UFO study finds no sign of aliens

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a Ministry of Defence report on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) that concludes there is no evidence of alien life forms. Participants explore the implications of the report, particularly regarding the potential for atmospheric phenomena to explain UFO sightings and the psychological effects on observers.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the phenomena attributed to UFOs may be explained by physical, electrical, and magnetic phenomena in the atmosphere, potentially affecting human perception.
  • Others propose that if such phenomena exist, they might interact with RADAR, possibly explaining certain encounters where objects appear to evade detection.
  • A participant questions the validity of the report's claims about plasma-related fields affecting human perception, calling for controlled experiments to substantiate these assertions.
  • There is speculation that organized plasmas could be effective RADAR targets while remaining invisible to the naked eye, raising questions about the nature of observed UFOs.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the idea that hallucinations could account for multiple observers seeing the same phenomenon, emphasizing the need for measurable evidence.
  • Concerns are raised about the lack of reproducible evidence for the claims made in the report, with calls for more rigorous scientific validation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally do not reach a consensus, with multiple competing views on the explanations for UFO sightings and the psychological effects described in the report. Some support the idea of atmospheric phenomena, while others challenge the notion of hallucinations and call for more evidence.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the absence of controlled experiments to validate claims about plasma-related fields and their effects on human perception, as well as the need for clearer definitions of the phenomena discussed.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring the intersection of psychology, atmospheric science, and the study of UFO phenomena, as well as individuals curious about the scientific scrutiny of extraordinary claims.

Ivan Seeking
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A confidential Ministry of Defence report on Unidentified Flying Objects has concluded that there is no proof of alien life forms.

... "Considerable evidence exists to support the thesis that the events are almost certainly attributable to physical, electrical and magnetic phenomena in the atmosphere, mesosphere and ionosphere.

"They appear to originate due to more than one set of weather and electrically charged conditions, and are observed so infrequently as to make them unique to the majority of observers."

People who claim to have had a "close encounter" are often difficult to persuade that they did not really see what they thought they saw. The report offers a possible medical explanation.

"The close proximity of plasma related fields can adversely affect a vehicle or person," states the report.

"Local fields of this type have been medically proven to cause responses in the temporal lobes of the human brain. These result in the observer sustaining (and later describing and retaining) his or her own vivid, but mainly incorrect, description of what is experienced." [continued]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4981720.stm

It has long been suspected that this sort of thing may account for some UFO reports - perhaps a good number of the more interesting cases. Of course it remains to be shown that such a phenomenon really does exist that can affect humans to the degree suggested.

Note also that the "UFO" photo chosen by the BBC was long ago relegated to our very own Ball Lightning [photos] section of the Credible Anomalies Napster.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=58374
 
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In fact, I don't offer theories, but I do have one suggestion. If such a phenomenon does exist, it would appear to react to RADAR. I have always wondered if the Iran encounter might be explained if a phenomenon like that suggested here was encountered, and if it literally "ran away" from the plane's RADAR. Could the RADAR literally push it away as the plane chases it? To me, a careful reading of the encounter suggests such a possibility.
http://www.nsa.gov/ufo/ufo00020.pdf

I have read a good number of other reports that might be explained by this. In some cases, this could be what makes the UFOs seemingly intelligent and responsive.
 
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Ivan Seeking said:
In fact, I don't offer theories, but I do have one suggestion. If such a phenomenon does exist, it would appear to react to RADAR. I have always wondered if the Iran encounter might be explained if a phenomenon like that suggested here was encountered, and if it literally "ran away" from the plane's RADAR. Could the RADAR literally push it away as the plane chases it? To me, a careful reading of the encounter suggests such a possibility.
http://www.nsa.gov/ufo/ufo00020.pdf

I have read a good number of other reports that might be explained by this. In some cases, this could be what makes the UFOs seemingly intelligent and responsive.


I believe that these plasmas, especially if they were organized into tori (as the recent theory of ball lightning suggests) or other soliton forms, would make brilliant radar targets. One thing very likely is that they would scatter cm wave lengths but not optical ones (or not as well), making them show up on radar but be effectively invisible to the naked eye.
 
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"The close proximity of plasma related fields can adversely affect a vehicle or person," states the report.

"Local fields of this type have been medically proven to cause responses in the temporal lobes of the human brain. These result in the observer sustaining (and later describing and retaining) his or her own vivid, but mainly incorrect, description of what is experienced."

I would like to see this proved in a controlled experiment. In my experience, many people have walked by high tension lines and power generators, get MRIs and sightsee auroras with no weird effects being reported (these are all examples of exposure to strong electric/magnetic or electromagnetic fields). So, if "plasma related fields" are being blamed for these phenomena, I want to see proof by way of a reproducible experiment with controls (to rule out a placebo effect).
 
selfAdjoint said:
I believe that these plasmas, especially if they were organized into tori (as the recent theory of ball lightning suggests) or other soliton forms, would make brilliant radar targets. One thing very likely is that they would scatter cm wave lengths but not optical ones (or not as well), making them show up on radar but be effectively invisible to the naked eye.

There are quite few cases of AF planes being scrambled to observe RADAR targets that were tracked, but could never be seen, even at close range - according to the relative positions of the interceptors and the target, as indicated on RADAR.
 
So what percentage of credible cases does this explanation erase? Are there still a decent number of cases which remain immune to this type of explanation? BTW I don't expect exact answers, just a thought.
 
Making a best guess wrt my own experience, I can imagine that this sort of thing might account for at least twenty percent of the most interesting cases that I've read; maybe more.
 
The topic is the alleged phenomenon that affects humans and the evidence that it may exist. All off-topic posts have been deleted.
 
So they're saying it's basically a hallucination? That doesn't seem to account for multiple observers seeing the same thing.

Like Curious, I'd like to see some evidence of how this would affect the brain to produce this particular outcome. That just seems a bit far-fetched to me. If something external could have that profound of an effect on the brain, it should be measureable, repeatable, and I'd have a hard time believing it would be so specific and localized as to result in such a similar hallucination in so many people.

It sounds a bit like a fancy way of saying, "It's all in their heads."

Afterall, if it's so uncommon, as the article says, and it hasn't been measured directly, as the article hints, then it's nothing but handwaving.
 
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I'd half to agree with you Moonbear, they would need to have some solid facts to back up the claims of hallucination. As far as I can recall, I've never seen a study where a group of people were indused to have the SAME hallucination.
 

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