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

[CEL]

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.

 

[gareth]

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"?

 

[Proton Soup]

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.

 

[baywax]

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.

 

[DaveC426913]

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.

 

[baywax]

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.

 

[gareth]

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?

 

[baywax]

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.

 

[baywax]

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.

 

[gareth]

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

 

[baywax]

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.

 

[kasse]

22.29% believe that aliens have visited us. I thought this forum was serious...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

48% say yes or maybe, and about 60% say yes, maybe, or eventually they will.

 

[kasse]

Crazy, or what?

 

[gareth]

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?

 

[DaveC426913]

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.)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Crazy, or what?

Yes, everyone here is crazy except you.

 

[Proton Soup]

lots of stuff reflecting off the windshield

 

[baywax]

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.

 

[gareth]

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.

 

[baywax]

Here's a really quick rendition that tries to show how the land lay under this thing.

 

[baywax]

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.

 

[Proton Soup]

i don't mean this to sound derogatory, but these experiences are starting to sound more like symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia.

 

[DaveC426913]

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?

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?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I agree. You are welcome to share your story, but please avoid any speculation based on an assumed premise.

 

[CEL]

Here is the description of a UFO sighting, with many witnesses.

Last Saturday morning, about 9am on a sunny day, I was driving roughly north in a semi-rural area just south of Washington, DC, when I spotted a black flying saucer that appeared to be hovering a half-mile or so ahead, about 50 yards up. It was flat on the bottom and very streamlined and symmetrical – somewhat like two tear drops placed sideways and set on a flat surface. It looked to be about the size of a car. I, along with a handful of other drivers slowed to a crawl to watch this thing float along very, very slowly.

What do you guys think of it?

 

[gareth]

Here is the description of a UFO sighting, with many witnesses.

What do you guys think of it?

Without a reference to the source of the text, or the context of the account, it is just prose.

 

[CEL]

Without a reference to the source of the text, or the context of the account, it is just prose.

It is the account of a guy named Ken Fischer. It happened last May around 9am near Washington DC. What more do you need?

 

[DaveC426913]

What more do you need?

Again with the 'what more do you need'. Have you learned nothing from this thread?

 

[baywax]

Again, I've got to ask. What about this object was worthy of note at all?

Sorry about my speculations. The note worthy thing about the object was that it was defying the law of gravity.

I'm done with this topic now thanks.