UFOs are unidentified flying objects that periodically appear in our sky in various parts of the planet. Alien ships are constantly of interest to ordinary people and some scientists. Skeptical astronomers continue to argue that UFOs do not exist. Now we can say only one thing for sure: humanity has not yet managed to either confirm or refute the theory of the existence of aliens. This article contains the most interesting facts about UFOs, starting with information about the first sighting of alien objects.

• The term "UFO" was first used in his book by DE Kihou in 1953. By the way, the book is called "Flying Saucers from Space".
• Attention to alien flying vehicles was attracted by the pilot K. Arnold, who in 1947 noticed 9 unidentified objects floating in the air during the flight. The news of this quickly spread throughout the world, after which ordinary people began to literally seek contact with aliens. Arnold, in turn, saw objects above Mount Rainel, which is located in Washington DC. It was Kenneth Arnold who called UFOs flying saucers, after which this term became popular and often used.
• Officially, the term "UFO" was introduced by the United States Air Force. It happened in 1953. Air Force personnel called by the above term not only unidentified objects in the form of plates, but also other devices of various shapes, the origin of which was difficult to determine.

• Most modern scientists believe that alien ships do not deserve such attention, since they cannot visit our planet so often. It is known that news about UFOs appears on the Internet with enviable regularity. If all of them were true, then we would already be able to establish direct contact with the aliens.
• In the late 1950s and early 1960s, UFO news was incredibly popular in the United States. Later it turned out that practically all such news was, in fact, about the "U-2" - reconnaissance aircraft, which for several years were classified.
• All films about aliens and alien technology can be divided into two groups. The first group, which is the most popular, exhibits hostile alien behavior. In such films, aliens attack people, master our planet, turning our life into Hell. The second group of films shows us a completely different UFO behavior - friendly. In this kind of cinema, aliens try to teach us something high-tech, reveal their secrets and even save people. In addition, there is another category of UFO movies in which we rescue aliens. Such films appear the least frequently. Based on the above, we can assume what exactly we expect from the aliens.

• In ufology, there is the term "ufonaut" - an ancient astronaut. Representatives of this science believe that "ufonauts" in the distant past often visited our planet. This theory is proved by various archaeological finds and architectural monuments of ancient cities.
• In 1967, over England, six unidentified vehicles were lined up in the sky. The government officially approved the plans of scientists and the military who intended to study UFOs. This event attracted widespread attention, but later it turned out that it was all a hoax.
• The Bermuda Triangle is also credited with having a connection with aliens. Researchers believe that an alien permanent base may exist under water in that area, which is often visited by aliens. This explains the mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, which have not been found to this day.
• Renowned astronomer Karl Sagal has always been skeptical. He doubted that a highly advanced alien civilization would wish to establish contact with us. Despite his convictions, he still participated in the world famous project "SETI".

• In the late 1930s, Orson Welles quoted the fantastic book War of the Worlds in his radio broadcast. He described what was happening in it so believably and realistically that thousands of Americans believed that they were really attacked by aliens. A massive panic started around the middle of the book. People quickly gathered their things and tried to leave. Fortunately, the shocked population was reassured in time.
• On July 8, 1947, the wreckage of an alien ship was allegedly found in Rosuela. A little later, the government announced that this ship was, in fact, a terrestrial experimental flying machine. For months, people refused to believe it, accusing the government of deliberately hiding the truth about UFOs.
• In the USSR, alien plates of aliens often turned out to be new types of military equipment.
• A 1996 social study found that 71% of Americans believe the authorities are hiding the truth about alien flying vehicles from them. Moreover, many were convinced that the government had long established contact with the aliens and entered into certain agreements with them.
• The first photograph of an unidentified alien vehicle was taken in 1883 by an astronomer from Mexico named J. Bonilla.
• The first to announce the abduction by aliens were the spouses Betty and Barney named Hill. The kidnapping, they said, took place in 1961 in New Hampshire. The testimony of the spouses completely coincided, despite the fact that they were interviewed separately and under hypnosis.

• In modern times, there are official organizations in the world engaged in the search and study of UFOs. The most famous are: "MUFON", "CUFOS" and the Foundation for the Study of Unidentified Flying Objects.
• Aliens abducted not only ordinary people, but also the military, and in front of their leadership. So in 1953, junior lieutenant F. Yu. Monkla disappeared without a trace. He was sent to intercept a UFO hovering over Michigan. Moncl's plane approached the unidentified apparatus, after which it was enveloped in a bright light, and when everything stopped, it turned out that the plane was no longer on radar. More about the pilot and his plane was not heard.

Fans of conspiracy theories and quite serious men for several decades have been trying to find out what a UFO is and what consequences can be for humanity from contact with another civilization. So far, everything remains somewhere at the level of fiction and we analyze the proposed scenarios only in cinemas. But, perhaps, one day the situation will change dramatically.

What is the probability of meeting aliens?

The universe is infinite. And this frightens all those who, in principle, can imagine what dimensions infinity is striving for.

What else is known about the universe:

• The age of the space around us is measured in billions of years and with each new revision the figure only increases;
• The distance between star systems is too great;
• The emergence of life does not obey any mathematical laws.

Just think:

1. At a distance of 2,000 light years, life originated on two different planets;
2. Apart from two thousand light years, these phenomena were separated by 50 million calendar years;
3. By the time a younger civilization entered space, there was not even dust left from the buildings of the "oldies";
4. Each life form considered itself absolutely unique, the only one endowed with intelligence.

There can be thousands and millions of such examples all the time. Civilizations could flare up and die out like shooting stars in the pitiless sky of eternity. The likelihood that two simultaneously "flare up" almost side by side and be able to find each other - negligible.

In this video, Valery Pyatkin will talk about the nature of UFO occurrence, about cases of objects appearing to earthlings:

What is a UFO really?

