Years ago, two friends of mine, Ron DiIulio and John O. Williams, wrote and produced a planetarium show called “How to Watch A Flying Saucer.” Truthfully, I barely remember the show, but the title has always stuck with me.
However, I prefer the term “UFO” because “Flying Saucer” just automatically means that whatever it was, it was from another world in space. Although “UFO” carries the same general connotation, it just means “unidentified flying object,” and as such can be and often is later identified as some natural or human-made phenomenon or artifact. While there are a few UFO reports that are difficult to explain, and I cannot say with 100 percent certainty that no UFO report is the result of some visitation by beings from another planet, I have yet to see any convincing evidence.
Now, I am not writing here about what UFOs are or might be. They are unidentified flying objects, so the first step is to identify them as well as possible. While you may not know what you are observing, there may be someone out there who does, but you’ll find out only if you report your sighting with enough valid information.
Image adapted from a 1970s poster promoting “How To Watch a Flying Saucer” at the Noble Planetarium of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Original drawing thought to be by Valene Starrett.
Probably 99 percent of all “UFO” sightings are actually of human-made devices such as weather balloons, atmospheric phenomena such as lenticular clouds, or astronomical objects such as Venus. [Please hold your comments about what UFO’s may be — that is not what this blog entry is about. I’ll try to get around to that in a future blog.] With the right information, such sightings can usually be easily identified by a knowledgeable person. And even if the sighting remains unidentified, at least the known possibilities can be eliminated.
Unfortunately, sighting an unusual object or phenomenon in the sky often causes people to focus on that alone, and so what do you do if you observe some strange phenomenon in the sky? Whether it is something you would classify as a “UFO” or a strange cloud or a bright meteor, there are two basic things to do. First, record all the relevant information on paper or through some kind of recording as soon as possible — while it is happening if you can. In general, the sooner you write down or record the information (see below), the more reliable it will be. Secondly, report your sighting to some organization or some person who deals with these kinds of things. Unfortunately, finding such an organization or person may be a difficult task, about which I will have more to say in a moment.
Immediately record as much information as you can, including the following:
1) Record the time and duration of the event. Try to think clearly as it is very easy to exaggerate time spans. If there is a nearby clock, say on a bank sign or building, record that time as well as the time from your watch for possible cross-checking.
2) If there are others with you or even strangers nearby, point the sighting out to them. When the object has gone and you are writing down the rest of this information, try to get their impressions and contact information for future reference.
3) Record the direction and motion of the object. This is vital information, but it is impossible to be highly accurate without specialized equipment. Not surprisingly, most observers do not have such equipment ready at hand, but it is fairly easy to estimate things. First off, note your specific location. Of course, if you have a GPS, that’s perfect. But if you don’t, at least note down your orientation to landmarks around you (”Standing about 20 feet in Front of the Seven Eleven on Toolhouse Road and 17th Avenue, with the Sports Arena several blocks away directly to my right, and the KACL broadcast tower in the distance about halfway between the directions of straight ahead of me and to my left.”)
Next, estimate the approximate height of the object above the horizon (altitude) and its direction when you first see it. If you are very confident of your directions and angles, write down something like “West-northwest at 20 degrees altitude.” If you are not sure of the directions, make reference to something else in your view: “From my viewpoint, it started at about the width of three fingers held at arm’s length to the left of the Jason Point lighthouse to my right, and about two widths of my fist above the horizon.” Then record the information for the last point that you saw the object. You can find some really good pointers for estimating angles in the sky from this Austin Astronomical Society webpage: How to Estimate Angles in the Sky. Be sure to note any variations in motion. Did it move just in a straight line, or did it turn or change directions? Were there apparent variations in speed or did it move at constant speed? Did the object pass in front of any object in your view, such as a building, radio or TV tower, or even a distant mountain? Any relevant details here can be helpful.
