Morgan BellUnidentified Flying Objects: the great debate
May 15th 2006 09:47
UFO believers took a hit last week when a number of news sites, including BBC News and ABC Science, referred to a 400 page, previously top secret government report that trivialised UFO sightings.
"Considerable evidence exists to support the thesis that (UFO sightings) are almost certainly attributable to physical, electrical and magnetic phenomena in the atmosphere," according to the report that is to be made public by the British Ministry of Defence this month.
UFO sightings have been attributed to more plausible, but no less spectacular, plasma effects. Plasma effects are born of a collection of equal numbers of negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions. The combination of the oppositely charged particles to form neutral atoms causes a release of energy. Plasma forms when enough energy is released, which can usually occur in very hot conditions such as in lightning, or in auroras cause by solar wind. Energy is released in the form of light, causing plasma clouds to glow eerily.
Other “logical” explanations for UFO sightings include: top secret government aircraft / spacecraft, aircraft with particularly bright lights, weather balloons, strange flocks of birds, meteors, and upside-down mirages caused by light over the horizon.
Cosmic Conspiracies, an online paranormal / UFO group, rebuffs the Ministry of Defence’s explanations on their website, saying: “Natural phenomenon such as plasma clouds do not explain recorded military encounters with structured craft that have been observed by pilots and radar simultaneously.”
“…there is plenty of very good evidence that shows several thousands of people witnessing UFOs,” Cosmic Conspiracies argues. “We've been told (that UFOs are secret military black projects) since the 1950's. If it were the truth why haven't we seen these 50 year old UFO shaped black projects in regular use by now? Look at today's current technology - the space shuttle cannot fly in rain or fog and its tiles are constantly falling off - doesn't seem very advanced compared to the manoeuvres and capabilities displayed by real UFOs.”
Sure, popular explanations could be accused as frivolous. Then again, we have yet to see definitive, solid evidence from UFO sightings also.
Dr David Whitehouse, science editor of BBC News Online, wrote on December 3, 2002: “And what have we got to show for (more than 50 years of UFO sightings)? Remarkably little - a few amazing stories told by those who claim to have been witnesses and abductees, as well as a fuzzy photographs and videos, and of course, lots of fakes.”
“Is it not strange that of all the photos and film shot of UFOs are poor and inadequate?” Dr Whitehouse debated. “You might have thought that at least one of them would be a close-up and in focus.”
(image from flickr.com)
"Considerable evidence exists to support the thesis that (UFO sightings) are almost certainly attributable to physical, electrical and magnetic phenomena in the atmosphere," according to the report that is to be made public by the British Ministry of Defence this month.
Other “logical” explanations for UFO sightings include: top secret government aircraft / spacecraft, aircraft with particularly bright lights, weather balloons, strange flocks of birds, meteors, and upside-down mirages caused by light over the horizon.
Cosmic Conspiracies, an online paranormal / UFO group, rebuffs the Ministry of Defence’s explanations on their website, saying: “Natural phenomenon such as plasma clouds do not explain recorded military encounters with structured craft that have been observed by pilots and radar simultaneously.”
“…there is plenty of very good evidence that shows several thousands of people witnessing UFOs,” Cosmic Conspiracies argues. “We've been told (that UFOs are secret military black projects) since the 1950's. If it were the truth why haven't we seen these 50 year old UFO shaped black projects in regular use by now? Look at today's current technology - the space shuttle cannot fly in rain or fog and its tiles are constantly falling off - doesn't seem very advanced compared to the manoeuvres and capabilities displayed by real UFOs.”
Sure, popular explanations could be accused as frivolous. Then again, we have yet to see definitive, solid evidence from UFO sightings also.
Dr David Whitehouse, science editor of BBC News Online, wrote on December 3, 2002: “And what have we got to show for (more than 50 years of UFO sightings)? Remarkably little - a few amazing stories told by those who claim to have been witnesses and abductees, as well as a fuzzy photographs and videos, and of course, lots of fakes.”
“Is it not strange that of all the photos and film shot of UFOs are poor and inadequate?” Dr Whitehouse debated. “You might have thought that at least one of them would be a close-up and in focus.”
(image from flickr.com)
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