U.F.O. Sightings

[Starbeast]

U.F.O. SIGHTINGS​

I made a rough recreation of the first U.F.O. that I've ever seen, it glided slowly above me at dusk in the early 1980's.
After that moment, I became interested in Ufology.​

Anyone else want to mention any U.F.O. encounters?​

 

[Toke]

If that really happened then far out

I myself believe in extraterrestrial life 100% but count myself as a kind of agnostic. It's pretty hard to believe some stories.

They're out there but some people just haven't got the patience.

 

[Starbeast]

Toke: If that really happened then far out
Starbeast: It really did, it changed my life.

Toke:I myself believe in extraterrestrial life 100% but count myself as a kind of agnostic.
Starbeast: I also believe that there are other intellegent beings (besides humans) in this universe and from other dimensions.

Toke: It's pretty hard to believe some stories.
Starbeast: True, through research and personal interviews, you can discover some good ones, but very few authentic cases.

Toke: They're out there but some people just haven't got the patience.
Starbeast: True, but if someone really wants to find the answers, they've got to work hard to find out what's really going on.

 

[Parson]

I've always hoped to see one, but I have not. And I am becoming less and less convinced that any race who could truly tread between the stars would not let themselves be seen by us. But when I understand alien psychology we'll all be eating rainbow stew and drinking free Bubble Up.

Starbeast: Did your UFO sighting actually contain what looks to be exhaust? I don't remember any other sighting with that detail.

 

[J Riff]

Mp. Well...didn't see anything clearly.. but in the 70s..I fell asleep driving on the hiway. Or did I ? Something happened, and I came to while driving, and something large was moving up and away to my left. That's it.
Also StarBeast, was your UFO actually under the phone wires, or is that an illusion?!

 

[J-WO]

I've seen one or two things in the sky I can't really explain. That said, I'm no expert on weather, astronomy, satellites etc, so I'm not in a position to make any calls on the matter.

Interestingly, I was looking through an old book I've had since I was a kid about UFOs (and the mysterious generally) and one of the illustrations of a sighting is quite clearly a stealth fighter/ bomber! This was before they were made public, of course, but it must have been a terrifying experience for whoever saw it!

 

[Peter Graham]

J-Wo hits the nail on the head.

If we are talking about UFO's simply as unidentified flying objects, then of course they exist. I saw an unidentified small mammal the other day. It went past too quickly for me to say with any certainty whether it was a weasel or a stoat.

But if we are linking UFO's to extra-terrestrial life (as very many do), then on present "evidence" the making of that link is a step too far.

Leaving aside hoaxers, genuine mistakes, optical illusions or whatever, a significant number of these objects seem to appear in remote places, often near air force bases or other military installations. There is footage of flying saucer tests that were being carried out as long ago as the 1940s. If I was in military top brass, I'd much rather people believed they'd seen little green men than top secret military hardware.

None of this is to say there aren't little green men out there. But like any other claim, it requires proof. And like so much of this stuff - UFO's, Sasquatch, Nessie etc - the proof is always lacking, and what there is tends to rely heavily on hearsay, circumstantial evidence or self-serving evidence.

Take the OP as an example. I don't necessarily doubt what SB says s/he saw, but a clear inference is being drawn (especially from his/her second post) that what was seen was - or might well have been - extra terrestrial. And there is no proof of that. At best, all SB can say is that s/he saw something funny in the sky. That's it. It can be theorised that it was not of this world, but in the absence of any firm evidence to back up that hypothesis, such a statement is no more valid than me saying I think that there might be a goblin behind the door. It's never there when I open the door, but perhaps that's because it hears me coming and runs off.

Regards,

Peter

 

[Ursa major]

A few weeks back, I saw three points of light, in a lengthened isosceles triangle arrangment, moving slowly across the night sky. It was (I assume; it was dark) overcast, with no stars visible. The lights weren't flashing, but I suspect they were on planes or helicopters. (I was in a car with the radio on, so didn't hear anything.)


I live a few miles away from a military facility** (the home of the Special Boat Service, as it happens), so wouldn't be surprised at seeing military craft.



** - When having a meal down by the shore, I occasionally see planes dropping parachutists - whether they're SBS or Marines, I don't know - over the sea in Poole Bay, with RIBs racing to collect them from the water.

 

[Starbeast]

My first personal U.F.O. Sighting

Starbeast: Did your UFO sighting actually contain what looks to be exhaust? I don't remember any other sighting with that detail.

