UFOs Up in the Air—Part 1

From the first primitive human species—a few hundred thousand years ago—to today, we have peered heavenward and observed and pondered the behaviors of celestial phenomena. Our ancient ancestors had no ability to comprehend the true nature of those lights and the things that they saw, so they created stories to explain them. (Isn’t that what we do today, but with more knowledge?) They sometimes described the antics of super beings as being responsible for the phenomena they saw happening. Those super beings were viewed from the perspective of the primeval comprehension of people at the time.

Our more recent ancestors (several hundred to several thousand years ago) came to understand that those points of light might be stars, planets, and other transient phenomena (such as comets). They still had little idea of the true nature of these objects or why they behaved as they did, but they became quite familiar with the comings and goings of most of them. Many of the more unusual sightings were interpreted as omens from the gods—which were the beginnings of astrology.

It is likely that some of the early phenomena were similar to what have, in recent decades, come to be designated as unidentified flying objects (UFOs), but the rudimentary science of the times would not have caused people to interpret them as visitors from outer space. Humans didn't even have any concept such as outer space… at most they considered the objects to be part of the “heavens.”

Once we came to know that the night sky's lights are stars, planets, and galaxies, the immensity of outer space became clear. We then began to wonder if there are other forms of life out there. As our knowledge increased, our stories about the unusual aerial phenomena became more sophisticated. We no longer imagined super beings dragging the sun across the sky or “men in the moon,” but we wanted explanations for some of the more strange things that we saw. Mystifying lights and weird objects became the vehicles of visitors from outer space. Strange objects were seen as “flying saucers.” Science fiction tales added to our ideas about the possibilities.

The overactive imaginations of many people sometimes added bizarre additional beliefs to the incidents, such as humans being snatched up by superior beings and being experimented upon. Rumors flourished and fostered conspiracy theories. UFO sightings were romanticized and taken out of context. Many people became convinced that the government had positive evidence of encounters with UFOs, but was suppressing the information, for various security and secretive reasons.

Pressure mounted. This spring the US government finally conceded to release a report that would contain what it knew about what was now being called Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAP). For months the public conjectured about what might be revealed in the report. No more government secrets—the truth about celestial visitors would finally be known! Who are these aliens? Should we fear them? Should we greet them in peace or prepare for battle? Maybe the government will finally show us pieces of crashed space craft, so we can marvel at the advanced technology. Once and for all, we’ll know the truth!

Well, the report came out in June, and was a major let-down for many people. There is no physical evidence. There were no answers that satisfied curious citizens. There were no detailed photographs of any flying craft. There were no explanations for most of the sightings—just descriptions of radar contacts and multiple sightings of the same

phenomena, in a few cases. It was fascinating, but there were no great revelations. The report mostly—and disappointingly for many people—confessed to the government's continued ignorance of UAPs.

I was not surprised at the report. I feel that if the government had any hard evidence, it would long ago have leaked to the public. Moreover, too many of what were once considered to be actual encounters with alien spacecraft have been, upon careful investigation, shown to be explained by weather balloons, bizarre optical illusions, natural phenomena such as forms of lightning, etc. Conspiracy buffs, however, remain convinced that the government is holding back, and it may well be, to some extent, but we still don’t know. It is similar to the conviction that some people have—that the moon landings were faked by NASA and no opposing evidence will dissuade them.

More UFOs next time…