4) Describe what the object or sighting looked like. Be sure to note colors, lights, shapes, divisions, projections and patterns. Avoid estimating size unless you really have a good reason to believe that you are accurate. Reports often come in saying things like, “it was up in the sky and was the size of a football field.” Generally speaking, such as statement is completely useless and frankly shows a lack of sophistication in the observer. Unless there is some known object that you can reasonably compare the UFO (or whatever) to, you would have to know both the distance and angular size of any object before you can reasonable state how large it actually is. It could be close and small or far away and large and still appear the same size. On the other hand, if you saw it on the ground sitting next to a school bus, then you could legitimately compare sizes. But if you see something in the sky pass near an airplane — and especially if there is no reaction from the airplane — you can’t say how big the object is because you do not know whether it is close to the airplane or just in the same direction. However, if the object obviously passes between you and the airplane, noting that could be very useful — especially if you describe the airplane accurately as well. Of course, if you can get binoculars or some other optical device, try viewing the object through them and note this in your write up.
5) If you have a camera or camcorder, by all means record your sighting. Unfortunately however, photos taken under such circumstances typically are not good, and in any event can be easily faked or altered, As such, photos are not nearly as valuable as you might think, but are definitely worth taking.
6) Note any relevant weather information, as well as what you were doing at the time. Of course, if you were sleepy, groggy, ill or inebriated, you need to divulge this information.
Now, having recorded all the relevant information, where do you report your sighting? This is actually harder than it should be. Most people think to make a report (if at all) to the media, the police or an local Air Force or other military installation. While this may be a good idea, the media typically offers only very shallow investigations and little if any follow up, and the police and military are often dismissive of UFO reports. So unless you feel that there is some obvious safety or national security risk, I’d suggest that you make your first report to your friendly neighborhood college or university physics and/or astronomy department. And if you have a planetarium nearby, that might be an even better resource. The International Planetarium Society maintains a list of world planetaria (large PDF file), as do also my friends at Loch Ness Productions: Planetarium list.
You might feel that you should contact a UFO organization — and maybe you should — but in my experience they seem to often be staffed solely with “true believers” who tend to dismiss the idea that UFOs are anything other than alien visitations. Or you may want to contact a “skeptic” group, but my experience is that these are typically not really groups of skeptics, but rather groups of “debunkers” who are as opinionated (although in the opposite direction) as the “true believers.” Of course, this is not entirely fair to either type of group because there are people in each type of organization dedicated to solving the UFO question, whether the final solution fits their ideas or not. With that last thought in mind, here are a couple of organizations you might want to contact with your report:
Center for UFO Studies
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
In all of this, I urge you as I did in “Mars as big as the full moon!” [Positive Skepticism], to be open minded, but not so open minded that your brains fall out.
Larry S.
Note: in the 1970’s I did some minor fieldwork for Dr. J. Allen Hynek and his Center for UFO studies (CUFOS). Dr. Hynek was a leading figure in the UFO phenomenon, starting as an Air Force Blue Book debunker in the 50s. He later became much more open to other possibilities, and in later years apparently came to believe that some reports may have been the result of time travelers from Earth’s own future. He died in 1986. My experience with CUFOS did nothing to convince me that UFOs were alien spacecraft or time travelors from Earth or any other planet, and I have not kept up with it since Dr. Hynek’s passing. Still…
I imagine that’s what separates scientists from the rest of us — that dispassionate, methodical attention to observation and recording of something like purple people-eaters with their brains falling out. We’ll need that when we set foot on Mars, I reckon.
As a night runner, I just wanna find out what are those in-straight-line moving, not blinking light objects. The blinking, coloured things look and sound as airplanes, no problem with them. The moving pointlights however appear to be much higher, just one strong points of light, move at least twice/thrice as fast as airplanes, are silent, don’t change direction. Probably satellites..?
If you are interested in a regularly updated flying things collection, you might wanna check this out:
http://www.signs-of-the-times.org/signs/list_by_category/8-Our Haunted Planet
Johncs,
Yes, those high steadily moving lights are Earth-orbiting satellites.
I saw some UFOs decades ago, while traveling on a country road, in the midwest. All these decades later, after seeing many many things in the night sky and now understanding most of them, I still can’t explain those UFOs …
Deborah
Hey, Jorge! We will need that observational acumen when we go to Mars and elsewhere, but I don’t think it is “dispassionate” at all. I don’t remember ever meeting a scientist who was dispassionate — perhaps some who were a bit dull outwardly and certainly some oddballs, but none who were (or are) dispassionate. There is, however, a strong attention to detail and observation that can seem very singleminded and even obsessive, but I think it stems from the desire to know the truth in a situation. So I actually think it is more of a *passion* that is fraught with conflicting desires to discover what you want to be true (such as maybe discovering that UFOs *are* from other worlds) while at the same time holding not just a willingness but a persnoal demand that to accept reality even if it is fairly commonplace (as in discovering that some UFO observation actually was the planet Venus). And you can’t really discover either until you have the detail and the facts.
