Earth Day may fall later this week, but as far as former
NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell and other UFO enthusiasts
are concerned, the real story is happening elsewhere.
Mitchell, who was part of the 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission,
asserted Monday that extraterrestrial life exists, and that
the truth is being concealed by the United States and other
governments. He delivered his remarks during an appearance
at the National Press Club following the conclusion of the
fifth annual X-Conference, a meeting of UFO activists and
researchers studying the possibility of alien life forms.
Mankind has long wondered if we're "alone in the universe.
[But] only in our period do we really have evidence. No,
we're not alone," Mitchell said.
"Our destiny, in my opinion, and we might as well get started
with it, is [to] become a part of the planetary community.
... We should be ready to reach out beyond our planet and
beyond our solar system to find out what is really going
on out there."
"I urge those who are doubtful: Read the books, read the
lore, start to understand what has really been going on.
Because there really is no doubt we are being visited,"
he said.
"The universe that we live in is much more wondrous, exciting,
complex and far-reaching than we were ever able to know
up to this point in time."
UFO Facts
A UFO sighting occurs somewhere on the planet every three
minutes.
Hundreds of thousands of unexplained sightings have been
reported all around the world, many of which were documented
or photographed.
A Roper poll in 1991 said that 4 million Americans believe
they have been abducted.
A Gallup poll in 1996 said that 71 percent of Americans
believe the government knows more than it is telling us
about UFOs.
Millions of people have seen UFOs, from biblical prophets
to astronauts to housewives to astronomers.
The first documented UFO sighting is in the Bible. The prophet
Ezekiel described a "great cloud with fire enfolding itself,
a wheel in the middle of a wheel that descended and fired
lightning bolts into the earth."
An incident was reported in Basel, Switzerland, on Aug.
7, 1566.
The first photograph of a UFO was taken in 1883 by astronomer
Jose Bonilla in Zacatecas, Mexico.
Alexander Hamilton reported a cow being kidnapped by an
airship in Le Roy, Kan., in April 1897.
Winston Churchill reported a strange airship in Kent, England,
Oct. 14, 1912. It was the first case of a UFO being "officially"
reported.
On Feb. 25, 1942, a large, dark object over the Los Angeles
coastline was mistaken for a Japanese attack and drew a
barrage of anti-aircraft fire. Memos to President Roosevelt
confirmed the existence of unidentified aerial objects.
UFOs were often seen and photographed during NASA's space
missions in the 1960s.
UFO sightings have been claimed by former President Jimmy
Carter, Clyde Tombaough (the astronomer who discovered Pluto)
and William Shatner (who claims to have been rescued by
aliens who pointed him in the right direction when he was
lost in the Mojave Desert).
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UFO Myths
& Facts
Myth: Very few people have really seen a UFO...
Fact: According to a Roper poll conducted in 2002 for the
SciFi channel, one in seven Americans say they or someone
they know has had an experience involving a UFO...
A total of 14 percent have had or know someone who has had
at least one Close Encounter of the "First," "Second," or
"Third" kind. The largest proportion (12 percent) say they
or someone else they know has seen a UFO at close quarters.
Source: Poll from - Coalition for Freedom of Information
Myth: Airline pilots never see UFOs, so they must not be
real...
Fact: There have been many cases of pilot sightings ever
since the 1940s...
The most convincing UFO reports were produced in the 1940s,
1950s and 1960s by airline pilots, military pilots and ex-military
pilots. These men had the training and the experience to
be able to distinguish between normal sky sights and highly
abnormal sights. They knew what airplanes looked like, and
what meteors looked like, having seen them many times. Their
visual observations were frequently supported by radar data
which showed essentially the same thing. They were therefore
able, on many occasions, to methodically eliminate conventional
phenomena from consideration when trying to identify UFOs.
In those same decades, most UFO sightings were made in the
daytime and frequently at close range, when shapes and surface
features could be distinguished, thus making positive identification
of normal sights easier and the descriptions of unusual
sights more detailed. When all normal explanations had been
eliminated, the witnesses could concentrate on those aspects
of the experience which were most abnormal.
