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May 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 31/05/2010 6:15 PM Page 17 Top 10 most common explanations for UFOs 17 Top 10 most common the natural human reluctance to admit error as roundish or oval shape that can be explanations for UFOs well as the trauma such an experience can extraordinarily unnatural and even 'saucer-like' sometimes induce. in appearance, which in turn can be confused for sify.com an extremely large disk by people unfamiliar 9. Meteors, comets, and fireballs with such meteorological phenomenon. It is a fact that literally millions of Only those entirely unfamiliar with this people around the world claim to have seen a phenomenon are likely to be fooled by a UFO at one time or another, and many lenticular cloud, however, especially once they thousands of reports have been officially filed observe one for a while and realize it is not going all the way back to World War II. moving or that it doesn't appear to be However, investigation into just what mechanical in nature. these objects may have been have pretty Still, for the unaware, it can be a strange conclusively demonstrated the vast majority of sight and one that might be easily confused for these reports have prosaic explanations such as something otherworldly. hoaxes, hysteria, or misidentified natural or man-made objects, much to the chagrin of the 7. Ball lightning UFO community. While many dismiss such explanations as simplistic attempts to skirt the issue or, worse, a carefully contrived and orchestrated effort at debunking the entire phenomena, the This is a less common explanation, since fact is that many, if not most, UFOs can usually most people are familiar with meteors (or be explained away. 'shooting stars' as they are commonly called) As such, it's important we examine each and so are unlikely to mistake one for a UFO. of the many explanations offered, if only in an Comets are even less likely to be effort to better appreciate the difficulties mistaken for a UFO, especially since they investigators frequently face when looking at remain fixed in the sky, can be seen for weeks at the phenomena from a scientific perspective, a time, and are usually not particularly bright in compelling me to create my list-in no particular the first place. order-of the top ten alternative explanations A fireball, however-basically a large, usually given to explain UFOs. brightly lit meteor observed at close range-is a better candidate, as they can be very bright, last Among the more unusual and lesser 10. The planet Venus several seconds, appear to split into smaller understood electrical curiosities known to pieces, and even abruptly disappear from sight science is something called 'ball lighting', a as if 'zooming away at great speed' as many phenomenon that has only been identified UFO witnesses describe. within the last fifty years or so. When seen head-on, a fireball can be Basically, ball lightning is a sphere of particularly impressive, as it would appear to be static electricity that has the ability to glow an extremely bright and slow-moving object intensely for several minutes at a time and, that suddenly vanishes from view, much like a when seen in broad daylight, can even take on a UFO frequently does. fluid silvery-like sheen that can be easily Such astronomical phenomena are not, mistaken for metal, giving them a 'disk-like' however, adequate explanations for an object appearance. that makes abrupt course changes in mid-flight, Additionally, though usually seen to changes color (or shows multiple colors) or that move randomly, sometimes the discharge is lasts more than a few seconds, and as such they described as being attracted to a certain object- probably constitute only a very tiny fraction of normally an aircraft-giving these orbs the all UFO reports. appearance of 'following' a plane and even matching it in terms of speed and maneuvers, It's no coincidence that UFO reports go 8. Lenticular clouds thereby giving it the impression of being under up sharply whenever Venus makes an especially intelligent control. bright appearance in the night sky, so this Commonly described as spherical, explanation is not as far-fetched as it seems. Under the proper conditions, Venus can ovoid, teardrop, or rod-like in shape, and with be among the brightest objects in the sky- colours that vary from red to yellow (though other colors have been observed) it's not particularly on a moonless night-and has even difficult to see how they could easily be been known to be visible in the daytime under mistaken for an unnatural object, especially the proper conditions, making it a frequent explanation for many a mysterious "bright light after it disperses, is absorbed into something, or-though rarely-vanishes in an explosion. in the sky." As such, ball lightning appears to be a For those already predisposed towards accepting any unusual light in the sky as a perfectly adequate explanation for some of the more erratic lights seen in the sky-particularly potential close encounter, Venus makes an excellent candidate for being a UFO-especially those observed from aircraft. when it is seen low on the horizon from a 6. Weather Balloons moving automobile (when it can appear to be "chasing them"), or on a partly cloudy night Technically known as altocumulus when it will seem to abruptly appear and standing lenticularis, lenticular clouds are Though frequently lampooned as the disappear as fast-moving clouds obscure it from stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high most simplistic of explanations for UFOs, the view. altitudes, normally where stable moist air flows fact is that helium filled weather balloons make Additionally, it can be extremely over a mountain or a range of mountains. excellent UFOs, especially when seen from difficult to convince people that the bright light Normally these air currents form long below when their spherical shape can appear in the sky they saw was merely sunlight strings of clouds known as a wave cloud, but disk-like. reflecting off a nearby planet, largely because of sometimes, under the right conditions of wind Further, these balloons can be quite and thermal currents, they can take on a large, are often coated in a highly reflective