Is there life in the universe, and if so has it visited Earth?

In summary: The argument is that if ETs could travel at the speed of light, it would not be practical for them to travel to our planet. However, if ETs have a billion years of advancements, they may be able to travel to our planet. However, we don't know if this is possible or not.

Has alien life visited Earth?

  • Yes

    Votes: 81 14.5%
  • no

    Votes: 201 35.9%
  • no: but it's only a matter of time

    Votes: 64 11.4%
  • Yes: but there is a conspiracy to hide this from us

    Votes: 47 8.4%
  • maybe maybe not?

    Votes: 138 24.6%
  • I just bit my tongue and it hurts, what was the question again? Er no comment

    Votes: 29 5.2%

  • Total voters
    560
  • #561
But try to explain this one. This is a personal experience I had while climbing. I made it to about 600 feet up this cliff and found a great ledge to stop and catch the breath and view.

The view was of the 21 miles of Georgia Straight between the mainland and Vancouver Island. It was summer and their were bugs flitting around. I'm sitting there enjoying the view of these distant gulf islands and there's this bug that keeps hovering at my eye level, kind of bugging me. So I focus on the bug to see what type it is.

It really wasn't a bug. It was some kind of craft that was completely translucent and about 50 meters in front of me. Not only was the vehicle translucent but so was its occupant. The thing kind of backed off a bit, and I just stared at it, not freaking, since most of my adrenaline had been spent on the way up the cliff. I really kept my eye on it, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things or that it wasn't a helicopter or other phenomenon. But it was still there and it was still this little capsule that looked like it was made of clear Jello, as was the pilot.

So, with my eye on the thing, it started backing off, slowly, kind of dreamily or hypnotically, remaining at eye level, retreating all the way to the horizon where the water meets Vancouver Island, 21 miles away. And that retreat took the thing about 5 minutes.

Go figure, eh?
 
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  • #562
So you're telling me there was a translucent object that was barely visible from 50 meters out, and yet you were capable of tracking it from 20 miles away?
 
  • #563
low blood sugar does funny things
 
  • #564
Office_Shredder said:
So you're telling me there was a translucent object that was barely visible from 50 meters out, and yet you were capable of tracking it from 20 miles away?

Yeah, like I said, I kept focus on it. And it was about the size of a chopper without the tail or the blades. Or more like a Chevy Aveo.

Considering that I was eating trailmix, my blood sugar levels were normal.
 
  • #565
baywax said:
But try to explain this one. This is a personal experience I had while climbing. I made it to about 600 feet up this cliff and found a great ledge to stop and catch the breath and view.

The view was of the 21 miles of Georgia Straight between the mainland and Vancouver Island. It was summer and their were bugs flitting around. I'm sitting there enjoying the view of these distant gulf islands and there's this bug that keeps hovering at my eye level, kind of bugging me. So I focus on the bug to see what type it is.

It really wasn't a bug. It was some kind of craft that was completely translucent and about 50 meters in front of me. Not only was the vehicle translucent but so was its occupant. The thing kind of backed off a bit, and I just stared at it, not freaking, since most of my adrenaline had been spent on the way up the cliff. I really kept my eye on it, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things or that it wasn't a helicopter or other phenomenon. But it was still there and it was still this little capsule that looked like it was made of clear Jello, as was the pilot.

So, with my eye on the thing, it started backing off, slowly, kind of dreamily or hypnotically, remaining at eye level, retreating all the way to the horizon where the water meets Vancouver Island, 21 miles away. And that retreat took the thing about 5 minutes.

Go figure, eh?
Floater?
 
  • #566
baywax said:
But try to explain this one. This is a personal experience I had while climbing. I made it to about 600 feet up this cliff and found a great ledge to stop and catch the breath and view.

The view was of the 21 miles of Georgia Straight between the mainland and Vancouver Island. It was summer and their were bugs flitting around. I'm sitting there enjoying the view of these distant gulf islands and there's this bug that keeps hovering at my eye level, kind of bugging me. So I focus on the bug to see what type it is.