Larry S.
I’ll bet a good number of UFOs could be iridium flares (http://www.satobs.org/iridium.html). These iridium flares can be extremely bright - even visible in broad daylight - but are fleeting, only lasting 5 to 20 seconds. Of course, Larry talks about a special iridium flare on a previous post “23 times brighter than Venus!”
Bruce
I guess I can understand your skepticism on ET’s; I was there once. But, when you’ve seen one close enough to see details in it’s shape and construction that is clearly unlike anything man made, and that object is doing things that cannot be explained by what you learned in physics, you’ll no doubt change your mind. In my opinion anyone who still believes extraterrestrial craft are not visiting this planet is a fool. There are simply too many credible sightings to be rational in unbelief. I do agree that most of the things that are classified as ufo’s are man made and can be clearly and logically explained. I have seen a few of those myself, but it only took one close observation lasting about five minutes to firmly and permanently brush aside my own skepticism. The two or three per cent which cannot be explained should not be brushed aside as rubbish. The 97% or 98% that can be explained are rubbish. The truth about ufo’s and their occupants is slowly coming out. Unfortunately, the subject is still being considered and treated as lunacy and is too often tied in with paranormal and mystical subjects which I believe ARE lunacy. I no longer have to believe in ET’s; I KNOW we are not alone! You will, too, when you see one. It’s just a matter of time.
DTaylor,
I have seen strange things in the sky, not all of which I could find an immediate or satisfying answer for, but that didn’t make them alien spacecraft. I don’t deny the possibility of such events, but neither do I have any solid evidence that we have been visited by extraterrestrials. People believe all sorts of things without evidence — consider for instance religion and psychic phenomena — but if we espouse science and honor reason, we have to have evidence. That’s not to say that any of these ideas are wrong, but in science a claim must be substantiated and proved.
I do not know what you saw, but unless you have evidence, there is no reason for anyone who adheres to the concepts of science to believe you. I am not saying that you haven’t come into contact with ETs, and maybe some day I will become as convinced of it as you are. I truly would like that. But I know of people who are equally convinced that God had spoken to them and told them that the world would end in 1950, and then 1960 and then in 1970. Yet the world remains here in 2007. There are plenty of other people who vigorously believe in leprechauns and fairies, but can show no real evidence of them. Is that proof that leprechauns and fairies do not exist? No, of course not. So even if you have no acceptable proof the ETs exist, it doesn’t mean that they don’t. Carl Sagan and others before him said words to the effect of “the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” But he also said the “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” I have been aware of the UFO phenomenon since the 1950s and although I have never been heavily involved in it, I have never seen one single piece of strong evidence, much less “extraordinary” evidence in favor of any of these sightings being due to extraterrestrial beings.
I know how easy it is for even my own mind to fool me, so I am cautious and prefer to rely on the proven concepts of scientific thought. This method may not always be right, but it gives a solid foundation. So for the scientifically minded, if you can’t show solid evidence of the extraterrestrial nature of UFOs, no matter how strongly you personally believe it, it must necessarily remain in the realm of hearsay for the rest of us who adhere to science.
LS
Actually, the initialism “UFO” has come to have as much of a bad connotation as “Flying Saucer”. If you use the term UFO among the less informed, they will instantly assume you mean “alien Spaceship”. I am beginning to prefer NARCAP’s term UAP or Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon.
Terry Groff
Investigator
MUFON (The Mutual UFO Network)
Hi, Terry. I still prefer UFO because very few people would recognize UAP. By the way, I should have listed MUFON along with CUFOS as one of the more established organizations. Would you like to give some contact info for MUFON?
LS
Wow, DTaylor seems really sure of UFOs. I wish I could see some footage or pics of his experience, 5 minutes is plenty of time to get a camera nowadays, unless he saw it a while back.
My grandmother told me about a UFO sighting she had long ago. She said she was walking home from work and saw some bright light in the sky. She kept walking and it followed her home. She went inside and shut the door and never saw it again.