I don't believe it was exhaust, I believe it was gas used to push it gently forward. At first, I heard a hissing sound behind me, then above me, I looked up and SAW IT. That's when I noticed the gas emissions (going on and off), I could even hear it (phssst...phssst...phssst) as the unmarked black disk floated over me. Suddenly the gas stopped, it began to pick up speed and rose quickly in the sky as it headed south. It became orange and yellowish in color as it appeared to leave the atmosphere (arrow pointing at it).


I thought about it for days, I began to have an eerie feeling that it was purposely sneeking up behind me, but I can only guess at it's intentions. I didn't tell anyone about it for years, but I had begun my quest for answers.

StarBeast, was your UFO actually under the phone wires, or is that an illusion?!

It was really close, just below the tops of the telephone poles and a couple of feet above my garage, I could have hit it with a rock, that's how close it was. I made another rough recreation showing just how close the black disk was, plus I drew what it looked like as it flew off.


Still to this day, I can close my eyes and picture it happening like it was yesterday, that's how vivid it was for me. I was completely sober and wide-awake, even my dog that was with me looked up. I wasn't afraid, but I was in awe of it, at the time when it was happening I thought:

"Wow, a flying saucer.......is it from this planet or somewhere else?"

 

[Pyan]

** - When having a meal down by the shore, I occasionally see planes dropping parachutists - whether they're SBS or Marines, I don't know - over the sea in Poole Bay, with RIBs racing to collect them from the water.

Be careful, Ursa - my mate at work was sitting having lunch in his van at Hamble Point, when he was pounced on by armed MOD police, who suspected he was casing Fawley Refinery for avenues of attack...

It went past too quickly for me to say with any certainty whether it was a weasel or a stoat.

Peter, Peter...

A weasel is weasily recognised, because a stoat is stoatally different...

 

[Ursa major]

Be careful, Ursa - my mate at work was sitting having lunch in his van at Hamble Point, when he was pounced on by armed MOD police, who suspected he was casing Fawley Refinery for avenues of attack...

I suspect that the café-owner (well, lease-holder) would have something to say - many of the sightings were made from inside his premises - as would the local tourist authority (as the café is as close to Sandbanks as one can get on land without actually setting foot on the peninsula).



(And you're right about Peter's puzzle: the answer is easily ferreted out.)

 

[J Riff]

There's people who believe that the white...balls that are seen now and again, are the real UFO visitors to earth, and that they are simply watching. Previous to this, the story goes, other, nastier Aliens had Earth on their trade route and would stop here to pick up lifeforms every hundred years or so. But now we have these...white balls...that hover over places like Chicago. Thre's footage of one, and someone on the ground shoots something at it and it zips away with great speed.
StarBeast...what you saw...could it have been earthly? Or did it do the thing where it moves too fast, at impossible angles etc?

 

[Peter Graham]

A weasel is weasily recognised, because a stoat is stoatally different

You're right, of course. But at the time, I was sat at my weasel stoatally absorbed in painting a nice picture of some cows. I could weasily have identified the litle chap had it not been for a stoatal lack of concentration on my part. I'd just dropped my brush and was ferreting about for another one.

 

[J-WO]

Wasn't this little ctitter was it, Peter?

Gef the Talking Mongoose: The Story of Gef

 

[Starbeast]

U.F.O. Sightings: Spheres and Flying Craft

J Riff: There's people who believe that the white...balls that are seen now and again, are the real UFO visitors to earth, and that they are simply watching.
Starbeast: Through research I've uncovered, some people from ancient times made references to invisible telepathic beings who they call "the Watchers". There have even been in modern times, authors on the subject of aliens, who are convinced that there are invisble telepathic otherworldly beings who are watching us.

J Riff: Previous to this, the story goes, other, nastier Aliens had Earth on their trade route and would stop here to pick up lifeforms every hundred years or so.
Starbeast: That could be very possible, there are records in ancient text from India about wars fought in the sky for Earth that have been witnessed by thousands of people. Plus other ancient cultures (like in Peru) that mention beings from space came here to collect precious minerals like gold.

J Riff: But now we have these...white balls...that hover over places like Chicago. Thre's footage of one, and someone on the ground shoots something at it and it zips away with great speed.
Starbeast: These sphere-like objects have been seen all over the world, and in different colors, we can only speculate what they are (probes, dimensional travelers, etc.). Alien physics and technology are beyond our understanding right now.