It really wasn't a bug. It was some kind of craft that was completely translucent and about 50 meters in front of me. Not only was the vehicle translucent but so was its occupant. The thing kind of backed off a bit, and I just stared at it, not freaking, since most of my adrenaline had been spent on the way up the cliff. I really kept my eye on it, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things or that it wasn't a helicopter or other phenomenon. But it was still there and it was still this little capsule that looked like it was made of clear Jello, as was the pilot.

So, with my eye on the thing, it started backing off, slowly, kind of dreamily or hypnotically, remaining at eye level, retreating all the way to the horizon where the water meets Vancouver Island, 21 miles away. And that retreat took the thing about 5 minutes.

Go figure, eh?

You say it was translucent, how did it appear to you're eye. Was it like the camo in "Predator". Also, how do you know it was ocuppied?
 
  • #567
DaveC426913 said:
Floater?

no...it flushed:smile:
 
  • #568
gareth said:
You say it was translucent, how did it appear to you're eye. Was it like the camo in "Predator". Also, how do you know it was ocuppied?

I just came off the street after checking out my vision at 50 yards. This happened some 10 or 12 years ago so my vision was probably better but I am pretty removed from the incident now. However, today I could see with clarity a Yaris (more like the shape of this thing I'm talking about) at 50 yards, on this darker, rainy morning. And I could see the fact that there was an occupant in the vehicle. So that wasn't a problem. The translucence apparently didn't stop my identifying this thing as something other than a bug or "floater" in my eye. It happened on a clear sunny day and that may have contibuted to the visibility. Plus, I am an illustrator and imaging professional so details don't escape me easily.

This thing occurred before I saw the 1987 CGI effects in Predator. I didn't see that until later like in the 90s. I can't say that I had seen any movies with that effect in it until after this happened. There was one show that seemed to pioneer the CGI effect of the "clear Jello" monster of the deep seas. I forget the title. But when I saw that show I thought the creators had possibly gotten the idea for the effect from the same thing I had seen.

But I've never seen anything like this. A very strange feeling came from it.

I've seen other unidentified objects but only at a distance and they're usually lights that move randomly and either too slowly or to fast to be a conventional aircraft. Plus they're never on a flight path and in remote areas of wilderness. Those incidents have happened to me maybe 5 times in my life.

EDIT: Actually I'm amazed at the complacency of people when there is a strange object in the sky. I was swimming once with a bunch of people and there was a white oblong object at about 25,000 feet to the south and above where we were. I'm looking at it.. you know, like the guy that instigates everyone to look up in the same direction.. and there it is, plain as the clear blue sky, a white thing not moving, or kind of drifting sideways a bit. I kept my eye on it the whole time but everyone else just kept on having fun, with disregard for this thing. I must have looked away for a second and looked back and presto... gone.•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*Congratulations America! That is something else with the election and all that. I have a feeling what you have done will bring more security to your country than a million "orange alerts".
 
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  • #569
baywax said:
I just came off the street after checking out my vision at 50 yards. This happened some 10 or 12 years ago so my vision was probably better but I am pretty removed from the incident now. However, today I could see with clarity a Yaris (more like the shape of this thing I'm talking about) at 50 yards, on this darker, rainy morning. And I could see the fact that there was an occupant in the vehicle. So that wasn't a problem. The translucence apparently didn't stop my identifying this thing as something other than a bug or "floater" in my eye. It happened on a clear sunny day and that may have contibuted to the visibility. Plus, I am an illustrator and imaging professional so details don't escape me easily.

This thing occurred before I saw the 1987 CGI effects in Predator. I didn't see that until later like in the 90s. I can't say that I had seen any movies with that effect in it until after this happened. There was one show that seemed to pioneer the CGI effect of the "clear Jello" monster of the deep seas. I forget the title. But when I saw that show I thought the creators had possibly gotten the idea for the effect from the same thing I had seen.

But I've never seen anything like this. A very strange feeling came from it.

I've seen other unidentified objects but only at a distance and they're usually lights that move randomly and either too slowly or to fast to be a conventional aircraft. Plus they're never on a flight path and in remote areas of wilderness. Those incidents have happened to me maybe 5 times in my life.


•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*


Congratulations America! That is something else with the election and all that. I have a feeling what you have done will bring more security to your country than a million "orange alerts".