These abnormal aspects included the shapes of UFOs and their
behavior. Most of the UFOs seen in the daytime were said
to have had simple geometric shapes--discs, ovals, spheres,
cylinders--and surfaces that looked like metal. Such shapes
are not only nonexistent among known aircraft, but contrary
to all known theories of flight, in most cases offering
control and performance disadvantages rather than advantages.
Source: Don Berliner, The Fund for UFO Research, Inc.; 2002
Myth: UFOs are only reported by uneducated farmers in places
you've never heard of...
Fact: A study by the U.S. Air Force showed that the most
puzzling UFO reports came from people who had the best technical
backgrounds. They are reported from everyplace where there
are people, though fewer are seen from big cities because
less of the sky is visible.
UFOs are reported by every type of person: uneducated yokels
and PhDs; laborers and corporation presidents; truck drivers
and airline captains; little kids, their parents and their
grandparents. People in every state, every province and
every country. They are reported by people who are convinced
every light in the sky is an alien craft, and by other people
who are convinced that no one as smart as them ever sees
odd things in the sky.
People in rural areas may see more UFOs because they can
see more of the sky and because they may look at the sky
more often. Big city people have a poor view of the sky,
and they are usually too busy to look up. Generally speaking,
UFOs are seen by people who happen to be in the right place
at the right time.
Source: Don Berliner, The Fund for UFO Research, Inc.
Myth:The U. S. Air Force investigated UFOs and concluded
there was nothing to them...
Fact: The Air Force had an official UFO investigation from
1948 to 1969 (Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book), and
collected more than 12,500 reports. It claims to have explained
all but about 701 of them, but the facts of most of those
reports strongly suggest that something important was seen.
The U.S. Air Force claims to have explained all but 701
of its reports, though by actual count the number is 584.
But as so many of these were made by military and airline
pilots, and other unexplained sightings involved radar tracking,
they are the heart of the matter. Hundreds of other reports
in the official files are alleged to have been explained,
but are full of unscientific and illogical reasoning.
If so many cases are admittedly unexplained, they cannot
be used to support any conclusions, as the nature and origins
of unexplained cases are, by definition, unknown. If you
add those cases that are only "possibly" explained, the
total lacking convincing explanations tops 50%, which strongly
suggests that the official investigation was a failure.
Source: Don Berliner, The Fund for UFO Research, Inc.
Myth:UFOs are only seen by Americans...
Fact: UFOs have been seen wherever there are people. Every
continent has had its share, as has almost every country,
though local interest plays a role in the apparent level
of activity. Wherever there is someone interested in searching
out UFO reports, they will be found, but that doesn't mean
the investigator lives in a center of activity.
Some of the first UFOs were seen in Europe and the Pacific.
Since then, they have been reported from all continents
and probably all countries. There have been major waves
of sightings not only in the USA, but in Great Britain,
France, Belgium, Russia and elsewhere. Official and private
organizations have been established in many countries to
study their sightings, and their results are similar to
other countries'. The same kinds and variety of UFOs are
seen most places, and this has changed little over the years.
In late 1944, following a gradual build-up of activity,
"foo-fighters" were reported in large numbers. Pilots of
American and British bombers and night fighters over occupied
France and over Germany described glowing balls that flew
in formation with them for long periods and then just flew
away. The first "explanation" was that they must be experimental
German anti-aircraft weapons that were being tested prior
to being put into action. But the war ended without a single
"foo-fighter" showing unfriendliness. Explainers then tried
to blame German jet and rocket fighters in night operations.
But it was later determined that there may have been only
a single night flight by any German jet, and none by their
rocket-powered fighters.
At about the same time in the Pacific Theater of War, American
bombers were followed for hours by bright lights that eventually
turned away. Military officials said they were Japanese
suicide planes, and that is how they show up in official
mission reports. But suicide planes never flew at night,
and they never followed our bombers for long periods of
time without doing anything. The war ended with hundreds
of reports still unexplained.
Source: Don Berliner, The Fund for UFO Research, Inc.
Myth:UFOs have only been seen since 1947...
Fact: There are UFO reports in newspapers and literature
dating back to 1865 and even earlier...