I believe UFO sightings are just unidentified man-made or natural astronomical objects, but I do think there are ETs out there. Some day, not in my lifetime or in the near future, I think the day will come, but I believe we will be the ETs being seen by some other distant planet. I hope we will be, because that probably means we’ll have the more advanced technology and will be able to defend ourselves in the event that the ETs are not hostile.
Hi, sglasson! I also believe that there are ETs out there somewhere, probably many ETs many places. Based on what we know, statistically it seems very likely. [However, I must say that we actually have no evidence whatsoever.] But while there likely are many ETs and ET civilizations throughout the Universe, the evidence that they have or are visiting Earth is not acceptable in the court of science. It is hearsay, or otherwise so flimsy and can so easily be faked that it just can’t be accepted. Most people believe in things that they can’t see or have no real evidence for, and that is OK, but it simply is not enough for acceptance by science. Considering the physical barriers of space and time, interstellar travel on any kind of convenient schedule seems unlikely (although there may be ways around this, we are nowhere near to confirming them or much less utilizing them). Certainly it may be that some of the stories, some of the reports of UFOs or UAPs or Flying Saucers (take your pick) may be truly the result of extraterrestrial visitations, but all “evidence” produced so far is a long way from proof. People can convince themselves of many things, but conviction and belief does not make something true.
By the way, your comment made me think of an old Twilight Zone episode in which an old lady is being terrorized by tiny little aliens, only to find out in the end that this is on another planet and the old lady is the alien. The tiny terrorists are from Earth!
LS
I never saw that episode of Twilight Zone, but I am a big fan. I love Hitchcock, he was such a great filmmaker. Interstellar travel is definitely a long wait away, but I hope it is eventually possible. I hate the idea of discovering a peaceful civilization just like us, and being stranded here with no way to visit them.
That skepticism is solidly chained to science is both its (science’s) strength and its weakness. Science demands irrefutable evidence mostly associated with reproduceability of an experiment or observation. By definition, science cannot accept the word of anyone, educated or not. Who can reproduce observations like my own or like hundreds (thousands?) of other similar occurrences. Science cannot be applied to our observations; but, that does not preclude the existence of ET’s or their mechanical devices that have brought them into our perception. Science does not allow for the perception of God; yet, there is much solid evidence, not just mystical musings, that He exists. Science has contributed much to mankind; but, it is in many ways inflexible and narrow minded, just as spirituality or mysticism are. Are Christians and Jews wrong because we believe in what cannot be proven? I don’t think so.
Nevertheless, I applaud you for your admission, “Hi, sglasson! I also believe that there are ETs out there somewhere, probably many ETs many places. Based on what we know, statistically it seems very likely. [However, I must say that we actually have no evidence whatsoever.]” It seems likely you’re in my camp after all. How many other scienteists would dare make such an admission, given the snickering generated by government disinformation and its media proclamation of little green men? If you believe they are “out there,” you have but one very small step to accept they are or have been here.
Just out of curiosity, what would it take for you to believe in ET’s visiting earth? Would your personal observations suffice, or would you require reproduceable evidence from an authoritative source?
You are not really listening to what I had to say. In my opinion (and of course everyone is free to disagree), the only completely true statements are “I do not know” and “I am not sure, ” or any of a near infinite variation on those themes. Science DOES NOT preclude or exclude the existence of God, or aliens, or fairies or leprechauns, or in fact almost any other thing. As long as you allow “miracles” to be accomplished through the “laws” of physics, then almost anything is possible. There is absolutely no question, considering the laws of probability in quantum mechanics, that in the presence of Jesus, water could have turned into wine. In fact, it could have turned specifically into exact the same molecular composition as 2005 Sonoma County Flying Wizzbanger Red from Homewood Winery in Sonoma California: http://www.homewoodwinery.com/ (which I list just because I was there a couple of weeks ago and was impressed). Physics allows it! But I should add, that based on the laws of quantum physics, such things are almost unbelieveable unlikely — not at all impossibe, just unlikely. [Maybe it is this improbability that makes miracles so special.]