It sounds really weird.

It's interesting that you say you saw a few different things throughout you're life, as this seems to be a trend with UFO witnesses. Maybe after the first you are more observant.

And yes, congratulations America.
 
  • #570
gareth said:
It sounds really weird.

It's interesting that you say you saw a few different things throughout you're life, as this seems to be a trend with UFO witnesses. Maybe after the first you are more observant.

And yes, congratulations America.

That's probably correct. I don't know if witnesses see them more often because of their first incident or if we're biased toward seeing them or if the experience makes you look for more of them.

If "the trick to money is having some" (Stuart Wilde) then perhaps the trick to seeing a UFO is having seen one.
 
  • #571
baywax said:
That's probably correct. I don't know if witnesses see them more often because of their first incident or if we're biased toward seeing them or if the experience makes you look for more of them.

If "the trick to money is having some" (Stuart Wilde) then perhaps the trick to seeing a UFO is having seen one.

I think the trick to seeing a UFO is to believe they are something more than an Unidentified Flying Object.
 
  • #572
CEL said:
I think the trick to seeing a UFO is to believe they are something more than an Unidentified Flying Object.

Hold on, in order to believe something is more than a UFO you first have to see a UFO. So you have already seen one, after that you can speculate anything you like.

Did you mean:

"I think the trick to seeing a UFO is just adding the U to a regular FO"?
 
  • #573
gareth said:
It sounds really weird.

It's interesting that you say you saw a few different things throughout you're life, as this seems to be a trend with UFO witnesses. Maybe after the first you are more observant.

And yes, congratulations America.

and seems often to be people suffering in some way, doesn't it?

y'know, the brain is a marvelous instrument. it's been keeping us alive for a long time. and it doesn't do this by always being a calm, rational, deep thinker. we haven't been out of the wilderness that long, but when we were there, we had to make a lot of snap decisions (more like reactions) based on very fuzzy data. i got to experience this often and at full volume when i was suffering more from anxiety and panic attacks. there will be some little movement in your peripheral vision and it makes you jump. you see things that aren't very clear and your brain, the marvelous thing it is, interpolates and extrapolates on the data to create something that does seem clear. and so, you often find yourself having to stop, steady yourself, analyze, realize it was just a shadow, and move on.

and maybe some other people aren't really suffering at all. maybe for them it's more of a religious experience. doesn't matter though. it's still the same "irrational" brain doing what it does best, filling in the blanks where we can't see.
 
  • #574
Proton Soup said:
and seems often to be people suffering in some way, doesn't it?

y'know, the brain is a marvelous instrument. it's been keeping us alive for a long time. and it doesn't do this by always being a calm, rational, deep thinker. we haven't been out of the wilderness that long, but when we were there, we had to make a lot of snap decisions (more like reactions) based on very fuzzy data. i got to experience this often and at full volume when i was suffering more from anxiety and panic attacks. there will be some little movement in your peripheral vision and it makes you jump. you see things that aren't very clear and your brain, the marvelous thing it is, interpolates and extrapolates on the data to create something that does seem clear. and so, you often find yourself having to stop, steady yourself, analyze, realize it was just a shadow, and move on.

and maybe some other people aren't really suffering at all. maybe for them it's more of a religious experience. doesn't matter though. it's still the same "irrational" brain doing what it does best, filling in the blanks where we can't see.

You must be talking about the outgoing US president.
 
  • #575
baywax said:
EDIT: Actually I'm amazed at the complacency of people when there is a strange object in the sky. I was swimming once with a bunch of people and there was a white oblong object at about 25,000 feet to the south and above where we were. I'm looking at it.. you know, like the guy that instigates everyone to look up in the same direction.. and there it is, plain as the clear blue sky, a white thing not moving, or kind of drifting sideways a bit. I kept my eye on it the whole time but everyone else just kept on having fun, with disregard for this thing.
You looked up and saw a white oblong object at 5 miles distance. Everyone else looked up and saw a dirigible. What about it was worthy of note to you?

As for it disappearing, well, looking away and looking back at something has a way of getting something lost.
 
  • #576
DaveC426913 said:
You looked up and saw a white oblong object at 5 miles distance. Everyone else looked up and saw a dirigible. What about it was worthy of note to you?