There are only three letters in the concept and each of them can be deciphered:

• H - unidentified;
• L - flying;
• O is an object.

In theory, any object that has taken off and is unidentified by anyone can be called a UFO. Even a piece of ice dropped from a transport plane and sparkling during its short flight to the surface can be mistaken for a "flying saucer" crashing.

In fact, most often instead of "little green men" we see:

1. Meteorological probes;
2. Tests of the military and their secret developments;
3. Amateur experiments in rocket science;
4. Optical illusions;
5. Abnormal weather events;
6. Banal rubbish or Chinese lanterns.

So far, no one has succeeded in fixing the spacecraft. Maybe even from the fact that any engineer developing a spacecraft would provide it with protection and camouflage systems.

Especially when it comes to visiting "barbarian" planets. Why scare the natives when you can sneak in and go unnoticed?

What if I saw a UFO?

If you saw strange lights in the sky:

• Record what happened on the video, there will be a story to tell;
• Watch and wait for the UFO to disappear from the sky;
• Make sure the object is not pointing towards your home or community;
• Submit materials on thematic forums and blogs dedicated to ufology;
• Try to contact civil aviation and find out if there were transport planes at the specified time;
• Check the availability of the aircraft using special sites where you can track the routes of international airlines.

If you want to add another funny story to your collection, you can stop at the first point. Finding out the truth can only be disappointing, in the end you will not get a video of a UFO, but a recording of the flight of an airplane, a meteorite or a Chinese flashlight.

You can be helped to clarify the source of an incomprehensible glow:

1. Ufologists;
2. Meteorologists;
3. Dispatchers and civil aviation employees;
4. Special effects specialists.

The main thing is not to worry, nothing terrible happens. Man conquered the sky long ago and there are thousands of man-made objects in it at the same time. It's no surprise that you spot one of them. Or maybe something else, the truth is somewhere nearby.

What do we know about flying objects?

Speaking specifically about "flying saucers", all our knowledge is very scarce:

• Humanity has never been in contact with aliens, in any case, there is no convincing evidence to the contrary;
• Many peoples of antiquity have myths that, in their description, are very similar to communication with aliens;
• Not a single skeleton of a creature that came to us from distant stars has been discovered on the entire planet;
• Never once did humanoids fall into the lens of television cameras;
• There are several high-profile "incidents" allegedly related to the visit of aliens to our planet.

This theme is often played up in science fiction films and books, but so far there has been no real contact. All vague evidences date back to the pre-Christian era, how much truth is in them, and how much fantasy of distant pagan ancestors is difficult to say.

By the way, for most religions, the appearance of guests from deep space would be the beginning of the end.

All the available knowledge we have learned only from our own imagination. We do not know how the aliens and their technique might look like. The universe, apparently, can surprise with its variety, so you can expect anything.

Are UFOs Aliens From Space?

UFO - unknown flying object... Any object lifted into the air that the observers were unable to identify.

The technical definition is not so mystical and does not give off fantasy, most often it is:

1. Chinese lanterns;
2. Meteorites;
3. Aircraft;
4. Meteorological probes;
5. Test objects;
6. Natural phenomena;
7. Optical illusions.

It is extremely difficult to determine what exactly was in the air on such and such a month, on such and such a date. In most cases, this becomes an unbearable task and ufologists have to be satisfied with an explanation that does not have any evidence base. Yes, there could be a meteorite. And there could be aliens from Nibiru. Something else is unprovable.

Romanticizing guests from distant galaxies can lead to serious problems. In the history of mankind, there are examples of contacts between more advanced civilizations and less fortunate relatives. At best, it all ended in plundering and destruction of culture. But it came to genocide, so it is better to meet “brothers in mind” fully armed.

It remains to be hoped that another civilization has reached the level where there is simply no place for aggression. But such a bright prospect is difficult.

Most do not know what a UFO is and by this concept means only "flying saucers". But the truth is much simpler, even a balloon with an attached flashlight can be called an unidentified flying object and arouse interest on specialized forums for many months.

Video: what does a UFO look like?

In this video, ufologist Gennady Stulnev will show several objects in the sky classified as UFOs:

According to the results of general surveys, more than half of the population believes in the existence of unidentified flying objects, and 5% of those surveyed consider themselves eyewitnesses of events that they interpret as the appearance of UFOs. And such witnesses do not dry out.

Without a doubt, it can be considered a proven fact that in most cases, phenomena of a completely explainable origin are taken for UFOs. As a rule, these are rare natural phenomena incomprehensible to the observer. Especially bright stars or planets, meteors, fireballs and glowing swamp gas can be misleading.

In other cases, the landing lights of planes, airships and balloons, testing of new aviation technology can be considered a visit by aliens. This second part of the list includes deliberate hoaxes about contacts with aliens, that is, like the ones described above, these phenomena are generated by humans. Check out the 10 most incredible UFO theories.

However, there is a relatively small number of observations that do not fit into the principle of explaining everything with understandable reasons, or they so shocked the public consciousness in their time that they even became part of UFO folklore. If so, here's our top 10 list of the most widely reported, best-documented, most unexplained, or just plain weird UFO sightings. If you enjoy the unexplained, check out our article 10 unexplained paranormal phenomena that changed history.

Few know that sightings of unidentified lights in the sky have been recorded for over a hundred years. Then, at the end of the nineteenth century, in a certain area for several months, a whole series of observations of something completely inexplicable was noted.

It all began with the appearance in November 1896 of a mysterious luminous object that was slowly moving over the city of Sacramento, California, which was observed by hundreds of people. Apparently, the object easily moved against the wind, at a speed of about 50 km per hour.

A week later, he was seen again, this time over San Francisco, by the end of the year, reports of the object seen in different places were in the hundreds and came from all over the Pacific coast. This led to a real hysteria in the then media. After a two-month absence in the winter of 1896-97. the strange object - some eyewitnesses claim it was suspended from a dark cigar-shaped aircraft - reappeared over the midwest.

