Frequently asked questions... |
What do aliens look like, and where do they come from? Because we do not know for certain that UFOs are spacecraft, we cannot be sure aliens are visiting the earth from other planets. Many ufologists argue that there is enough evidence to show that UFOs are really spacecraft operated by intelligent aliens. Among the reports of encounters with aliens (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or CE-3s), there is a wide variety of descriptions. Some witnesses describe beings who look very human. In fact, they say these aliens could easily blend into the crowd on any street in any city of the world. These types of aliens are sometimes called Nordics, because they most closely resemble the people living in northern Europe. Others report seeing short, gray beings with large, almond-shaped eyes, and large, bulbous heads. These aliens have been called Grays. The Grays are sometimes divided into subgroups depending on other physical characteristics, such as height. On some occasions, witnesses report seeing creatures that resemble robots or androids. Only in the most unusual cases do people claim to have seen monstrous creatures so often depicted in popular movies about beings from outer space. (The beings in the illustration are those described in the book Encounter at Buff Ledge, by Walter Webb.) There are many theories about where aliens come from, but there is no absolute proof. Some speculate that aliens come from other planets, while others suggest different dimensions. The idea that UFO beings are time travelers from our own future is also a possibility. The most intriguing clue about the origin of the aliens comes from the UFO abduction account of Betty and Barney Hill. During their abduction aboard a UFO in 1961, Betty Hill was shown a three-dimensional map of a cluster of stars. She later drew the star map while under hypnosis. Years later, an Ohio school teacher, Marjorie Fish, made many models of known groups of stars in our section of the galaxy and compared them to the Hill star map. Fish eventually found a match and concluded that the two major stars shown were the binary stars, Zeta Reticulum I and II. It is interesting to note that these stars are similar to the sun and could very well have earthlike planets in orbit around them--planets that might support intelligent life. |
Are people ever hurt by UFOs? Would you consider having major surgey performed on you while being paralyzed and fully conscious painful? People occasionally report feeling pain or receiving an injury during a UFO encounter or abduction. Physical effects include eye irritation, sunburn, skin cuts, and sickness. After the experience, witnesses may have nightmares and feel anxious, and they may undergo personality changes or changes in their beliefs about important life issues. Witnesses, especially abductees, claim later UFO encounters and other experiences with the paranormal, such as poltergeist activity or the development of psychic powers. One of the most famous UFO sightings resulting in injuries to witnesses involved two women, Betty Cash and Vicki Landrum, and Mrs. Landrum's grandson, Colby, as they drove along a deserted Texas road during December 1980. In front of them, they saw a huge, brilliant, diamond-shaped object with flames shooting out from the bottom. Cash stopped the car and got out to have a better look at the UFO. The object radiated intense heat that softened the dashboard of her car. Terrified, Cash returned to the car and with the others, watched the UFO move away. As it did so, a squadron of helicopters appeared and surrounded the UFO. The witnesses followed the object and the helicopters until they disappeared in the distance. By the time the three reached home, all were feeling ill. Within a few hours, they developed sunburnlike blisters, nausea, and diarrhea. Betty Cash's symptoms were the most severe, and she eventually sought medical treatment and was hospitalized as a burn victim. Her doctor concluded Cash was exhibiting symptoms of radiation sickness. The witnesses later sued the United States government, claiming it was responsible for their injuries. (They had identified the helicopters as Chinook twin-rotor helicopters used by the U.S. Army.) Their lawsuit was unsuccessful because they could never prove the UFO or the helicopters were devices owned and operated by the American government. |
Does the US government study ufos? In my opinion they absolutely do. It would logically make sense to do so, the scale of the coordination involved is anyones guess. At present, the United States government does not officially investigate UFO sightings, although there is some evidence suggesting that various governmental agencies continue to maintain a secret interest in the subject. During the past forty years, however, there have been several projects and investigative panels that examined the UFO evidence, at least superficially. Because UFOs are an aerial henomenon, between 1947 and 1969 the U.S. Air Force was charged with organizing several projects to investigate UFO reports. The most famous was Project Blue Book, which existed from 1952 to 1969. Although there were many UFO reports during those years, including numerous sightings by military and civilian pilots, and other technical personnel, the Air Force maintained that UFOs were not real. The military considered UFO reports seriously only because it believed that they could be used to confuse and overwhelm our intelligence and communication operations, thereby making America vulnerable to surprise attack by some foreign power. Some military experts also admitted the possibility that the Soviet Union, with the help of captured German scientists, was developing technology far superior to any the United States possessed. Therefore, the Air Force concluded that UFO reports should be investigated until these possibilities were proven unlikely. Through its investigations, the Air Force