In fact, science really has nothing to say about God or paranormal phenomena, or anything for which there is no indisputable evidence. It neither denies nor confirms these things. At least until undisputable evidence comes along, true science remains neutral on these things, and anyone who tells you that true science is atheistic either does not know whereof he speaks, or he is a liar. True science is agnostic, which means in the absence of good evidence, any true scientist must maintain neutral, admitting to his or her own ignorance on the matter.
Whether I believe in God or not (or in aliens, etc.) is irrelevant to science, at least in the purist sense. It is my personal belief that you cannot be a true “scientist” and a true believer at the same time — in the absense of evidence. I also admit that I could be wrong in this or anything else.
I am not sure who first said it, but my personal belief — my credo — is that you should be open minded, but not so open minded that your brains fall out. I call this idea, Positive Skepticism, which I outlined in the blog, “Mars as big as the full moon”:
http://blogs.earthsky.org/larrysessions/space/071734/mars-as-big-as-the-moon/
No one can be completely scientific. I don’t think any race that ever operates solely on logic (such as the mythical Vulcans) will survive. We need both heart and mind. Science is far from perfect, but it has a method and a process and to my way of thinking it works. As far as I can tell, it is valid. I am not very good at it personally, but it seems quite competent in dealing with the world.
If aliens exist and UFOs are from other planets, I will welcome the evidence of it. Until then I will remain skeptical, as clear thinking demands. There is room — indeed a need — for both rational thought and emotional feeling, but you should not (in *my* opinion) rely solely on either. [”Logic is the beginning of wisdom… not the end” — Spock from “Star Trek VI”]. The day that I give in to purely emotional, uncritical belief untempered by rational thought, is the day I hope I die, because my value to human progress will have ended.
LS
DTaylor: there are 3 of your comments I would like to address.
1. “Who can reproduce observations like my own or like hundreds (thousands?) of other similar occurrences.”
NASA, and anyone who has a camera (video/picture, even a cell phone-but that would be terrible quality). I would love to see actual video footage. Even though I think that an ET encounter is a very long time away, that would be so great to actually have it happen in my generation. I’m sure when it eventually does happen (or if it’s actually already happened as you say, which makes this sentence hold even more truth) the people of earth before that moment will have been very skeptic and think the same thing, that it won’t happen for a long time.
2. “Science does not allow for the perception of God; yet, there is much solid evidence, not just mystical musings, that He exists”.
I as a Christian understand that there is no scientific evidence of God, that is why it is called faith. You believe what you can not prove because you know it in your heart to be true.
3. “Are Christians and Jews wrong because we believe in what cannot be proven? I don’t think so.”
You seem to be saying that Christians and Jews are both right. If you think in terms of right and wrong (which I don’t), this statement can not be true because it contradicts itself due to the fact that Jews and Christians have different beliefs. I really wish I could have an experience such as yours to make myself so strongly convinced that ET’s have visited us. You have to understand from someone else’s perspective (think back to before your experience/s) that it is very hard to believe unless you actually see it. I think there are a number of things that make me believe something to be true, and they are 3 of the 5 senses. If I can see it, touch it, or hear it (the other 2 may not really apply) I will believe it much more than simply seeing someone write about it.
Thanks, Shaun. I agree. My point has always been not that anyone in particular is wrong, but that based on the concepts of science, you must have evidence. The lack of evidence does NOT mean that something is wrong or non-existant.
But in order to know something from a scientific perspective, you have to have reasonable evidence. Otherwise we can claim or believe anything we want. As charlatans and politicians (need I make the distinction?) have shown through the ages, if you can make someone feel stupid if they don’t believe what you are saying — or you can simply convince them of your way of thinking without evidence — you will probably get them to come around to your side or get them to buy your idea or product. Hitler was a master at this. It is a profitable concept, both politically and monetarily and in the sense of power and control, to the purveyor of such ideas. It also is often to the detriment of the person who accepts the idea or argument without any proof — that is, on “faith.” As for myself, I prefer to do my own thinking, and to decide for myself what makes sense and is profitable to my purpose as a human being.
LS
There seems to be a thread pertaining to God that I started, which I would like to respond to. However, the subject seems beyond the scope of this blog. If you would like to continue, email me at .
There is nothing wrong with a thread pertaining to God or religion, and I personally do not see that the two are necessarily unrelated to science (or at least there may be the potential for such a relationship), but religion and science are held to different standards.