There, he was reportedly seen everywhere from Nebraska to Michigan and Minnesota to Texas, until it suddenly and finally ended in April 1897. Today's skeptics of scholars treat the events described as an example of media-supported mass hysteria. However, just an incredible number of observations - according to some estimates, there are several thousand of them - suggest that what was happening was not just someone's invention, over which the press laughed to their hearts content.

An intriguing assumption was even put forward, which somewhat upset the supporters of the extraterrestrial origin of a strange object - it could be an early copy of the aircraft that took off before the Wright brothers' airplane. There is evidence that attempts have been made to develop such technology earlier than is generally believed.

In any case, the large airship of 1897 - or what it really was - remains as mysterious today as it was in those distant times.

In 1952, all of Washington, D.C. was in a flurry when the ground services at Washington National Airport ( now the international airport. Reagan) spotted many targets on radar, observing them on screens as clearly as the glow of rings of light around an object that appeared on the horizon. What was happening provoked the Air Force command to deliberately doomed attempts to launch fighters to get closer to objects.

All this took place on two consecutive weekends between July 13 and 29, 1952, even received the attention of the president, and almost immediately there was a reaction.

Deciding that a quick offensive was the best defense, the government urgently organized an emergency commission of eminent scientists ( went down in history as the Robertson Commission), who for two days analyzed the most outstanding cases of UFO sightings collected in the framework of the so-called project “ Blue Book". It was an impressive document of the American Air Force, which for 18 years recorded information about UFO sightings ( and stopped filling it much later than the events described, in 1969, when there were more than 12,000 registered observations).

Scientists quickly delivered a verdict - the air force and the project " Blue Book»It is worth spending less time on analyzing and studying reports of unidentified flying objects, and more time on their public exposure.

Perhaps one of the most famous UFO sightings is the abundant testimony from Arizona residents (including the governor of the state, by the way). All of these people watched as the chains of luminous objects, along with a huge triangular flying saucer, hung silently in the local sky for a good three hours on the evening of March 13, 1997.

Some of the objects were later considered as infrared distracting traps dropped from flying military aircraft during training flights in the south-west of the city, but a satisfactory explanation for the large triangle in the sky was never found (with the captics tried to write off the celestial figure as a link of fighters).

Whatever the objects were, they no longer appeared, leaving the population of the town of Phoenix and with it the whole other world scratching their heads, and generated a sensation that is hotly discussed today.

On December 9, 1965, a large shining fireball was observed by thousands of people in the United States, in at least 6 states of the country, as well as in the Canadian province of Ontario. The balloon flew across the night sky, eventually disappearing from view somewhere near the town of Kexburgh, Pennsylvania. By that time, it was described as an especially large fireball ( or an unusually bright meteor). Residents were worried when army units quickly gathered on this territory and began to pull some kind of bell-shaped structure out of the forest. This gave rise to a rumor that the government is back to its old tricks again.

Later, it was claimed that it was a crashed Soviet satellite, however, ufologists are still conducting heated discussions on this issue. However, it is worth noting that the satellite version still explains the presence of a heavily armed army and the situation of secrecy, which, however, would be quite logical in the event of a saucer arriving from Venus. In general, the controversy continues.

The first fatal human case associated with a UFO was recorded on January 7, 1948 in the sky over the state of Kentucky. National Air Guard pilot Captain Thomas Mantell crashed in his P-51 fighter while trying to pursue an unusual object - " silver disk aircraft". It all happened at a high altitude, in the absence of oxygen. The pilot suddenly lost consciousness when he tried to approach an unidentified object. The consequences were tragic.

Investigators later suggested that Captain Mantell could have mistaken an experimental weather balloon for a UFO, which from below could be perceived as a disk and, in addition, had just such a shiny and silvery coating. In this case, Mantell became a victim of his own zeal, ignoring the Air Force's order not to exceed a safe flight altitude. His story clearly demonstrates that human arrogance can be more dangerous than aliens.

The incident somewhat changed public perceptions about UFOs, forcing part of society to come to the conclusion about the potential danger of alien visitors, who were previously considered harmless green men.

The first ( and definitely not the lastA marked UFO abduction is believed to be the story of Barney and Betty Hill, which happened on September 19, 1961. These people suddenly noticed what they thought to be a UFO while driving along an empty road near Groveton, New Hampshire.

Although they could not clearly remember what happened after ( a few hours just fell out of their memory), after a few weeks, both of them simultaneously began to complain of frightening dreams in which they were subjected to some kind of terrible and bizarre medical examinations from the side " gray aliens". They injected the unfortunate with unknown drugs and subjected to other unpleasant procedures before they were released.

The nightmares became so acute that in the end special help was needed. Dr. Benjamin Simon from Boston put Betty and Barney into a state of hypnosis and questioned them. The specialist came to the conclusion that people may have been deeply impressed by the television show about humanoid aliens, which they saw a few weeks before. " contact”, The event itself was innocently thought up. True, he also admitted that not all the circumstances of the incident can be explained.

And today, the debate about whether this couple became a victim of their own sick imagination does not cease ( she was reported to be known for her eccentricity), or there was a real kidnapping. In any case, this story was able to lay the foundation for subsequent, more spectacular abductions in the 1970s.

On November 16, 1986, an unidentified flying object, as described by eyewitnesses " three times more than an aircraft carrier», Flew parallel to a Japanese civilian aircraft (Flight 1628) for 50 minutes over northeastern Alaska, accompanied by other objects; all of them, intermittently, were even spotted by military and civilian radars.

The time during which the object was visible is impressive, the amount of credible evidence ( crew and all passengers) and the fact of additional observation on radars, which makes this event one of the most impressive stories related to UFOs, and still have no unambiguous explanation.

