Quote from Angela on February 26, 2022, 12:17 am

Ufology is the pseudoscientific study of reports, visual records, physical evidence and other phenomena related to ‘unidentified flying objects’.

Is there really life beyond earth?

UFOs have been subject to Governments and various investigative bodies, independent groups and scientists for many years, yet ufology, as a field, has continually been rejected by modern academia and considered a pseudoscience. 

Historically, ufology has three traceable roots emanating from notable cases such as the Foo Fighters reported by allied air men of World War II, the mysterious Air Ships of 1890s Western America, the 1930s Ghost Fliers of North America and Europe and the Kenneth Arnold flying saucer sighting in Washington Mount Rainier (1927).

Notable persons who were enthusiastic about this topic are Stanford Astrophysicist Peter A Sturrock and Harvard University Professor Avi Loeb who states 'aliens have already visited here'.

Scientist Stanton Friedman was quoted as saying he considers the general attitude of ufologist scholars as being arrogant and dismissive tightly bound to a rigid worldview. It was also put forth that the fear of ridicule has prevented many scientists from pursuing ufology. Hynek responded that ridicule is not part of the scientific method.

Recent sightings and world incidents brought the concept of UFOs into the public eye and interest in the topic is steadily and rapidly growing.

In the past, the US Military have feared that the Soviet Union may be behind the sightings and there a national security requiring investigation.

An article released in 1969 claimed that the study of UFOs had achieved little and further investigations were deemed as being unnecessary.

Pseudoscience is described as ‘lacking in scientific methodology and supporting evidence and cumulative scientific progress or status’. 

Skeptics argue that the phenomena do no make reliable predictable appearances allowing observation therefore one cannot perform systematic study non tangible evidence in a laboratory.

Audiences on the study are continually divided. The first group seek to convince the unbeliever of extraterrestrial activity through systematic scientific study and discussion whereas the second group feel it far more urgent that we determine where these crafts are coming from rather than expend time on academics.

Ufology was split into the following field investigation categories known as the Hyneck System which was developed in the 1970s by J. Allen Hyneck and teams of ufologists which divides sightings into categories.

 The following descriptive classification system categories were presented.

Nocturnal lights - anomalous lights seen in the night sky.

Daylight discs - any object seen in distant day time sky (not necessarily discoidal in shape).

Radar visuals - objects seen simultaneously by eye and on radar.

Close encounter - mid flight manoeuvre trajectory and discontinuity.

Fly By - no observed discontinuity in flight.

Anomaly - unusual lights or unexplained entities.

CE1  - Strange objects seen nearby but without physical interaction with environment.

CE2  - a CE1 case which leaves physical evidence such as soil depressions, vegetation damage or radiations or electromagnetic interference.

CE3  - Cases of CE1 or CE2 but where entities were observed and 

CE4 - incidents whereby individuals feel they were abducted by a UFO.

CE5 - Conscious human initiated interaction with extraterrestrial intelligence and/or any physiological impact such as threat of death.

According to the English Oxford Dictionary, the term ufology derives from ancient Greek and was first documented in The Times Newspaper literary supplement from January 1959.

However, the term UFO was in fact first coined by United States Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt in January 1951.

I am excited to provide more on this fascinating topic and interested to hear your thoughts.

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