Ufology Handbook 080713/UFO basics
UFO BASICS
[edit | edit source]To understand what a UFO actually is, one must first define both what the term means and what human experiences it is applied to. "UFO" is the acronym of Unidentified Flying Object, a term first popularized by Edward J. Ruppelt in the early 1950's. "UFO" was intended to replace the expressions "Flying Saucer" and "Flying Disc". These two earlier terms had (by the 50's) both become much derided by sensationalist media coverage and rendered inaccurate by numerous sightings of non-discoid "objects". However (despite Ruppelt's efforts) the expression "flying saucer" is still used by popular culture even today. There have been many attempts to define the UFO. One of the best was suggested by the so-called "Condon project" in the late 1960's, which defined "UFO" as equating to;
"...the stimulus for a report made by one or more individuals of something seen in the sky (or an object thought to be capable of flight but seen when landed on the earth) which the observer could not identify as having an ordinary natural origin..."
The fact that a plethora of differing phenomena are (probably) "grouped" under this (and every) definition of a "UFO" has resulted in extreme difficulties in determining the phenomenon's parameters. The fact that such events always occur out of the blue (and usually leaves no physical proof in their wake) has handicapped attempts to discover the nature of the phenomena to a considerable degree.
To determine whether an UFO report can be deemed truly anomalous, it is necessary to conduct an investigation into that incident; comparing the "UFOs" attributes to that of various mundane phenomena. When this is conducted (given the sighting-account contains sufficient information to permit a reasoned assessment) it is discovered that around 80-95% of all reports are explicable in terms of misperceptions of natural and man-made objects, hoaxes and hallucinations. Such "false" UFO sightings are collectively termed "IFOs" (or Identified Flying Objects).
However, around 5-20% of sightings also appear to be "True UFOs"; reports that (even following an intensive investigation) cannot easily be explained as misperceptions, hallucinations or fabrications. Most UFO investigator or researchers (collectively termed Ufologists) use the term "UFO" as a general description for all claimed sightings, whether explicable or not (hence the need to use terms such as "true UFO" or "IFO" when precisely discussing specific types of reports). Around 15% of all reports are too ill-defined to permit a reasoned evaluation (important details such as date and/or duration of observation being absent or poorly recalled). Such observations are referred to as "Insufficient Information" incidents. Technically, they are neither True UFOs nor IFOs, and are effectively set to one side in the (usually forlorn) hope that further data concerning them will be eventually uncovered.
Defining the UFO...
[edit | edit source]To further the cause of UFO research, UFO (& IFO) reports are placed into various (arbitrary) categories, based on either their reported distance from the observer(s) or on the general nature of what allegedly occurred. The system most often used in Britain today was originally devised by Dr. J. Allen Hynek in the early 1970's and later amended during the late 1970's by British researchers Peter Warrington & Jenny Randles. This system defines UFO reports in the following manner;
The term LOW DEFINITION (LD) is used to define UFO reports involving claimed observations of a single pin-point of light, a "cluster" of multiple lights or a poorly-defined (often unluminated) shape - the term LITS (Lights In The Sky) also being utilised to describe such events by many UFO investigators. On the other hand, UFOs described as having a well-defined shape are classified as MEDIUM DEFINITION (MD) incidents.
UFO events involving alleged effects on a human, animal, machine or its surrounding area which cease once the UFO leaves the sighting location are labelled CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FIRST KIND (CE1), while the term CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SECOND KIND (CE2) describes UFO events where alleged UFO-originated effects on humans, animals, machines and/or the environment reputedly occur and endure for some period following the sighting.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (CE3) define UFO reports which also encompass claimed observations of supposed UFO "entities". Additionally, some researchers specifically define a certain type of entity encounter - the so-called UFO "abduction" - or incidents featuring notable psychic elements as CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FOURTH KIND (CE4), although the use of this particular definition class remains controversial.
Ufologists often refer to UFO events classified as CE1's (or higher) as "High Strangeness" incidents, due to them being associated with more anomalous aspects than LD or MD reports.