Most notably, this was one of the few instances in which the crew of a civilian liner readily discussed the event in public, which makes the meeting over Alaska even more outstanding from the general row.

Until 1976, general discontent was caused by the amazing ability of unidentified flying objects to evade radar detection ( although not always). She led skeptics to think that the appearance of objects is more a consequence of human imagination than the real interest of extraterrestrial civilizations in our planet.

Everything changed when, in the wee hours of September 19, 1976, Iranian jet fighters ( Iran was not an enemy of NATO at the time) were launched in pursuit of a UFO, which recorded sharp zigzags in the sky over Tehran, after the object was spotted at once by several location stations. Particularly impressed by the fact that the object did not allow the aircraft to approach, by some unknown means causing malfunctions in the electronics, and one of the aircraft completely disabled the weapon system when it was about to open fire.

The case is considered as one of the most significant recorded contacts with aliens, not only because of the quality of the evidence presented ( an extraterrestrial ship was possibly spotted even by a military satellite). Mainly due to the direct impact the object had on the instruments and radars of several different aircraft involved in the pursuit. Claims by skeptics that the pilots were simply trying to chase the planet Jupiter, especially bright at that hour, were met with a friendly laugh from the public.

An incident remarkably similar to that of Tehran in 1976 also took place in the skies of Belgium. NATO fighters took to the air again on 30 March 1990 in the evening in pursuit of a group of dark triangular objects found over the countryside. Especially impressive is the observed astonishing speed and maneuverability of the ships. Objects laid such turns that would kill the pilot if he were a human.

Almost like in Tehran, the ship was seen not only by many observers from the ground and in the air, but also recorded by ground location services and fighter radars, and there are even photographs of objects that made this observation case the most reliably documented in the history of observation.

Now about the story that served as a real start for a new era in the UFO theme. Seattle pilot and businessman K. Arnold observed several “ undulatingForms that flew over Mount Rainer one May evening in 1947, at a speed many times that of the best aircraft of the time.

After landing, the pilot managed to attract the attention of journalists, and in his description of what he saw, he noticed that the nature of the movement of objects in the air reminded him of saucers jumping over the surface of the pond, launched by a skillful hand. This is how the wonderful name was born - flying saucers ( in Russia, entrenched as flying saucers), which gave rise to a new chapter in the world of celestial phenomena.

Today's skeptics continue to argue with the assessment that Arnold gave the speed of objects and the distance to them, or assert that he was chasing only light reflections from the glass of the cockpit of his own aircraft, only the fact is irrefutable - no matter what Arnold observed that day, his curious meeting with an unidentified object in the sky over the Pacific coast of the United States has had a greater impact on American and world culture than he could have imagined.

No other case has so much been able to instill in the mass consciousness the image of crashed plates with little green men like this one. This is what happened in July 1947 in Roswell, about 80 kilometers north of New Mexico.

A simple farmer named Matt Brazell discovered near his farm that an entire field was covered with fragments of small metal plates and wooden slats. Familiar with stories about " flying discs"In the newspapers (just two months before the district was excited by articles about the pilot Arnold), Matt immediately realized what was happening and immediately notified the local military authorities. They did not argue with his opinion, which is unusual, and urgently announced the crash of the flying disc. A few hours later, the military denied the statement, claiming that all this time the crashed meteorological balloon was mistaken for the wreckage of an alien ship.

It would seem that the story is over and it's time to go to the common basket for tales about aliens. But in the late seventies, US Air Force intelligence officer Jez Marcel was dispatched to retrieve some material that he needed to take away in the trunk of his car. Something prompted him to think that these materials were of extraterrestrial origin, and now - a conspiracy theory of gigantic proportions was born, which is still alive today.

Roswell " crash"Became so firmly established in the end in popular culture that even when the Air Force in 1995 removed this case from the list of temporarily classified cases and admitted that they themselves made an imitation of the crash of a flying saucer in order to divert attention from the true goals of the secret project" Mogul "(which were high-altitude balloons capable of detecting the launch of Soviet missiles in the upper atmosphere), most ufologists did not believe it.

Since that time, the story of the event has grown from the initial description of a single pile of wreckage to stories of many flying saucers full of dead aliens. It has been speculated that the technologies revealed to mankind amid the debris of this space and the half-dozen other similar crashes that have occurred since then are behind much of the major technological breakthrough of the past fifty years.

Formerly a sleepy town, Roswell has become a Mecca for " skeet-shifted”And is now being intensively built up, so that - who knows, it may be destined to stand longer than the Roman Empire.

UFO For an article on sports equipment, see Flying Disc.

UFO (unknown flying object, eng. unidentified flying object [UFO]) - “The perception of an object or light visible in the sky or above the earth's surface; a phenomenon, a ghost, a trajectory, the general dynamics and nature of the glow of which does not find a logical, generally accepted explanation, is a secret not only for eyewitnesses, but also remains unexplained even after a close study of all available evidence by specialists who, if possible, are able to identify the phenomenon from the point of view common sense "... Many people believe that UFO sightings are abnormal.

Since there are documented cases of observation of flying objects, which could not be identified, it is correct to question not the existence of UFOs, but their alien origin.

In other words, if a message appears about the observation of some strange phenomenon over the earth, the case was not identified with any meteorological or astronomical phenomenon known to science, and there was no evidence of a hoax, then they say that we are talking about an unidentified flying object, about UFO. If this explanation fits this case, then they speak of identified flying objects (OLO). Most of the cases still find an explanation and become OLO. Of all the reports on these phenomena, only - remain unidentified. Some evidence remains unidentified simply due to a lack of information about them.

Most often, UFO refers to an unusual flying object, the appearance of which is associated with a visit to Earth by other intelligent beings.