was able to explain most sightings as natural phenomena or misidentified aircraft. However, there were still hundreds of UFO reports that it could not so easily explain. In 1966 there was a wave of spectacular UFO sightings across America that received widespread press coverage. Political leaders, especially congressional representatives, were pressured by their constituents who demanded explanations for their sightings. A congressional committee conducted hearings on the UFO sightings, and pressure was placed on the Air Force to resolve the issue once and for all. In response, the Air Force contracted with the University of Colorado to conduct what it hoped would be the definitive study of the UFO phenomenon--a study that would finally settle the UFO question to everyone's satisfaction. The project was headed by Professor Edward U. Condon, a physicist, who had expressed negative views about life on other planets and the existence of UFOs. Several members of the Colorado study (which became known as the "Condon Committee") charged Condon with failing to act in an open-minded and impartial manner, thereby biasing the study. Despite becoming mired in controversy, after several committee members were fired and the Congress organizing its own symposium on UFOs, the Condon Committee continued its investigation and eventually released a final report. The study's conclusion, written by Condon, stated that the 21-year study of UFOs had not added anything to scientific knowledge and that further study could not be justified. Critics charged the report's conclusion did not follow from the study's own data, and the Condon investigation was a sham from the beginning. Despite the controversy surrounding the Condon Report, the Air Force used its conclusions as a ustification for disbanding Project Blue Book in December 1969 and severing its connection with the UFO subject. Despite this disbanding, many ufologists believe the government still maintains extensive files on UFOs and continues to investigate sightings in secret. Their belief is reinforced by the fact that U.S. intelligence agencies have already released documents showing that they have been collecting UFO information that is still classified Top Secret. The government does not allow public access to these documents, despite numerous attempts by UFO researchers to see them through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which is supposed to give American citizens the right to view any government document that does not threaten national security. In response to the government's reluctance to release UFO documents, the UFO group Ground Saucer Watch began legal action to gain the release of documents on UFO sightings over military bases in the 1970s. After Ground Saucer Watch ran into financial difficulties, Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) pursued the case. Though CAUS argued that the release of official UFO information would not threaten national security, U.S. intelligence agencies claimed their operations would be jeopardized by their release. Even when CAUS emphasized that it only wanted the UFO information and not anything related to U.S. intelligence, the government adamantly refused to release the information. Eventually, federal judge Gerhardt Gesell ruled in the government's favor, citing national security reasons. CAUS protested the decision, claiming the hearing was unfair. In particular, the group pointed out that the judge was not allowed to review the UFO material despite having top security clearance. In fact, Judge Gesell was only given a summary explaining why the government could not release the documents, which served as the basis for his decision. Although CAUS failed to win the case, it continues to work for the release of government UFO documents through the Freedom of Information Act. |
What is an IFO? An IFO is an Identified Flying Object. In essence, it is a natural or man-made object that people reported as a UFO. About 90%-95% of all UFO reports prove to be IFOs, after an examination of the evidence by a trained investigator. People report natural or conventional objects as UFOs because they do not recognize them as such, due to unusual environmental conditions, ignorance, or the rarity of a natural event. For example, people have reported the planet Venus as a UFO, unaware of how bright the planet can appear at certain times of the year. Stars near the horizon are sometimes reported as UFOs because atmospheric turbulence and thermals (columns of warm air) cause them to twinkle rapidly in red and blue colors. Stars may also appear to dart back and forth because of autokinesis. This is a psychological phenomenon in which a person's eye movements create the illusion that a bright object seen in the dark without a frame of reference is moving. In order to distinguish between UFOs and IFOs, an investigator must find as much information about a sighting as possible, without leading witnesses into giving false details. It is also important that UFO reports are investigated soon after the sighting, so all relevant information about possible IFO explanations can be considered. It is significant that IFO reports, along with genuine UFO reports, have decreased over the past decade. People almost never report Venus or advertising planes, for example, as UFOs. The reasons for the decline in IFO reports are worthy of serious study and could shed light on the nature of the UFO phenomenon. IfUFOs are misperceptions of natural or man-made objects, as many skeptics claim, why don't people misperceive these objects as UFOs today? If UFO sightings are the result of psychological problems, can we assume people report fewer UFOs today because they are psychologically healthier? If UFOs are a rare or unknown natural phenomenon, what has happened in the earth's environment to cause the decline in sightings? The answers to these and other questions may provide missing pieces to the UFO puzzle. |
