing and had no clue why all instrumentation went dead for a short time. My friend reported exactly what he saw and was sent directly to the base Doctor. I will let him tell the story if he decides to tell it and if Gene will have him on The Paracast. They both had a very close encounter while flying, they way he described the whole incident gave me goose bumps. I asked him if he would agree to be interviewed and he said he would think about it. He has been lurking around here as a guest to see if this is where he would like to tell his and his fathers story.

---------- Post added at 05:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 PM ----------

Perhaps I am wrong - I have never reported a UFO, so I wouldn't know.

If you ever see one, I don't recommend telling ANYONE.

 

[Angel of Ioren]

A friend's father (now deceased) was the guy who blacked out all the stuff in Project Blue Book. He has some very interesting stories about his father and also about a sighting he had with his AF flight instructor. I won't get into details other than to say in the debriefing and viewing of the VHS recording of their instruments after they landed, the instructor said he saw nothing and had no clue why all instrumentation went dead for a short time. My friend reported exactly what he saw and was sent directly to the base Doctor. I will let him tell the story if he decides to tell it and if Gene will have him on The Paracast. They both had a very close encounter while flying, they way he described the whole incident gave me goose bumps. I asked him if he would agree to be interviewed and he said he would think about it. He has been lurking around here as a guest to see if this is where he would like to tell his and his fathers story.

---------- Post added at 05:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 PM ----------



If you ever see one, I don't recommend telling ANYONE.

I'm pretty sure I won't see one. I live in an area that is apparently a "UFO hotspot" and I have seen nothing. Personally, I think the fact that we're close to a couple of small airports explains a lot of those. Like I mentioned, I saw a UFO the other night, until a few seconds passed and I realized what I was looking at.

 

[stphrz]

That is one of the most pretentious and arrogant blog postings I've seen in a long time.

No it's not.

It brings up some good points that need to be considered and discussed. So does Angel.

The body of evidence for the existance of UFOs is not as strong as many people believe. We need to accept that and critically re-examine our views constantly.

 

[Angel of Ioren]

No it's not.

It brings up some good points that need to be considered and discussed. So does Angel.

The body of evidence for the existance of UFOs is not as strong as many people believe. We need to accept that and critically re-examine our views constantly.

I have to admit that it did take some help from a few of you to properly make my statement and formulate my comments regarding Phil Plait's blog entry. He has a great new show on Discovery by the way. Bad Universe - it was all about asteroids hitting the Earth this week.

 

[Xylo]

The problem with this logic from my point of view is that Astronomers are not outside at night with a telescope pressed to their eyes anymore. They sit inside, during the day, looking at a computer screen at what was captured from a preprogrammed, and very small, section of the sky for study. In fact, the other thing astronomers do not capture a bunch of are bats, airplanes, weather balloons, blimps, bugs, birds and other man made aerial craft.

Lest we forget those astronomers are also using tremendous magnification which means that atmospheric UFOs would be completely out of focus and probably not seen at all.

 

[trainedobserver]

We just don't know what he truly saw though, and we never will. There will always be doubt and it's more fun to think that it was something extraordinary that no one would be able to explain if they were there.

You've seen the photograph of the thing and heard the report of its size and you still think there is a prosaic explanation for it? As far as I know ... no one has offered up any explanation for it or for the things Cooper reported.

---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:49 PM ----------

If you ever see one, I don't recommend telling ANYONE.

That is my standard advice to anyone who sees one. I tried to tell justcurious that when he first came on board remember?

 

[pixelsmith]

The body of evidence for the existance of UFOs is not as strong as many people believe. We need to accept that and critically re-examine our views constantly.

another person who has not seen one up close. when I read statements like this I want to scream. I personally dont care if no one has EVER reported one in the history of mankind. I saw one, my girlfriend saw one and the guy flying the jet certainly saw one. that is plenty of evidence for me.

 

[NTS]

Ron Collins beat me to it. Most professional astronomers work indoors, studying very specific problems with highly specialized instruments. What Plait and Angel of Ioren say applies more to amateur astronomers/skywatchers. I'm more or less one myself, and in 40+ years of it I haven't seen anything I couldn't ultimately identify either. I think P and AoI in the main are right, particularly about purely visual 'light in the sky'-type sightings with no other anomalous aspects.

I'd be less sure about writing off relatively close-up sightings of large objects. And the ones that reportedly involve missing time, vehicle interference, etc. have non-visual components that would be really strange for anyone to experience.

I also have to wonder if anyone has actually done a study on the backgrounds of people who report UFOs. Are amateur astronomers etc. really less common among them than they are in the general population? And does this also apply to the "high strangeness" type reports?

 

[pixelsmith]

I had a small telescope while growing up until my brother sold it for a bag of weed in 1973. Since then I always look up every chance I get, day or night. With my sighting, cars were driving by and not even looking at what I was seeing. They were only concerned about getting off the roads that night. Had they simply looked to their right they would have stopped dead in their tracks too.

 

[stphrz]

another person who has not seen one up close. when I read statements like this I want to scream. I personally dont care if no one has EVER reported one in the history of mankind. I saw one, my girlfriend saw one and the guy flying the jet certainly saw one. that is plenty of evidence for me.

You're right. I haven't seen a UFO. Put yourself in my position.

I suspect that UFOs are a real phenomenon (at its core) that defy current explanations. My suspicions are based on a few compelling cases I have read about and discussed with others. However, I cannot prove it. All that's left for me is to entertain rational arguments both for and against and try to integrate them into some sort of conclusion that makes sense to me.

I am sorry my stance causes you distress.

 

[pixelsmith]

You're right. I haven't seen a UFO. Put yourself in my position.

Put yourself in my position, I have already been in yours.

 

[stphrz]

Put yourself in my position, I have already been in yours.

I'm going to get quite formal here and I hope you bear with me.

Buried within your arguments and challenge to me is a tautology predicated by an if.

An example of a tautology is: All black sheep are black.

An example of a tautology predicated by an if: If all sheep were black then every sheep you saw would be a black one.

The second example while true cannot be used as an argument that all sheep are black. In reality all sheep are not black.

You are saying that if some aspect of reality were altered, then reality itself would be altered. I say, well no shit.

You are saying that if I saw what you saw my opinion would be different. I say, ok sure.

But the reality is I have not seen what you have seen, so I cannot put myself in your position. Before your sighting you were in my postion. What were your thoughts then? Were they perhaps similar to the thoughts I have now?

Do you understand what I am trying to say?

 

[CapnG]

Ah yes the "If I didn't see it, it ain't real" argument.

I got news for you Angel: your belief (or not) in these things has no impact on the reality of their existence.

 

[Ron Collins]

You're right. I haven't seen a UFO. Put yourself in my position.

I suspect that UFOs are a real phenomenon (at its core) that defy current explanations. My suspicions are based on a few compelling cases I have read about and discussed with others. However, I cannot prove it. All that's left for me is to entertain rational arguments both for and against and try to integrate them into some sort of conclusion that makes sense to me.

I am sorry my stance causes you distress.

Well stated!

 

[trainedobserver]

We just don't know what he truly saw though, and we never will.

Exactly dude! He saw a Unidentified Flying Object! I'm glad you see the light as it were.

 

[Angel of Ioren]

Ah yes the "If I didn't see it, it ain't real" argument.

I got news for you Angel: your belief (or not) in these things has no impact on the reality of their existence.

You know that's not my position right? I have said that there's no evidence to support the hypothesis that these things that people see are objects that are controlled by non-human intelligence. There's no evidence to support it - that doesn't make it non-existent.