UFO varieties

"Solid" objects

"Solid" objects (eng. "Hard objects") Western ufologists often call UFOs that have the appearance of solids, that is, in appearance consisting of matter. Some of these objects may even look metallic. According to D. Keel, emphatically "hard" objects ("Trojan horses") are not a real form of UFOs, but exist solely to distract people's attention from the actions of "soft" objects.

Below are the most frequently covered types of "solid" unidentified flying objects. All the possible forms and types of UFOs described in the press, of course, are not limited to them.

1. Disc-shaped objects. Disc-shaped objects can be of various sizes. The disks could have similarities to antennas, stabilizers, or windows. Discs could glow brightly, they could shine like metal. In some cases, disc-shaped UFOs could appear to be made of "metal plates". The most common types:

• "Adamski's dish" - a UFO allegedly observed by J. Adamski;
• a flat disc with a segment of a sphere (the so-called "dome") on top, located so that the entire object is radially symmetric, and the radius of the flat disc greatly exceeds the radius of the maximum section of the segment, which looks like a circle;
• A "plate" in the shape of Saturn, consisting of a sphere and a flat disc so that the flat disc lies with the large circle of this sphere in one plane (the radius of the disc is much larger than the radius of the great circle of the sphere; in general, the object is radially symmetric);
• a disc with a truncated cone above or above and below, so that the radius of the larger base of this cone, being less than the radius of the disc, is in the same plane with it and is inferior in size to it - radially symmetric (in the case of two cones, it is also symmetric with respect to the disc ) an object with a smaller base radius much greater than the height of the entire object;
• “Mushroom” objects are “saucer” thinning towards the bottom with a relatively long thick cylinder or a truncated cone with a generatrix of almost equal height in the lower part, and radial symmetry is observed.

2. Triangular objects. The most famous triangular UFOs are the so-called "Belgian triangles" - objects that can dramatically change the speed and direction of flight, observed in Belgium in the 1990s and the observation of triangular and boomerang-like objects with lights over the freeways and over the nuclear power plant in Hudson Valley (New York) (it was suggested that the UFO was explained by a hoax, arranged by pilots from the Stromfield [also in New York] airfield)

3. Spindle-shaped objects - UFO in the form of two cones with a common base. Such objects were reported to fly with an axis of symmetry perpendicular to the ground, and the presence of some "wires" was sometimes noted at the top.

4. Egg-shaped objects. See for example "The Soccoro incident".

5. Aircrafts. In some cases, sightings of unidentified "flying machines" are reported, such as airplanes (for example, "ghost planes"), black helicopters (see "The Case of Cash and Landrum"), airships ("airships"), rockets ("ghost missiles"), either without identification marks, or endowed with properties uncharacteristic of aircraft known to science. For example, on the morning of February 25, 1942, unknown "aircraft" appeared over Los Angeles, at which the US air defense opened fire from anti-aircraft installations, firing about 1430 shells at them. One of the objects, according to eyewitnesses, froze motionless, despite the fact that shells exploded near it, then moved along the coast between Santa Monica and Long Beach at a speed of about 6 miles per hour. In this case, three people died, not counting the victims of heart attacks.

6. Augers (from the English. "Shank"although the English name for the phenomenon "Flying rod") - rod-like objects from several centimeters to several tens of meters. As a rule, they move along the line of their axis silently and at high speeds - therefore, they are inaccessible to human perception, but they are quite easily recorded by photo and video equipment. In many cases, the augers around the rod have a blade-like formation, like a bend. The flight of certain types of flying insects, birds, rockets, optical effects, etc. is often mistaken for augers. Some details about the augers can be found in the article "The rods flew across the sky"... Many examples of this type of objects are presented in the documentary “UFO in Russia. The most convincing evidence " (Russia, 2004: scriptwriter Yulia Korobko, directors Konstantin Murashev and Vladimir Andrienkov). The theory is in vogue that augers are biological species unknown to science.

"Soft" objects

"Soft" objects ("Soft objects") are called UFOs that do not give the impression of being composed of matter, in particular, a mysterious glow, fog with unusual properties, lights. In the book (eng. ) J. Keel deduces that unidentified flying objects have an electromagnetic nature, and their appearance in the form of light bunches is most consistent with their true appearance. Luminous silhouettes and objects make UFOs and their "inhabitants" related to angels and ghosts materialized at spiritualistic séances, and contacts with UFOs - with religious visions and with a mediumistic trance.

Absurdity

Some elements of UFO encounters may seem absurd to eyewitnesses or researchers. For example, ufologist John Keel describes a case where a woman claimed to have seen a UFO on which it was written "UFO" , there is a known case when a UFO had an image that looked like a stylized drawing of lightning against a background of a circle; Keel described more "Wheelless cars driving through deserted places a few inches above the ground", mentioned "About giant gondola cars with many rows of portholes hovering over the Kaitatini Mountains in northern New Jersey."... Even in reports about "air ships" it was said that unpeeled potatoes were dropped from UFOs, or the UFO could catch on to something with a "metal anchor on a rope" hanging from it, so that someone was forced to descend from the UFO to "rope" that cut ... There are also no less ridiculous reports of the landing of unidentified flying objects and the appearance of humanoid beings (enlonauts) near them, coming into contact with eyewitnesses, collecting plants or soil, according to eyewitnesses, "playing" and "walking" near the UFO. In some cases, eyewitnesses noted a certain "childishness" in the behavior of the enlonauts, there is information about their seemingly devoid of meaningful behavior. The true nature of UFOs can and should be cognized only by the joint efforts of scientific institutions and authorities of the states of the world, in view of the comprehensive development of the studied phenomenon.