INSTRUMENTALLY DETECTED (ID) events - sometimes treated as a sub-category of the various other UFO "clades" - relate to UFO reports involving a stimulus reputedly recorded or detected by a device during the sighting; which can potentially range from a camera to a RADAR scope.
It is estimated (on figures derived from various "opinion polls") that 2%-7% of the British population (1.1 - 4 million people) have observed what they believe to be a UFO. It is further estimated that only around 10% of these witnesses report their sightings to a formal body and/or civilian UFO societies. This would suggest that a total of around 100,000-400,000 recorded British sightings exist, held by the various bodies involved in collating UFO data.
IFO Types
[edit | edit source] Obviously, these substantial figures do not indicate that we have hordes of alien space vessels flying overhead! As previously explained, of those containing sufficient data to permit an investigation, 80-95% of any given sample of UFO events turn out to be explicable. Many such reports involve very basic text-book descriptions of various mundane phenomenon, so basic that they are often identified by simply asking a few basic questions to a witness over the telephone. Other IFO-based incidents are more complex, requiring a major effort to resolve them.
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| Sample of 1,003 UK reports investigated by the Northern UFO Network during 1978-1979 (divided into UFOs & IFOs and grouped by sighting-class) | Common sources of IFO reports and the approximate percentage of explicable sightings they generate (based on a dataset composed solely of IFOs): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| From Randles 1981: pp 24-27 Whatever their level of complexity, Ufologists have discovered most IFO reports are instigated by only a few types of natural and man-made phenomenon (with other causes appearing only occasionally). |
Based on Hendry, 1980. (see Figures 3a and 3b below for a more detailed breakdown of IFO types) |
Aircraft and helicopters generate a considerable number of IFO reports. Depending on an aircraft's angle and distance to an observer, anything from one to four or more lights may be observed. Aircraft body-lighting follows precise regulations established many years ago by the C.A.A (Civil Aviation Authority). A white light must be located on a aircraft's tail, a green light on the left wing, a red light on the right wing, with one (sometimes two) red flashing lights mounted on the fuselage. Alternatively, brilliant white strobe lights can be used on the wings and tail, in place of the conventional steady white, green and red lights. Furthermore, all aircraft are equipped with brilliant landing lights. These are switched on long before touchdown during misty, nocturnal conditions and can be seen from many kilometres away. A physiological process called perceptual filling may result in an observers' mind "joining together" a configuration of lights, resulting in them perceived as being attached to a darkened, unearthly-looking (but spurious) form.
Aircraft can also assume very strange illusory shapes even under daylight conditions. If travelling directly towards a witness, an aircraft can temporarily assume a "domed disc" like appearance, or a shiny cigar/disc shape object if viewed from sideways-on or below during a sunny day (its wings obscured by distance, angle or solar glare).
In the United States light aircraft are employed in nocturnal advertising ventures, employing a matrix of lights attached to a metal grid (located either below its wings or trailing behind it). When activated, it functions as a luminated bill-board, able to display a variety of computer-generated commercial messages. If viewed from some distance (on an odd angle), they can present a confusing, shifting light-pattern, often taken to be a rotating flying saucer by the unwary! Such advertising aircraft of this type are currently rare in Britain; airships using near-identical "bill-boards" (positioned on the sides of its gasbag) see limited use – but have nonetheless generated numerous “UFO” reports.
Airborne refuelling tanker-planes may be occasionally observed in certain parts of the United Kingdom (often near coastal regions and restricted military air-zones). They utilise a number of non-standard diverse lighting configurations located on their wings and fuselage. Operating at considerable altitudes, their engine noise is often muffled by their marked distance from ground-based observers.
Bright naked-eye planets and stars represent another common source of IFO reports; the planet Venus being the most commonly misperceived astronomical body. The majority of astronomical-derived incidents involve nothing too outlandish; usually observations of stationary distant lights visible for ten minutes or more. However, they can also be subject to numerous adverse perceptional and atmospheric effects. They can rapidly and repeatedly "flash" different colours of the spectrum (often white, red, green and blue). This effect is induced by atmospheric turbulence, a more extreme variety of the condition which causes stars to "twinkle".