​

Check out this Chicago item, this is when U.F.O.s were seen by many at O'hare airport, but the incident was hushed up quickly. Employees were ordered not to talk about it.​

J Riff: StarBeast...what you saw...could it have been earthly? Or did it do the thing where it moves too fast, at impossible angles etc?
Starbeast: After many years of thinking about it, I believe it was not from this world, it was silent (except for the hissing gas-jets), it moved away fast toward the south, became orange and yellowish in color (ionization?), it was smooth, black and without any features on it, and appeared to ascend into space gracefully.

 

[AE35Unit]

In the words of Arthur C. Clarke, anyone who hasn't seen a UFO must be blind! Flying saucers on the other hand...

 

[J Riff]

Well it's still interesting, somehow. Not to be taken seriously, until the day finally arrives when... * " BEEEEeeP!! Attention, people of Earth..."

 

[Peter Graham]

Through research I've uncovered, some people from ancient times made references to invisible telepathic beings who they call "the Watchers". There have even been in modern times, authors on the subject of aliens, who are convinced that there are invisble telepathic otherworldly beings who are watching us.

What is the actual evidence for these beliefs?

That could be very possible, there are records in ancient text from India about wars fought in the sky for Earth that have been witnessed by thousands of people.

One has to be careful not to conflate myth with historical fact. Sky battles are a popular feature of many cultures - my bet is that they are an early way of explaining thunderstorms. But a creation myth is nothing like the same thing as a historical fact.

In addition, such myths persist in to relatively modern times - in the mid seventeenth century, it was alleged that a spectral Battle of Edgehill was recreated in the sky above the original battlefield on a number of occasions.

Plus other ancient cultures (like in Peru) that mention beings from space came here to collect precious minerals like gold.

See above. Von Danniken got excited about this stuff, but most of his arguments are palpable cobblers and rarely get beyond wild hypothesis. What do the texts actually say - word for word? This is possibly like the the Nostradamus thing - we are confidently told that he predicted the rise of Hitler (for example), but when one reads the actual text it is clear he did no such thing. What he actually said was a load of vague, portentous drivel which other people twisted to fit what they wanted it to be about. Had he said "I predict that in the 1930's a chap called Adolf Hitler will come to power in a country which does not yet exist as a defined political unit but which will be called Germany", it might have been rather different.

After many years of thinking about it, I believe it was not from this world, it was silent (except for the hissing gas-jets), it moved away fast toward the south, became orange and yellowish in color (ionization?), it was smooth, black and without any features on it, and appeared to ascend into space gracefully.

But with the best will in the world, what you believe is not necessarily the same as what you can prove. I don't know you, but I'll wager you don't work in top secret military research labs. In imputing otherwordly qualities to something you don't personally understand, you are doing precisely the same thing as the Vikings, who imputed divine qualities to things they didn't understand - rainbows, lightning and so on.

Regards,

Peter

 

[J Riff]

The flipside o' that is - if we could prove it, it would be suspicious. Any race advanced enough to even be here at all - would be able to ghost around and ignore us by definition. Proves nothing of course. Sigh*
Hey ALIENS! Enough already. Show yourselves!

 

[Peter Graham]

Hi J Riff

The flipside o' that is - if we could prove it, it would be suspicious. Any race advanced enough to even be here at all - would be able to ghost around and ignore us by definition.

I'm not sure that hangs together. If they are able to ghost around and ignore us, how come people claim to see them?

Proving the existence of something we don't understand shouldn't be that difficult. All we have to do is rule out everything we do understand. For UFO's, that would include taking a sighting and conclusively being able to rule out things like:-

1. Man made hardware
2. Weather and atmospheric conditions
3. Hoaxers
4. Tricks of the light or other optical illusions
5. Genuine mistakes
6. Dreams

If we can do that, then I would have to accept that the most likely remaining explanation is extraterrestrial activity. But unless we can rule out all of the above - and in particular 1 and 3* - the smart money has to be on entirely terrestrial explanations.

Regards,

Peter

* Never understimate this. Fans of the Loch Ness Monster will remember with some embarassment the famous "Surgeon's Photograph", which purported to show a head and neck sticking out of the water. It was stated that the photo had been analysed and was genuine. The photo graced the cover of any number of books and believers hurriedly discounted the possibility of hoax by pointing to the fact that the taker of the photo was an eminent and sober surgeon who swore that his picture was genuine and who had no reason to lie. Except that he was lying, as was revealed after he died. He'd mocked the whole thing up for a laugh.