Some reputable ufologists, such as Allen Heineck or Donald Kiho, rarely investigate such cases. According to Coral and Jim Lorenzen (eng. Lorenzen), the heads of the UFO organization APRO, these aspects of contacts with UFOs also, if not more, need comprehensive study, since they are integral components of the phenomenon of "flying saucers" and can shed light on their nature. Ufologist Jacques Vallee is known for collecting, researching and describing such "absurd" phenomena. In the book "Passport to Magonia" (1959) Vallee compares similar UFO encounters with folkloric accounts of encounters with mythical creatures. According to D. Keel, the absurd manifestations of the UFO phenomenon are not accidental and are intended to undermine the credibility of eyewitness reports. And in the book "Parallel world" Vallee develops the idea that absurd UFO incidents form a new myth, and the goal of the unknown creators of "flying saucers" is to use this myth to influence the subconscious for millennia and instill reflexes and a certain way of thinking in humanity. Vallee confirms this hypothesis by the similarity of the replicas of the enlonauts with the psychological techniques of M. Erickson, the similarity of the abduction scheme with the rite of passage into a secret society. Also, the absurdity in the behavior of a UFO brings it closer to other paranormal phenomena, in particular, with a poltergeist.

UFO sightings

There is no consensus about "windows". Some researchers are inclined to consider the increased brightness of an astronomical object in a given period, for example, Mars, as the reason for the "waves" of UFO reports. There are opinions that "waves" of such messages arise in states experiencing certain difficulties. (For example, the upsurge in reports of "flying saucers" in the late 1940s is attributed by some to the Cold War.) Some believe that the popular fascination with new science fiction works (such as movies) is stimulating stories of UFO sightings.

There have also been reports of UFO sightings in outer space by astronauts, or UFO footage made by artificial satellites. So in June 1965, from the ship making the 20th orbit in low-earth orbit Gemini 4 astronaut James McDavitt observed through the window an unidentified object from which "Long arms stick out"... McDivitt photographed it, but could not find it after developing.

UFO eyewitnesses

Many reports of UFO sightings are inaccurate, they may not indicate the exact date, place, characteristics of objects. To obtain from an eyewitness the most detailed information about the incident is the task of the ufologist. Often, when describing, eyewitnesses can proceed from their personal ideas about the nature of UFOs. (Ufologist Jenny Randalls [eng. Jenny randles] quotes the phrase of an eyewitness who, when asked: "Maybe it's a cloud?" answered: "Yes, I know it looked like that, but I think it was a UFO disguised as a cloud." .) That is why ufologists least of all value the testimony of single eyewitnesses, not supported by either the testimony of other eyewitnesses, or photographs. Ufologists recommend, in the event of a UFO sighting, if there is such an opportunity, first of all to draw attention to the UFO of other people and photograph it, remember its location. The testimony of pilots and scientists is considered the most reliable.

During and after contact with UFOs, some people may experience burns, they may suffer from nausea and headaches. Especially close contacts (look "Classification of contacts with UFOs") the witnesses developed depression, disorientation in space, increased excitability.

UFO contact classification

Below is a variant of the classification of reports of contacts with UFOs, proposed by ufologist Allen Hynek.

Long distance contacts

This is the name of the observation when the eyewitness and the UFO are separated by "hundreds of kilometers and kilometers." Among them are distinguished:

1. « Night light. Clearly visible, well-defined lights of unknown nature, usually red, orange, or white. This group includes the lion's share of UFO sightings at large distances ".
2. « Daytime disks. These are objects observed in the daytime, as a rule, oval or disc-shaped, in appearance metallic. They are recorded high in the sky, close to the ground and are often seen in a state of motionless hovering. Daytime discs can pick up tremendous speed instantly. ".
3. « Radar "bursts" on the radar screen, especially those coinciding with the visual tracking of UFOs, are considered very valuable evidence of the reality of the observed objects ".

Close contacts

Official authority

The official government denies the existence of UFOs.

In mid-May 2008, the UK government opened access to classified materials on contacts with aliens from 1978 to 1987. There is no evidence of contact with aliens in the documents. The documents contain eyewitness accounts of contact with aliens.

In France, the national space agency has published similar materials on the website. Among them are police reports, photographs, eyewitness accounts, with the help of which scientists try to explain the appearance of mysterious objects in the sky.

Explanation of known UFO sightings

Some cases of UFO sightings manage to give a more or less reliable explanation. In such cases, they talk about observation identified flying object ... There are cases when the noise around UFOs is the result of political games or an ordinary joke.

Shortly after the end of the inauguration of the 44th US President Barack Obama, a UFO was seen in the sky over Washington. It was recorded by the camera of an American TV channel. According to eyewitness comments, the object did not look like a bird, as it was visually flat and without wings. However, it may have been an ordinary helicopter.

UFO in culture

UFO and science

It is known that among UFO researchers there were also scientists, even with scientific degrees: for example, Allen Hynek and Donald Menzel were professors of astronomy (Hynek from Ohio University, Menzel from Harvard University). However, most scientists still do not recognize the possibility of the existence of flying objects of a still unknown nature - UFOs. A. Hynek in the book "UFO: an attempt at a scientific approach" leads the case: “One summer evening in 1968 in Victoria, British Columbia, there was a reception for an astronomy symposium. More than one hundred astronomers from different countries gathered in a large restaurant. Suddenly, a man entered the hall and announced that unidentified flying objects had appeared in the sky. A light chuckle passed through the tables, but quickly died down, and people returned to their conversations. None of the scientists went out to see the mysterious phenomenon of nature with their own eyes! " .

Hynek continues:

There are two types of UFO deniers. The first type includes scoffers who do not even try to deal with any specific case of observing a phenomenon. The second type includes scientists who, after verification, are inclined to recognize the reality of UFOs, but only as a purely psychological phenomenon. The position of the second group of scientists still deserves attention, since they have materials for discussion. The views of the first group, on the contrary, do not stimulate discussions, because, in their opinion, since there is no phenomenon, then there is no subject of discussion itself!