Otherwise unnoticeable involuntary eyeball movements become starkly apparent when observing a bright light against a dark, featureless background. This phenomenon (termed the autokenesis effect) can cause a star or planet to make apparently erratic, stop-start "darting" motions confined to a limited area of sky. Similar motions can be induced by viewing an astronomical object through hand-held binoculars or a camera, (induced in this instance by involuntary hand-tremor). Finally, induced motion is another effect able to impart illusory motion onto a stellar body. A star or a planet viewed from a moving vehicle will seem to "follow" or "pace" it, stopping and starting when the vehicle does.
Bolides are super-bright, long-duration meteors which have generated a fair share of spurious UFO reports over the years. Bolides are usually seen during the night, but exceptionally bright ones may be visible in daylight. They often described as resembling a glowing sphere or (at night) a darkened cigar or disc with luminated "windows". These so-called "windows" are, in actuality, fragmented sections of a bolide luminated by atmospheric friction and following the same course as the original complete body. In either instance a long, incandescent trail is nearly always emitting from its rear. Bolides follow continuous straight or curved trajectories, and are usually visible for 10 seconds or less (up to 30 seconds in a few rare instances); a bolides' demise often marked by it exploding with a loud bang. Expended rocket-sections or satellites re- entering the atmosphere results in a similar phenomenon, but tend to be slower moving and visible for around two minutes.
Weather balloons are responsible for many daylight "UFO" observations. The majority of spurious reports are generated by large balloons used to accumulate data on upper-atmospheric conditions. The smaller (more common) "radiosonde" type balloons are harder to observe and burst within hours of launch, but research balloons can endure for many weeks, travelling a notable distance during their "lifetime". Balloons can (depending on lighting conditions, viewing angle and degree of inflation (which changes with height)) assume a spherical, tear drop, triangular or discoid shape. Their colour is dependent on the prevalent lighting conditions; white or slivery on a sunny day, greyish when overcast. They may even slowly "change colour" (from white to red) when observed around sunset. Balloons drift with the prevailing wind, but may suddenly shoot rapidly upwards and/or temporally dart off in a different direction if caught in a air-thermal. Really high altitude balloons can travel on upper-atmospheric winds, which may blow in a different direction to winds prevalent at lower altitudes.
Artificial satellites appear to the naked eye as a single, distant, whitish pin-point of light traversing along a swift, continuous arch-like path. A satellite may vanish suddenly near the horizon, as it becomes eclipsed by the earth's shadow. They can also seemingly assume a "zig-zag" course, an illusion also resulting from the autokenesis effect. Satellites were once a notable source of IFO reports, but are less so today.
Since their introduction in the early 1980's, laser-light displays have become a major source of IFO reports. Sightings from those unaware of their actual origin described either a multitude of swiftly-moving white lights executing repeating, rhythmic motions (such as circling, meeting at a single point and then shooting away) or a dark spinning "disc" with white lights running around its edge. These displays can be seen from a considerable distance if the prevailing cloud base is fairly high.
Since the late 1990s luminous airborne “sky lantern” balloons commonly termed “Chinese Lanterns” (but also sometimes known as Khoom Fay, Khom Loy or Kung Ming) have become popular in the UK, mass releases being used to mark weddings and outdoor parties. These can be manifest as one (often 3 or more) glowing orange/red glowing orbs traversing across the sky often in a slow climbing motion and enduring for around 15 minutes, vanishing suddenly as the lantern burns up in flight. Their current popularity is such that they have quickly become a significant instigator of “UFO” reports in the UK and elsewhere in the world.
Small disc-shaped helium balloons, up to one foot (30 cm) in diameter and coloured silver on one half and dark on the other, have instigated a significant quantity of “UFO” reports since the early 1980’s. These tend to be seen at fairly low elevation drifting with the prevailing ground-level wind. If perceived as a largish object some distance from the observer they will be reported as moving relatively fast. As these are often sold at fetes it may be useful for investigators to check whether such an event occurred downwind of the observer.
