UFO FAQ (1994)/01 Terminology and Definitions

Terminology and Definitions Used in UFOlogy

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Astronomical Units (A.U.)

An A.U. is a measurement of space. One A.U. is the distance from the earth to the sun.

a.a.v.

alt.alien.visitors is one of the many Usenet discussion groups.

What is a UFO?

A UFO is an Unidentified Flying Object.

It is "Something seen in the sky (or on the land, or expceptionally in the water, but thought capable of flight) which the witness could not identify and thought sufficently strange to report to either an offical or unoffical investigating body".

A UFO is the stimulus for a UFO report made by a UFO witness. UFO researchers (often called UFOlogists) study UFO reports and witnesses. UFO researchers cannot directly study UFOs. There are some reports in the literature of different governments recovering craft thought to cause UFO reports, but most of these reports are speculative. The study of UFO reports is referred to as UFOlogy. This implies a scientific basis to the study, when in practice very little scientific research is carried out. After careful investigation about 90% of all UFO reports can be reasonably explained as either natural phenomena or misidentification of normal manmade devices. Sometimes the term IFO is used for these Identified Flying Objects. Those cases which are identified as natural phenomena are often rare or short lived and are worthy of study in their own right.

In the early days of investigation used interchangably with the term 'Flying Saucer'. More recently the term Flying Saucer has fallen into disuse, although some researchers use it as a term to specifically refer to an extraterrestrial spacecraft.

What is an alien?

According to my dictionary :

ALIEN

belonging to another : a foreign-born resident of a country in which he is not naturalized

Therefore the term alien means, more or less, somebody or something that is in the wrong place. It should be noted that whilst extraterrestrial beings might be a sub-group of aliens, not all aliens are (necessarily) extra- terrestrial. Some people use the term 'space aliens' to refer explicitly to extraterrestrial beings.

Classification of UFO Reports

The main classification of UFO reports in use is based upon one used by Dr J. Allen Hynek in his book "The UFO Experience" (Aberlard-Schuman 1972). It should be noted that many other classification systems have been devised by other researchers. Briefly the Hynek system (with the most commonly used extensions) is :

NL (nocturnal light)

A simple visual sighting of a unidentified flying light seen at night. This group contains 35 to 40 percent of all UFO reports.

ND (nocturnal disc)

A simple visual sighting of a unidentified flying extended or structuredlight source seen at night. (This is an extension to Hynek's system).

DD (daylight disc)

A simple visual sighting of a UFO with distinct shape seen during the day.

Radar Cases

UFOs detected by radar alone. In more recent years fewer cases involving radar have hit the press. This could be because of a number of factors, for example the government is better at suppressing these reports, or there has been a change in the nature of the phenomenon which makes it less detectable or that many of the early reports were the result of spurious events and false positives which are handled better by more modern equipment.

Radar Visual Cases

UFOs observed visually whilst being simulataneously on radar. From Hynek's study these make up 1 to 2% of reports.

Close Encounters of the first kind (CE1, CEI)

As first defined by Hynek, a CE1 is an observation of a UFO within 150 yards.

Close Encounters of the second kind (CE2, CEII)

A UFO which leaves some form of physical evidence Example: A burn where the UFO appeared to touch the ground or the finding of material of unknown makeup.

Close Encounters of the third kind (CE3, CEIII)

A visual sighting of an occupant or entity associated with a UFO. An analysis by Hynek of 650 reports found only 1% to be CE3. These entities are sometimes called UFOnauts.

As well as entities seen inside a craft, entities have been described as sampling soil, rocks and plants or might communicate with the witness. These witnesses are sometimes referred to as contactees. As well as communication, the witness may report that they were invited on board a craft or even taken for a trip.

Although included with UFOs, when dealing with contactees the researcher is dealing with a case of something clearly identified by the witness as some form of craft (without specifying the origin of that craft). Strictly speaking the object is no longer unidentified.

(Close Encounters beyond the third kind are extensions to the basic Hynek system. Different authors have used the same designation to mean different things.)

Close Encounters of the fourth kind (CE4, CEIV)

An abduction of an individual by an alien being or race. The most famous of these being the abduction of Betty and Barney Hill in September 1961. (Hynek included this case in his CE3 category.) Although in recent years abductions have, because of their spectacular nature, received a great deal of publicity, they constitute only a small proportion of all UFO reports.

Close Encounters of the fifth kind (CE5, CEV)

Sometimes used to represent a direct contact or communication with alien being or race. For example: Billie Meier with the Pleiadians, U.S.Govt. with the Greys, or channeling.

Other researchers have used this classification for strange beings that have been reported, but without the obvious presence of a 'craft'. These beings are generally seen in the witnesses house at night. Their description is similar to the beings seen associated with UFOs in abduction and contactee cases. Sometimes they are called 'bedroom visitors', the same set of reports have been classified as CE0 (zero) and CE9 by other groups of researchers.

It must be remembered that, after careful investigation, over 90% of UFO reports can be reasonably explained as manmade or natural phenomena. The late Charles H. Gibbs-Smith (aviation historian to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) had something he called Gibbs-Smith's rule which is worth keeping in mind when studying UFO reports. It states that "the strangeness of a case increases in proportion to the distance, in either time or geographical distance, between the investigator and the location of the report."

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