Among the possible reasons why science is not engaged in the study of unidentified flying objects, one can single out:

• the inability to predict in advance the location of the UFO appearance, which complicates its study;
• a small amount of high-quality ufological literature, coupled with an abundance of mass and occult literature on this issue;
• lack of understanding by scientists of the difference between UFOs and OLOs;
• the prevalence of parascientific hypotheses trying to explain the origin of UFOs;
• interest in ufology on the part of religious fanatics and people with mental disorders.

According to the researchers, people who claim to have seen a UFO could have mistaken a sprite system for a flying saucer. "Candles" in sprites (visible vertical columns of light) can reach a height of 20 km, and a bundle of such "candles" can have a diameter of up to 70 km.

“Lightning creates an electrical field that generates the sprite flashes,” says Colin Price, a geophysicist at Tel Aviv University. "Now we understand that only certain types of lightning can give impetus to high-altitude flashes."

Sprite is a rare type of lightning discharges, a kind of lightning, only striking up from the clouds. Sprites are hard to spot, but they appear in almost any thunderstorm between 55 and 130 kilometers. For comparison, "normal" lightning occurs at an altitude of no more than 16 kilometers.

This phenomenon was first recorded in 1989 by accident. The sprites do not hang motionless in the sky, but perform “dancing” movements.

With the help of special equipment, the researchers were able to capture the sprites at an altitude of 56-129 kilometers from the ground, which is significantly higher than the usual "lightning" level. In addition, sprites are spherical.

UFOs and screen arts

From the very beginning of the hobby for "flying saucers", in the early 1950s, Hollywood movie screens immediately populated disc-shaped flying objects. In the movie "War of the Worlds" (eng. "The war of the worlds";) D. Pala (1953) the Martians are trying to take over the Earth using greenish-red "flying saucers", emitting, in addition to red heat rays, green crescent moons, annihilating military equipment. The movie was also popular "The day the Earth froze" (eng. "The day the Earth stood still" ) (), in many respects similar to the reports of J. Adamski's contacts: from an unidentified disc-shaped object that landed, first a robot-like, and then a human-like figure appeared. The latter introduced himself as a space alien and expressed his fear for the fate of humanity, discovering nuclear weapons. Such films, in general, whipped up the alarm on the Americans living in anticipation of the Third World War, therefore, on January 16, 1953, at a meeting at the Pentagon, where they were concerned about the abundance of reports of UFO sightings in the United States, they decided:

According to the commission, a large-scale program that brings together the efforts of all interested departments should pursue two goals: education and debunking.

The goal of the training is to develop skills in identifying unusually illuminated objects (probes, airplanes), as well as natural phenomena (meteors, fireballs, mirages, luminous night clouds) ... Education will undoubtedly lead to a reduction in reports as a result of erroneous identification, which introduces so much confusion.

Debunking should diminish public interest in "flying saucers", today causing a strong psychological reaction ...

The basis for such an upbringing could be stories, at first mysterious, and later explained. Tricks in many ways lose their attractiveness as soon as their secret becomes known. The educational program should dispel the gullibility of the public and, therefore, its exposure to skillful enemy propaganda.

The Commission further concluded that the recurring reports of these phenomena could indeed threaten the orderly activities of the policing political agencies in our troubling times ... The national security agencies must immediately take appropriate measures to deprive unidentified flying objects of the special status they have been given. and that halo of mystery that they, unfortunately, found

As a result, it was decided to release entertainment films, as well as animated ones, ridiculing reports of UFO sightings: this was planned to reduce such a dangerous interest of the population in this issue.

History of the issue

In 1947, businessman Ken Arnold, flying in a private jet past Mount Ranier near Washington, saw nine shiny, disc-shaped objects moving alongside him at incredible speed. In describing this incident, Ken Arnold compared them to plates bouncing on the water. Several such meetings, which took place in the late 40s, initiated a boom around the so-called Unidentified Flying Objects. Over the past decades, the excitement around UFOs has subsided, nevertheless, the problem itself has not disappeared and continues to arouse keen interest among the public. As the historical chronicles testify, people have encountered something like flying saucers for centuries. But, as will be indicated below, these celestial visions were caused rather by the psychological mood of the peoples of the Earth than by the intervention of extraterrestrial civilizations. And the first role in this was played by science fiction. It became a phenomenon generated by the Renaissance, when the theological picture of the world was rejected, and with it the Christian picture of the future. Science fiction novels, which appeared before the 19th century, gravitated towards the genre of allegory or gothic novel. Only in the 19th century. fantasy began to take on a scientific form, although the latter in it was in close contact with the occult. One of the founders of this kind of fiction must be considered Edgar Poe, who, together with other authors of the late 19th century. wrote about a race of supermen equal to the gods. Such creatures could appear only due to the mastery of the latent psychic energy "vril", which transfers them to a higher level of development. Such theories are not surprising, that is, their inspirers were themselves occultists.

The next element in the fantastic competition of mankind for the militarization of space was the appearance on Earth of unidentified flying objects. Their goal is to "save" people from various disasters. Interestingly, in Arthur Clarke's book, creatures from these UFOs are revealed to people in the form of devils. The goals of implanting ideas about UFOs were also facilitated by films set on the theme of the appearance of super-beings from world space, benevolently invading human civilization.