Solar Balloons are large dark tubular shaped balloons composed of very thin black plastic usually around 8 metres long. They are inflated by wafting air inside the fabric and then sealing the open end; exposure to ambient sunlight warming the air within it being sufficient to generate lift. They are usually only flown during cool, sunny days with little or no wind. While normally tethered, they can sometimes escape their owner’s grasp; thereafter capable of reaching high altitudes (up to 9,000 metres (30,000 feet)) and drifting hundreds of kilometres from their point of origin. A solar balloon can be perceived as a large dark vertical tube/cigar shaped “UFO” with rounded ends, often exhibiting a repeated slow “sew-saw” tumbling motion.
However, they can be “bespoke made” from thin bin-liners - hence disc, tetrahedral and other (even exotic) shaped solar balloons are possible.
Birds, parachute flares, model aircraft, airships, drone aircraft, spotlights and highly-reflective "Mylar" kites also generate numerous reports, but much fewer in comparison to aircraft, balloons and astronomical bodies. Rarer still are sightings instigated by Ball lightning, mirages, lenticular or noctilucent clouds and sun (or moon) dogs (fuzzy glows created by free-floating ice crystals, reflecting the light of either the sun or the moon).
Almost as uncommon are sightings based on subjective causes, such as myopia (the so-called "spots before the eyes" effect) and "after-images" (transient "blurs" on the eyeball caused by staring at bright light-sources). Despite the remarks of various casual UFO detractors, few reports involve either alcohol or narcotic-induced hallucinations. Those that do appear mainly involve naturally-induced altered states of mental consciousness (especially common in people on the verge of falling asleep or waking up).
Hoax sightings are also quite rare, only amounting to around 5% of all reports. Fabricated "UFO" experiences tend to relate to photographs, purported physical traces and claims of "close encounters", rarely basic observations of aerial "objects"
FIGURE 3a:
Statistical break-down of 1,051 "UFO" sightings originating from Northern England during 1975-1979:
table 3
- or 85.20% if also incorporating all "insufficient data" reports.
Breakdown of IFO types
AIRCRAFT: 312 CONTRAIL: 9 HELICOPTER: 38 AIRSHIP: 2 BALLOON: 53 MODEL AIRCRAFT: 1 KITE: 4 FLARE: 14 METEORS: 84 SPACE DEBRIS: 4 SATELLITES: 48 STAR: 55 JUPITER: 1 VENUS: 20 MOON: 18 SUNSPOTS: 1 BIRDS: 20 CLOUD: 11 INSECTS: 2 FIRE: 4 MIST: 1 SUNSPOT: 1 AURORA: 1 GROUND LIGHTS: 9 DOG: 1 FUNGUS: 1
BALL LIGHTNING: 12 ELECTRICAL SPARKS:3 CORONA DISCHARGE: 3 FILM DEFECT: 1 AIR RESIDUE: 1 OPTICAL PHENOMENA: 20 PSYCHOLOGICAL: 10 HOAX: 17
From Randles, J (1983) UFO Reality London: Robert Hale; pp.25- 27.
FIGURE 3b:
205 UK reports Jan 1980- Dec 1982 (from BUFORA records): table 4
Breakdown of IFO types
AIRCRAFT: 28 METEORS: 18 C/L(?): 11 VENUS: 10 STARS: 7 BALLOONS: 7 SATELLITE: 5 BALL LIGHTNING: 5 SIGNAL FLARES: 4 HELICOPTER: 3 JUPITER/SATURN: 2 MOON: 2 HOAX: 2 HALLUCINATION: 2 KITE: 2 LIGHTHOUSE: 1 SEARCHLIGHT: 1 GROUNDLIGHT: 1 REFLECTIONS: 1 NOCTILUCENT CLOUD: 1 FIRE: 1 FARM EQUIPMENT: 1 MYOPIA: 1 VAPOUR TRAIL: 1
From Wootten, N.R. (1985)," A Statistical Overview 1980-1982". JTAP (Journal of Transient Aerial Phenomena) Vol 4, issue 1 pp.20-27.
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