As for it disappearing, well, looking away and looking back at something has a way of getting something lost.

Yes, you're right, but I am diligent when it comes to searching stuff out and it was gone.

I didn't finish my account concerning the complacency. These people saw what I was seeing. Kids said, "yeah, what is that?" Then everyone just kept swimming and playing Marco Polo.

But, my estimates of distance are bad. This could have been 2 miles up.

The most worthy thing to note about it was that it was not aggressively going in any particular direction and it didn't make any sound. It did very slowly drift to the northwest. It looked like a white Rice Crispy. It had no direction like a blimp would, and I checked it out for logos, rudder, propeller and saw nothing like that.

This isn't the most striking example from my sightings.
 
  • #577
baywax said:
Yes, you're right, but I am diligent when it comes to searching stuff out and it was gone.

I didn't finish my account concerning the complacency. These people saw what I was seeing. Kids said, "yeah, what is that?" Then everyone just kept swimming and playing Marco Polo.

But, my estimates of distance are bad. This could have been 2 miles up.

The most worthy thing to note about it was that it was not aggressively going in any particular direction and it didn't make any sound. It did very slowly drift to the northwest. It looked like a white Rice Crispy. It had no direction like a blimp would, and I checked it out for logos, rudder, propeller and saw nothing like that.

This isn't the most striking example from my sightings.



Could you go into one of other sightings? Maybe not all of them, but another noteworthy one.

Personally, what was you're gut feeling when you saw them?
 
  • #578
gareth said:
Could you go into one of other sightings? Maybe not all of them, but another noteworthy one.

Personally, what was you're gut feeling when you saw them?

The gut feeling is that

1. This is really happening.
2. This needs to be observed.
3. This could be dangerous.
4. 2. and 3. are conflicting each other.

I'm cooking up an image to illustrate one other incident.
Before I describe it literally, it would be good to hear
descriptions of other people's interpretations of the image.
 

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  • #579
So this composite image is of the highway where this took place but not in the area.

The "rod" is a vector drawing of what I saw.
attachment.php?attachmentid=16240&d=1225995490.jpg
 
  • #580
looks like one of those socket wrench thingies. It looks fairly big from the image, seems like it could be the size of a light aircraft but can't say for sure.

If it is that size and it is moving, it's going to have to move pretty quick to get out of that valley. It doesn't look like it's designed for conventional flight either.

More details please
 
  • #581
gareth said:
looks like one of those socket wrench thingies. It looks fairly big from the image, seems like it could be the size of a light aircraft but can't say for sure.

If it is that size and it is moving, it's going to have to move pretty quick to get out of that valley. It doesn't look like it's designed for conventional flight either.

More details please

I didn't question this thing's ability to fly or float because it was doing that right in where I saw it. I questioned myself and whether I was seeing a transformer on a pole or something of that nature. But there was nothing between it and the ground or anything that looked manufactured near it.

The actual location was up a granite embankment with more trees obscuring it from the highway than in the illustration. My view of it lasted 4-5 seconds since the car was traveling at about 110 km. I was not driving and was able to give it my full attention for that time. My estimate is that it was approx. 20 ft long and about 3 ft diameter. Maybe a bit bigger. The skin on it was metallic gray and non-reflective. It hasn't been there on subsequent drive-bys.

edit: it didn't move during the time I saw it.
 
  • #582
22.29% believe that aliens have visited us. I thought this forum was serious...
 
  • #583
48% say yes or maybe, and about 60% say yes, maybe, or eventually they will.
 
  • #584
Crazy, or what?
 
  • #585
baywax said:
I didn't question this thing's ability to fly or float because it was doing that right in where I saw it. I questioned myself and whether I was seeing a transformer on a pole or something of that nature. But there was nothing between it and the ground or anything that looked manufactured near it.

The actual location was up a granite embankment with more trees obscuring it from the highway than in the illustration. My view of it lasted 4-5 seconds since the car was traveling at about 110 km. I was not driving and was able to give it my full attention for that time. My estimate is that it was approx. 20 ft long and about 3 ft diameter. Maybe a bit bigger. The skin on it was metallic gray and non-reflective. It hasn't been there on subsequent drive-bys.

edit: it didn't move during the time I saw it.