Fundamentals of Faith in Relation to the UFO Phenomenon

The UFO phenomenon has been evaluated in different ways. Some considered him a hallucination and a mistake of perception. Others began to view UFOs as a psychological and religious phenomenon. In particular, psychoanalyst Carl Jung, a student of Freud, published in 1956 the work "Flying saucers - a modern myth about the phenomena visible in the sky." In this work, Jung expressed his opinion that "flying saucers" are projections of the collective unconscious, visualized fears and expectations that have taken on the features of myth. Rather, it is a sign of the times that has nothing to do with extraterrestrial civilizations. It is interesting that the phenomenon associated with visions in the sky took this form only in the 20th century. In trying to explain it, it is important to see its connection to science fiction. The deep essence of science fiction is its myth-making. Myth is an expression in images and symbols of a deep experience of the relationship between the world, man and the supernatural. The main content of science fiction is the myth about man - about the possibilities of his evolution and his hidden possibilities. The important features of the science fiction myth are: (a) antipathy and even hostility to Christianity, in contrast to which the genre is included in the overtones of an oriental or occult nature; (b) an object is a superman of the future who has grown to such a state through evolution or meeting with another supercivilization; (c) "the future world" resembles the current reality of occult phenomena: telepathy, levitation and disappearance-appearance, mastery of other people's bodies, etc.; (d) gravitates towards the utopia of liberating man from the power of matter through scientific knowledge. Indeed, modern science fiction researchers have established its invisible connection with the world of the occult, especially with occult meditation.

Practice

Many researchers and UFO observers have come to the firm conclusion that these are phenomena of a psychological nature that do not obey the influence of the physical laws of the material universe. The scenes of UFO phenomena are deeply absurd, and they are accessible precisely to people who are exhausted and out of mental equilibrium through the absurdities and contradictions of life. So, the purpose of UFOs is to involve people in the search for occult abilities as opposed to biblical Christianity. Their source is the spirit world. ( END OF MATERIAL by A. Grigoriev and V. Alekseev)

View from a non-Christian perspective

In the book "The modern myth of" heavenly signs "" C.G. Jung wrote in the 1950s that the reality surrounding a person brings on projections from the collective unconscious. The latter seeks to compensate for the one-sided development of consciousness (for example, excessive rationality in our time or ignoring everything that has nothing to do with faith, in the old days) and projects onto heavenly space, if you look at it for a long time, images of sparkling machines (our era) or shining angels (past). Thus, the collective unconscious uses numinous representations to attract individuals to find the harmony of consciousness and unconsciousness. Religious and UFO visions related to each other can be seen by several individuals at once: the collective unconscious finds a way out for its images and symbols through a few selected people ...

UFOs were depicted in pictures of religious content

Many sacred religious books tell about unidentified flying objects, such as the biblical (vision of Zechariah, Ezekiel, John the Theologian, flights of Elijah in a chariot of fire) and eastern ( "Tandshur", "Kandshur") sacred texts. Some ufologists explain this by the fact that UFOs actively contributed to the emergence of some religious teachings.

For example, in the sensational book in America around the 1960s by John Keel UFO: Operation Trojan Horse (eng. "UFO: operation" Troyan horse "") describes: winged creatures flying out of circular flying objects, healing by unidentified flying objects and prophecies received from UFOs, which later came true; such cases are characteristic of antiquity, the XIX and XX centuries. According to Keel, the ultra-beings that caused celestial visions from ancient times encouraged people to create religions, inspired and transmitted sacred knowledge. In the old days, ultra-beings supported people's faith in God, but now, when God has gone out of fashion, they nourish faith in the "Space Brothers" - the helpers of humanity.

Ufologist Jacques Vallee analyzes the religious miracles of the XIX (vision of the "Virgin" in Nock, Ireland, in 1852) and XX centuries (Visions of Fatima) in the book [ "Parallel world"] and finds in them a lot of similarities with UFO-phenomena. Vallee suspects that the religious experiences of UFO contactees are the result of some unknown effect on the human psyche. The manifestations accompanying religious visions often coincide with the phenomena inherent in the occurrence of UFOs.

UFOs and the army

With all the skepticism with which most scientists and ordinary people relate to UFOs, in the US Army, and then in the Soviet Union army, special rules of action appeared when detecting AAR (anomalous atmospheric phenomena - this is what UFOs are called in military documents). In 1978, a state program for the study of the UFO phenomenon was launched in the USSR.

Note: Statistics are kept in beta testing mode. UFO sighting activity data is updated every hour. If there is no data on the chart, then this is due to the beginning of a new month, however, the data is displayed on the chart for the current day. The X-axis shows the date of the current (green) and last (blue) month, the Y-axis is the indicator of UFO sightings activity (not the number of sightings).

New about UFOs and aliens

The latest UFO news is published on our portal. The section includes unique photos, videos and eyewitness accounts.

UFO (Unidentified Flying Object, UFO) is an object at any distance from the earth's surface, the nature of which cannot be explained from the point of view of common sense. Typically, a UFO refers to a phenomenon associated with a compact moving or stationary object that can glow or be dark, make sounds, or remain silent.

The name of the UFO appeared as a result of a direct translation from English into Russian of the term UFO (unidentified flying object), which came into use in the early fifties of the 20th century. Activities related to the study of unidentified flying objects are called "ufology", and people who collect and verify information about unidentified flying objects are called ufologists.

Versions of origin

At the moment, there are several hypotheses for the origin of UFOs, including hypotheses about the extraterrestrial, natural, psychosocial and supernatural nature of phenomena. Most ufologists adhere exclusively to the version that aliens from near and distant worlds come to visit us. Some ufologists believe that these anomalies are ball lightning, meteorites, birds, swamp gases and other phenomena that are fully explainable by modern science. Some experts are of the opinion that "flying saucers" are visits to us by earthlings from another time or the result of the activities of completely earthly, but parallel to us civilizations. There is an opinion that UFOs are living objects.

Most frequent UFO sightings

UFOs are found in different places on Earth, but there are several areas - "windows" where their appearance is most often recorded. Usually "windows" are found in sparsely populated areas of the Earth, for example, in the desert regions of the USA and Australia, in the mountainous regions of France and Great Britain, in Brazil and Argentina.

UFO news includes ample evidence of the appearance of unidentified flying objects. Their existence is not denied, and most of the debate is about their alien origin.