What is a UFO? It is any strange aerial or optical phenomenon (for example light) not readily explainable to the observer (1)(4). The first modern sightings of UFOs began in America. Considerable number of people reported having seen saucer-shaped objects in the sky, in Washington, beginning 1947.
 A typical UFO is a round saucer-like object |
One of the first reports was filed by a businessman, Kenneth Arnold: He was flying his own aircraft (in Washington State) from Chehalis to Yakimo, on January 24, 1947. As he detoured over the mount Rainier area, flying at an altitude of 2,740 metres, he spotted a group of nine saucer-shaped craft flying in line-ahead formation 40km away. They were about 150 metres above him. He timed their passage; and was surprised to find their speed was around 8,000 km an hour.
On December 6, 1952, the crew of a US Air Force B-29 bomber, saw a group of UFOs over the Gulf of Mexico, the objects were also picked up on the bomber's radar screen where measurements showed their speed to be more than 8,000km an hour.
Later the flying objects moved away at a speed of some 14,480km an hour.
The American, George Adamski, claimed to have seen an alien (living being) in a UFO on November 20, 1952. He also said that he was taken on a trip aboard a flying saucer, but there were no other witnesses.
An American couple, Betty and Barney Hill, were driving from Canada towards their home, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA on the night of September 19, 1961.
They noticed a light moving, up in the sky, which they identified as an enormous object hovering over the road. Looking up through the binoculars, Barney saw the occupants of the craft peering out of the craft's windows.
Stunned at what they saw, the two of them started driving home at high speed although they felt drowsy.
 An alien as described in the sightings |
As revealed subsequently, under hypnosis, they stated that they were taken aboard the UFO, subjected to medical examination before being taken back to their car.
A young Brazilian peasant farmer, Antonio Villas Boss, claimed to have been kidnapped by the crew of a UFO, on the night of October 15, 1957.
He recalled that the UFO crew were largely human in appearance. After taking aboard the craft he had been medically examined including taking of a blood sample, he had been persuaded to have sex with a female member of the crew.
He was release after four hours and then the craft took off and disappeared into the night sky. A doctor who examined the farmer the next day found a scar on the skin at the place from which the blood sample was taken.
The government of USA sponsored investigations into UFOs (3). The inquires were conducted by three panels of scientists consisting of Physicists, Astronomers, Engineers and Meteorologist appointed in 1952, 1966 and 1968.
The first panel of inquiry (1952) was set up, in secret, by the CIA and the members were briefed on US military activities and intelligence. Its report was originally classified as 'secret,' but later declassified. The third panel examined 59 UFO sightings, and 37 scientists contributed to its work.
All three panels of inquiry rejected the possibility of extraterrestrial origin of UFOs. The third panel eclared that no further investigation was needed.
The conclusions and recommendations of all three panels were similar. The obvious reason for the similarity of the three reports was that all of them inquired into the same phenomenon. Could there be other reasons for the similarity?
Yes, there could be other less important reason, for example, if all the three panels were instructed, by someone, to give similar opinions.
Why should anyone give such instructions? The answer can be given by stretching the possibilities very far: (1) Suppose UFOs were real objects in sky and someone did not want any publicity given to them. (2) Suppose someone wanted to hide their extraterrestrial origin (assuming they came from a planet revolving around a distant star in the universe).
Apart from excluding the extraterrestrial origin of the UFOs, the inquiring panels dismissed the possibility of very existence of such flying objects.
They, specifically the first panel, stated that UFO sightings could be explained by natural causes, such as planets, meteor showers, flocks of birds, clouds of ionized gas, northern and southern lights, or by familiar objects, such as aircraft, searchlights, balloons. Some other authorities have attributed the sightings to optical illusions, dreams and hallucinations.
However, there was a clear shortcoming in the investigations made by the expert panels of USA: That is, not a single member of the panels has observed a UFO. There conclusions were made solely on the basis of evidence of persons who saw the UFOs.
The first panel stated that nine out of ten UFO sightings could be explained by natural causes. This leaves out 10 percent of sightings for which there was no explanation.
Not all scientists agreed with the view that there was nothing new or unusual in the UFO reports; these scientists included James E McDonald, a meterologist at the University of Arizona, and J Allen Hynek an astronomer at the Northwestern University (1). The opinion of these scientists was that a small proportion of the most reliable reports of the witnesses showed possibilities of extraterrestrial visitors. These scientists set up a Centre for UFO Studies, in 1973, in Northfield, Illinois (1).
What we cannot comprehend is the recommendation of the third panel of inquiry is that no further investigations should be made; that is, do not inquire into UFO sightings in the future.
Notwithstanding the above comments and observations, there is a reason why aliens from a distant galaxy will not come to Earth. Earth belongs to the solar system in the Milky Way. There could be planetary systems similar to our solar system in other distant galaxies. Also there could be planets capable of supporting intelligent life who have more advanced technologies than ours.
If we assume that such a planet is fifty or one hundred light years away from the Earth, then it is impossible for aliens (from that planet to reach Earth. The reason is that the maximum speed an object in universe can reach is the speed of light (3x10 8 metres per second). This is what the Einstein's theories of relativity tell us. Even if an alien spacecraft travels at the speed of light from such a distant planet, it would take more than 100 years to reach Earth. The journey would extend to several human lifetimes. In practice, a vehicle moving at a substantial fraction of the speed of light would undergo bizarre effects like increase in mass. At the speed of light the mass of the moving object will become infinity.
References:
New Encyclopedia Brittanica, 15th edition, 1994. Volume 12, pp 129, 130.
David Owen. 'Into Outer Space' Published by Lowell House, NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, USA. 1975. pp 30-37.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 5th edition, 2000.
Huchinson Encyclopedia of Science, 1998
Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, 1991.
Courtesy - Daily News by Dr B G Punchihewa