Since the goal of Earth & Sky is to be a “clear voice for science,” this is probably not the place to continue this. I would suggest, if you know of a good one, that you start a thread on a blog or site for religion and science. If you want, post that address here, but pelase not a personal email address. I, however, prefer to get back to the science and nature aspects.
LS
its tuesday 7th august 2007 and im in coventry.. ive jus seen a ufo along with another 6ppl all watchin it at th same time.. we can still see it.. and its a round shape with a cylnder shaped dome on top with green red and white flashing lights. it hasn’t moved very fast yet sometimes dims or brightens and it seems to be bouncing and moving slowly to the left sometimes. 3 of us saw wierd wispy types of lines cloudy coloured coming from it.. like a tail… we rang the papers but they want pictures but the object is to far away to get a decent picture of it.. i cant really use any other explanation for it apart from it must be a UFO
Anonymous. I can’t tell you anything other than what you describe does not sound like any natural phenomenon or human-made object I am aware of, nor can I offer any tentative identifications based on this. Since there were a number of you who saw this, maybe your report will carry more weight. but I strongly suggest that right now, while it is fresh in your mind that all of you write down the information suggested in the blog.
Since I am not in the UK, I am not familiar with local UFO groups. However, I suggest that you go to the following website and then contact them with your report:
http://www.uform.org/main.htm
Good luck.
Larry Sessions
Denver
Hello Dr. Sessions,
Interesting debate! I had lunch with a President one day and asked him directly if he believed in UFO’s. Who would know better than a previous President? He became a little kid, “Yes! I’ve seen one in my back yard!” and went on to describe it, until his family shut him up and called him a looney.
This might be of great interest: France launched an official Website dedicated to UFO research:
http://www.cnes.fr/
One section is an archive dedicated to the “History of our Conquest of Space.” Another about humans leaving TRASH in space, “Space Pollution.” I encourage all of you to learn the Beautiful Language, read the Website, and come back here with your thoughts.
Jackie,
From what I know of the presidents of the 20th Century, I wouldn’t say that any of them were particularly good judges of the UFO phenomenon. I, too, have seen odd things in the sky for which I have no solid explanation (although not like the spectacular reports that some people make). That makes them UFOs, but it really says NOTHING about what they really are (or were).
I am always especially skeptical of the really big reports. There should be abundant physica evidence but there is not. People tend to exagerrate, whether deliberately or not; while others make completely unjustified extrapolations from things they saw; some perpetrate deliberate hoaxes; and frankly, some are simply deluded. Just a couple of weeks ago, “Jesus” dropped into my office and started giving me his rather bizarre theory of the interior of the Sun and the interior of the Earth and how they are related. He said he was a “scientist” trained at Stanford and he was trying to teach his son about science. He drew me an elaborate if quite sloppy diagram on a piece paper , and covered it with science jargon and mumbo jumbo. His ideas were completely wacky, baseless and yet for all appearances he was completely convinced that he was right. This self-appointed “Jesus” was obviously mentally disturbed. I can’t help but believe that some UFO reporters are in the same boat.
Of course, many are perfectly sane and normal folks, but they still can make mistakes. Even a former president can see something completely normal in the sky and for lack of all the facts, make a baseless assumption about what it might be. This does not say that all UFO reports are explanable through known phenomena, but it does make it difficult to separate the genuinely credible reports (”credible” in the sense that they are made without unjustified assumptions) from the large majority that are scientifically worthless. That is why I am saying that without physical evidence, any claims about the physical nature of UFOs are unfounded.
I hope that someday we can come to a definitive solution to this problem, and frankly I hope that they *do* turn out to be from other worlds (friendly, I hope). But the lack of good evidence today puts the more outrageous claims in the same category of claims about ghosts, extant African dinosaurs or that a “face of God” in the clouds is a true sign from Heaven. ( For a neat photo, see: “Face of God cloud”:http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org/gallery/index.php?showimage=1191 )
They may all be true, but at least for now my mantra will be: “Show me the evidence.”
Thanks for the link. I would add the English page as well: “CNES”:http://www.cnes.fr/web/455-cnes-en.php
Larry S.
P.S. I am not a PhD, but I have taught introductory astronomy at college level in some form or another for 30 years.