UFOs And Astronomors - Strange Bedfellows?

Careers are quickly destroyed if one is branded a kook, and in many circles, that's what you are when you admit you've seen a UFO. I should know, I saw one over 30 years ago and have kept it a secret for this reason.

The stakes are raised, of course, if we're talking about academic communities, and even more so among astronomers -- people who study the skies for a living.

Most astronomers say there's nothing of any scientific merit that could result in the study of UFOs.

If you say, "Let's pursue an investigation of UFOs so we can identify where these alien spacecraft are coming from," then I know for a fact people go, "What? I'm not touching that with a 10-foot pole." But if you say, "Let's look at what the possibilities are that, at one time, there were environments where life possibly could have developed on Mars and where this life is today," then everybody says, "Oh, yeah, I want a piece of that.".

But I say why not study what UFOs are? Here we have a phenomenon that causes a tremendous amount of interest. Why not try to understand what it is? The Ohio State University Telescope's "WOW" signal cannot be scientifically explained/debunked to this day.

A look at historical records reveals how some respected astronomers have, indeed, not only endorsed efforts to study the UFO phenomenon, but in many cases, have themselves seen unexplained objects for which they couldn't account.

In the late 1940s, astronomer - and UFO skeptic - J. Allen Hynek became the scientific consultant to Project Blue Book. During the nearly 20 years that Hynek was charged with explaining away UFO reports, he prepared a "Special Report On Conferences With Astronomers On Unidentified Aerial Objects."

Included in the study of 45 astronomers was a general feeling that "if they were promised complete anonymity and if they could report their sightings to a group of serious, respected scientists who would regard the problem as a scientific one, then they would be willing to cooperate to the very fullest extent." Interesting.

Hynek later went on to coin the phrase, "close encounters of the first, second and third kind," which described the various types of UFO reports made by people.

Also in 1977, astrophysicist Peter Sturrock created a survey based on responses of members of the American Astronomical Society concerning UFOs. One respondent wrote: "I find it tough to make a living as an astronomer these days. It would be professionally suicidal to devote significant time to UFOs. However, I am quite interested in your survey."

And there you have it.

A year after Sturrock's survey, Hynek found himself addressing the United Nations on the topic of continuing global sightings of UFOs.

"If it were not worldwide, I should not be addressing ... these representatives from many parts of the world.", Hynek told the UN Special Political Committee in 1978. "There exists a global phenomenon the scope and extent of which is not generally recognized. It is a phenomenon so strange and foreign to our daily terrestrial mode of thought that it is frequently met by ridicule and derision by persons and organizations unacquainted with the facts."

"Yet, the phenomenon persists; it has not faded away as many of us expected it would when, years ago, we regarded it as a passing fad or whimsy. Instead, it has touched on the lives of an increasing number of people around the world."

Here is Hynek discussing astronomers and ufo's -

www.youtube.com...

Joining Hynek at that milestone UN initiative to try and get the world body to create an internal UFO committee was astronomer Jacques Vallee (full disclosure - I regard Vallee as the brightest mind to ever seriously tackle the subject thus far) -

"We are beginning to pay the price for the negative and prejudiced attitude with which our scientific institutions have treated sincere witnesses of UFO phenomena," Vallee told the U.N. delegates in 1978. "Lack of serious, open-minded research in this field has encouraged these witnesses to think that science was incapable of dealing with the phenomena.

"This attitude has led many people to seek answers outside the rational pursuit of knowledge to which science is dedicated. Only an open exchange of information on the subject could now correct this dangerous trend."

Vallee closed his remarks at the United Nations, saying, "All the great nations of the world are represented on this committee. Let us keep in mind that the UFO phenomenon may represent an even greater reality. It is our choice to treat it as a threat or as an opportunity for human knowledge."

Here is Jacques Vallee discussing UFOs at the 2011 Global Competitiveness Forum in Saudi Arabia.

www.youtube.com...

And then there are all of the UFO reports that emerged from China in 2010, making almost daily headlines as unexplained lights and objects were seen throughout the country, and in some cases, responsible for airports temporarily closing down until the UFOs left the area.

Wang Sichao, a most respected long-time planetary astronomer at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the UFO reports "refer to events of credible facts backed by observation. But these facts cannot yet be explained by existing scientific knowledge or natural phenomena."

In an interview published in the Beijing Review, Sichao continues -

"The reason is that a UFO only appears randomly and often disappears rapidly in a few minutes. By the time large professional telescopes are started up, it has already disappeared. So, we can only rely on information from occasional sightings or encounters by observers," he explained.

Voila.

So, what needs to happen to ultimately lend more credibility to people who want to study UFOs and eventually solve the mystery, one way or another?

