Page 41 - July - August 2019 - v3_june_july_2009_Neat

Misidentifying Natural Phenomena 41

Misidentifying Natural

Phenomena as UFOs

(How Many UFOs Have

Natural Explanations)

Continued from Page 39

Experimental Military Aircraft: It's no secret
that ever since the advent of flight over a century
ago the military has been hard at work
developing and testing new and ever improved
versions of aircraft along with other
experimental or "cutting edge" technologies, all
with an eye on keeping ahead of—or at least
pace with—our real or potential adversaries. Not
surprisingly, this has led to a vast array of often
unusual or, at very least, unconventional designs
being introduced, which no doubt has probably
Conclusions Objective Look at the Paranormal. He has also
resulted in more than a few UFO reports over
The point to be made here is that it is not written for FATE magazine and is currently
the years. This hypothesis was especially
difficult to see how many good intentioned and pursuing a career as a novelist. Besides writing,
popular during the early years of ufology, when
sincere people can be misled by even the most his hobbies include science and Fortean subjects
it was widely assumed—even by our own
common of astronomical, meteorological, or such as Bigfoot, UFOs and things that go bump
government—that the strange vehicles seen in
aerial phenomena, as well as how even the best in the night.
the skies were either test-flights of captured trained observers are frequently no better at
Nazi aircraft or new and exotic Soviet vehicles
identifying such objects as is the common Website: www.ourcuriousworld.com
capable of penetrating our airspace with
layman, thereby bolstering the skeptics case.
impunity. In fact, the Air Force's first official
However, it is also a fact that while hoaxes,
attempt to investigate UFOs—Project Sign— Moon landing
delusion, and misidentification of natural or
worked from the premise that UFOs were such
man-made objects do account for most UFO
weapons, thus necessitating both the urgency quotes
reports, they do not explain them all. There are
and the secrecy under which Sign operated.
those sightings that, despite the best efforts of
science and the military to explain away, simply At 9.32am ET on July 16, 1969, NASA's
The hypothesis does have a few flaws, however. defy explanation and must be looked at more
First, the flight characteristics of UFOs are so far Apollo 11’s Saturn V rocket took off from
closely. Even the Air Force's own Project Blue the Kennedy Space Centre. The spacecraft
beyond our present technological capabilities
Book couldn't find plausible explanations for
that it is quickly apparent they are not of fired Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and
some 6% of all sightings and if the Air Force
terrestrial manufacture. Even the most modern Michael Collins on a mission into the
couldn't explain them, despite the many
fighter aircraft cannot make ninety degree turns history books. Collins orbited the moon
resources at their command (and, arguably, an
or ascend out of sight within mere seconds, while Armstrong and Aldrin landed on its
innate desire to want to explain them away) it
making the "secret weapon" hypothesis surface. After descending onto the rocky
would be a mistake for the skeptic to dismiss
increasingly problematic. Secondly, advanced lunar surface, Armstrong uttered his
them out-of-hand by assuming the Air Force
aircraft are usually not extraordinarily alien in simply "missed something". That's neither fair historic words as he became the first man
appearance. They may be unconventional on the Moon: “That’s one small step for
nor honest, but merely an effort to avoid having
looking—such as the Stealth fighter and the B-2 man, one giant leap for mankind.”
to deal with the larger issue involved.
"flying wing" bomber—but for the most part
advanced aircraft maintain a fairly traditional Neil Armstrong, during a pre-mission press
For more information on this phenomenon or to
appearance, carry the same running and landing conference: ”I think we’re going to the
explore these issues in more detail, you may be
light configurations, and make much the same moon because it’s in the nature of the
interested in acquiring a copy of, UFOs: The
noises as do other aircraft. Truly exotic and
Great Debate, recently released by Llewellyn human being to face challenges. It’s by the
unconventional designs (the saucer shape, for
Worldwide (just click on the cover to order). It is nature of his deep inner soul … we’re
example) have consistently proven to be an objective attempt to examine the entire UFO required to do these things just as salmon
unstable configurations, aeronautically
phenomenon designed to leave you with a more swim upstream.”
speaking, and were quickly abandoned. Third,
balanced approach to the subject than is possible
most test flights are normally performed over
to achieve with most books about UFOs. Written Michael Collins during liftoff: “We are off!
mostly desolate areas of the country, making
for the person who likes to think for themselves And do we know it, not just because the
their wide-spread appearance over large
and make up their own minds what to believe world is yelling ‘Liftoff’ in our ears, but
population centers unlikely. The military has
about this important issue that continues to grow because the seats of our pants tell us so!
always been careful to ensure its test flights
in popularity every day, the book is a must for Trust your instruments, not your body, the
receive as little attention as possible so it's a near
the serious student of the UFO phenomenon. modern pilot is always told, but this beast is
certainty that the unusual craft you see doing
right angle turns, darting at incredible speeds best felt. Shake, rattle and roll!”
About The Author:
across the sky, and changing color and intensity
J. Allan Danelek (Jeff) has been a
is not one of ours (or anyone else's, for that Neil Armstrong after landing on the moon:
graphic artist for over twenty years and a
matter). While undoubtedly a few UFOs may “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle
paranormal researcher/writer for the last five.
well be misidentifications of secret aircraft on has landed.”
He enjoys exploring his subjects from an
test flights, it's difficult to see how these would
objective, scientific perspective. Jeff is the
account for more than a tiny percentage of all Buzz Aldrin: “Your mind is like a
author of Reconsidering Atlantis: A New Look
reports. parachute: If it isn’t open, it doesn’t work.”
at a Prehistoric Civilization, The Mystery of
Reincarnation, and The Case for Ghosts: An