Did the driver of the car catch a glimpse?

If so, how did they react?
 
  • #586
baywax said:
The actual location was up a granite embankment with more trees obscuring it from the highway than in the illustration.
...
My estimate is that it was approx. 20 ft long and about 3 ft diameter. Maybe a bit bigger.
If it were 20 ft long, in my estimation from your pic, it would be hovering practically over the highway, or a least the shoulder. Yet you describe its location like it was behind some trees and up an embankment.

Can you clarify the apparent descrepancy? (Perhaps it's merely the photo selection.)
 
  • #587
kasse said:
Crazy, or what?

Yes, everyone here is crazy except you.
 
  • #588
lots of stuff reflecting off the windshield
 
  • #589
gareth said:
Did the driver of the car catch a glimpse?

If so, how did they react?

No one else saw it. I wanted to show you all the whole thing without obscuring it with trees. I'm going to modify the photo I put the drawing into indicate the actual surroundings.

Nothing in the car would have reflected on the window to create this effect. I don't carry nazi hand grenades (my nic name for it) in the car.

It was back from the highway by a good 30 ft itself.
 
  • #590
baywax said:
No one else saw it. I wanted to show you all the whole thing without obscuring it with trees. I'm going to modify the photo I put the drawing into indicate the actual surroundings.

Nothing in the car would have reflected on the window to create this effect. I don't carry nazi hand grenades (my nic name for it) in the car.

It was back from the highway by a good 30 ft itself.

Did you draw it to anyone else's attention?

I've read a few UFO witness reports, it's another reccuring aspect of the sightings (along with reccuring sightings over the course of their lives), that only the reporting witness could see the object.

I'm not saying the people are delusional, nor am I saying the objects are not visible to certain people, just that I've read it in quite a few reports.
 
  • #591
Here's a really quick rendition that tries to show how the land lay under this thing.
 

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  • #592
gareth said:
Did you draw it to anyone else's attention?

I've read a few UFO witness reports, it's another reccuring aspect of the sightings (along with reccuring sightings over the course of their lives), that only the reporting witness could see the object.

I'm not saying the people are delusional, nor am I saying the objects are not visible to certain people, just that I've read it in quite a few reports.

The rice crispy ufo was seen by many kids and adults where I was swimming. But the attention span of all of them was minimal... probably because there were no lights or it wasn't really zooming around... if something isn't exhibiting unusual behaviour people just write it off as something unworthy of their time.

In the case of this thing by the highway, its a stretch of highway where you can do up to 140 kmph and so not many would have seen it. Or, if they caught a glimpse of it, it wasn't doing anything unusual so it wouldn't register as anything more than a metal object and that's it. My attention to detail is a more acute than most people's so I tend to put more energy into my observations of pretty well everything. That's why I held a position like bio/medical illustrator for over 14 years.

My impression of this thing, speculatively, is that it is some sort of scanner. From what I can make of it, the octagonal piece probably provides the lift while the tube provides the scanning. Not unlike a wand at the airport. What its scanning for is debatable.

I'm not saying this is extraterrestrial in origin. My gut feeling is that it's terrestrial.
attachment.php?attachmentid=16279&d=1226185423.jpg
 
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  • #593
i don't mean this to sound derogatory, but these experiences are starting to sound more like symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia.
 
  • #594
baywax said:
The rice crispy ufo was seen by many kids and adults where I was swimming. But the attention span of all of them was minimal... probably because there were no lights or it wasn't really zooming around... if something isn't exhibiting unusual behaviour people just write it off as something unworthy of their time.
Again, I've got to ask. What about this object was worthy of note at all?


baywax said:
My impression of this thing, speculatively, is that it is some sort of scanner. From what I can make of it, the octagonal piece probably provides the lift while the tube provides the scanning. Not unlike a wand at the airport. What its scanning for is debatable.

What? You're ready to assign a purpose and functionality to it? You're putting the cart up front and you haven't even got a horse yet, don't you think?
 
  • #595
I agree. You are welcome to share your story, but please avoid any speculation based on an assumed premise.
 

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