The classic "provable" scenario of a UFO landing on the front lawn of the White House - is no longer valid, unless the ufo stays on the lawn for several days allowing detailed analysis. Drones and the such have nullified this "touch and go" scenario.

The only way is if some legitimate, recognized scientific institution engages in research about these particular objects. And something that would help it is if we change the name of what it is that's being investigated, because that immediately causes problems. As I noted in another tread, as trite as it is true, it's often not what one says, but the way in which one says it.

If that helps to legitimize the research and makes it acceptable in a way that will bring the strength of others to bear on resolving the questions, then that's a good thing.

Lastly - I believe the phenomena strong enough to weather fallout from any hoax. Whereas hoaxes will continue to tamp down serious study, my very unscientific "gut instinct" tells me that the phenomena will continue. And where there is repetition, or "Frequentist Probability" aka "Frequentism", there remains hope for scientific study.

a reply to: LiteraryJourney

Are you Lee Speigel? If not, you would seem to be a plagairst.
www.huffingtonpost.com...

a reply to: LiteraryJourney

Insightful post, OP, I'd like to hear more about your own UFO experience.

Have you read Leslie Kean's great book on the subject, "UFO's, Generals, Pilots and Government Officials go on the record..."

Here is one little gem from her book, from ex-CIA Director admiral Hillenkoeter:



Here's an online version of the book:

UFO's: Generals, Pilots and Government officials go on the record.....

a reply to: Phage Thank you for exposing my handle here - of course I expected this sooner or later.

a reply to: LiteraryJourney

Oh dear, expect to be contacted by ATS to verify your claim and then maybe be asked to be the subject of an 'ask me anything thread'.

originally posted by: LiteraryJourney
a reply to: Phage Thank you for exposing my handle here - of course I expected this sooner or later.

Well, can't really blame a person for trying to make sure due credit is received. However, if you really are the author and wanted to stay anonymous, you could have simply added the article as a source and denied any involvement in the writing of that Huff Post article.

Fascinating post, thank you for sharing that.

The elephant in the room is the military involvement in this issue.

Physical evidence is taken immediately never to be seen again.
Witnesses have been threatened with terrible fates if they even utter a word.
Cover stories are rapidly put in place, no matter how absurd, like the "military flares" story in Phoenix.

And the chill spreads all throughout academia.
Mainstream science knows the military and intelligence communities regards UFOs as above top secret, so scientists don't dare touch the subject, or risk losing any government contracts, academic standing, tenure, their careers and their reputation.

Even the executive branch and the legislative brach are kept in the dark by the military about UFOs.
As I understand it, the last President who was briefed on UFOs was Richard Nixon.

And we all know what happened to Senator Barry Goldwater when he demanded to be let in to a military base that he believed was housing the bodies of extraterrestrials. If you aren't familiar with the incident it is worth looking into.

So before we can discuss the complete lack of serious scientific inquiry into UFOs and aliens, we must first address the the root cause of the reluctance and fear, the four hundred pound gorilla that does not want you to know.

a reply to: LiteraryJourney

Most astronomers say there's nothing of any scientific merit that could result in the study of UFOs.

Because they aren't there long enough to study.

You say you saw one, so did I. It was over in a minute. There wasn't time to 'study' it, except to maybe recognize it wasn't from here.

a reply to: LiteraryJourney

They do study what they are, somewhere in the desert there is this place called Area 51 or something like that where it is said that they have spent many years reverse engineering these UFO specimens and I think that qualifies, does it not?

Thanks for sharing though!

a reply to: LiteraryJourney

True science has never been brought to bear on the UFO situation except perhaps in covert ways. NASA should have been given the job as that falls entirely within their domain now more than ever. Actually, even the so-called Scientific Method has been tossed aside because of a desire by government to not have the simple truth of the UFO known to the populace.

The deception is done by the book, deny funding and prevent the matter and even the topic from ever coming up as an actual aspect of their service. Commercial pilots won't file a UFO report and neither will an astronomers as the article admits (and they had a lock on the data and ability for decades).

As I've said before, Carl Sagan was a real UFO enthusiast as a grad student, but once he got invited to the so-called Condon Report, that "officially dismissed the phenomena" by simply reviewing old cases and doing absolutely no actual programs, he changed his outlook. He understood the plan and how to work his career.

It is easy to understand the overall plan, buildup a slow model of science looking for ET life, ignoring all of the UFOs in our before our eyes (abductions, data and images), and eventually the public will accept the growing scientific consensus that indeed there may be life out there.

Actually, the benchmarks are moving almost daily. The work being done today is not your grandfather's SETI program, designed to titillate your fancy toward ETs. They are working hard to find positive affirmations that life is "out there." --And you know why? Because the ETs are here already.

Closed for staff review.

LiteraryJourney, please check your Private Messages,m here.
www.abovetopsecret.com...