UFO Discussion Thread

[The Galactic Liberal Democracy]

cheesy obligatory stock photo from istock

Unidentified flying objects: we've all heard of them, maybe you've seen them, maybe you heard a story. But what are they, and what makes them go?

These are the questions to contemplate if you are interested in UFOs. Are they experimental aircraft, mass hallucinations, or something otherworldly? And what makes them behave as they do?

First and foremost, thai thread will begin with hypothetical workings of the UFO. What makes them go? What are they made of?

I believe that UFOs may use electromagnetic fields for propulsion. EM fields could make a very maneuverable craft that flies in an odd manner. It's just a theory, but I feel like it's a good one..

Resources on UFOs:
HowStuffWorks
Wikipedia
History Channel
Space. com

[Grenartia]

In order from most likely to least likely (if one is ruled out for any given case, go to the one immediately below it, and repeat until it cannot be ruled out):
-Traditional aircraft
-Experimental aircraft
-Atmospheric phenomena
-Hallucinations
-Hoaxes

If you reach this point, go back and reevaluate all the facts, because they're certainly not fucking alien spacecraft.

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

I would have put people lying as the most likely explanation.

[Grenartia]

I believe that UFOs may use electromagnetic fields for propulsion. EM fields could make a very maneuverable craft that flies in an odd manner.

And for a craft capable of countering Earth's gravitational force (to say nothing of actually achieving interstellar travel), it would require a powerplant that would make it light up like a fucking Christmas tree in visible and infared, to such a degree that nobody would doubt their existence, and nobody could cover up their existence. At the very least, such a craft would require massive fucking radiators that would ruin the most common forms they're described as. No fucking flying saucers or cigars.

It's just a theory, but I feel like it's a good one..

The word you're looking for is "hypothesis", not "theory", and no, its not even a good hypothesis. Lrn2Occam'sRazor

Resources on UFOs:
HowStuffWorks
Wikipedia
History Channel
Space. com

OMFG, you're taking the fucking HISTORY CHANNEL of all things as a legitimate fucking source? That's like getting your geography news from the Flat Earth Society.

[Free Arabian Nation]

You'd think that a advanced civilization that has the technology to actively observe a planet in another solar system would have the technology to hide themselves better, hm?

Also, you'd think we'd use better cameras. Instead, nearly every UFO video/image is taken off a bootleg Android

[LiberNovusAmericae]

Storm Area 51! Time to see them aliens!

[Grenartia]

I would have put people lying as the most likely explanation.

Well, if you're going to even pretend to study this subject within legitimate academia, you kind of have to assume the claims are being made in good faith (which doesn't mean taking them at face value) first before going on to the bad faith explanations. Its a lot like EM Drive. Every physicist and engineer worth their salt knew it was a load of bullshit, but every study done on it tested it in good faith anyways, on the off chance the claims made about it were legit. Turns out the anomalous thrust that was reported by even the independent teams was due to interactions between the current powering the 'drive', and the Earth's magnetic field.

[Nakena]

Something about aliens

I am not even kidding. You wont be able to get this out of your head.

Not in the way you think maybe.

You have been warned.

[The Galactic Liberal Democracy]

In order from most likely to least likely (if one is ruled out for any given case, go to the one immediately below it, and repeat until it cannot be ruled out):
-Traditional aircraft
-Experimental aircraft
-Atmospheric phenomena
-Hallucinations
-Hoaxes

If you reach this point, go back and reevaluate all the facts, because they're certainly not fucking alien spacecraft.

They're something. Given tha that the Australian pilots through the Russian scientists have found things, it's safe to say something unexplainable to most people is in the skies, and nobody has been forthcoming with an answer on what specifically they are and how they work. Physical evidence and proven footage from pilots does exist, although it's not clear what to make of it. Some anomaly flies above. The problem is (figuratively) dismantling it. No publicly know phenomenon or aircraft behaves as the sightings do. If aliens are on Earth, UFOs and not interactions are the proof.

Interest in ionic wind technology is relatively new, but I think it reminisces of many sightings.
https://www.insidescience.org/news/no-p ... kes-flight
https://amp.theguardian.com/science/201 ... kes-flight
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vzZy1Aqleno

It could reproduce characteristics of UFO sightings if developed enough.

[LiberNovusAmericae]

OMFG, you're taking the fucking HISTORY CHANNEL of all things as a legitimate fucking source? That's like getting your geography news from the Flat Earth Society.

They certainly have discredited themselves.

[Grenartia]

You'd think that a advanced civilization that has the technology to actively observe a planet in another solar system would have the technology to hide themselves better, hm?

Not unless there's some funky physics they're taking advantage of (FTL travel and the thermodynamics of spacecraft require some funky physics to explain UFOs as they're typically described), but in order to even entertain *that* hypothesis, one would first have to demonstrate some pretty damn solid evidence for the existence of said funky physics.

Also, you'd think we'd use better cameras. Instead, nearly every UFO video/image is taken off a bootleg Android

This is ultimately the nail in the coffin for UFOs as "ET came to visit". If they're visiting nearly as often as the conspiracy theorists want us to believe, there'd be a lot more (and a lot more solid) evidence for them. Even if you invoke the "seekrit government coverup" explanation.

[United States of Americanas]

UFO’s are Unidentified Flying Objects.

That encompasses ANYTHING that an observer can not identify.

A pilot flying a jet aircraft may have an anomaly in their windshields glass causing light to refract abnormally creating an object visible in the cockpit. This is often communicated to ATC and ATC checks the radar and tells the pilot “Yeah, there’s nothing on the radar” then they call the National Weather Service and low and behold it’s a weather balloon.

Weather balloons and other high altitude balloons are very commonly called in as UFO’s.

In addition to the mundane there’s the slightly more interesting UFO variety of new government aircraft being tested. Area 51 isn’t where they keep aliens. It’s where they keep and test the cutting edge stealth aircraft. Nonetheless they aren’t invisible and they too have been called in by pilots wanting an explanation for that thing that shot past them at Mach 3 without showing up on the radar.

Light refraction and optics can also create visible objects within a building, example: an airport lounge member sees a disk shaped saucer out of the window when in reality the light refracting off the glass of the tower hit a radar dish nearby and then bounced toward the window creating a disc shaped reflection. The person panics and tells other people who also see it.

Put simply, I don’t believe in alien UFO’s they are always man made or a fabrication of natural phenomena.

Why would aliens spend so much time and money energy and resources to visit one insignificant speck of dust of a planet we call Earth.

The aliens have their own worlds to look after and govern. They don’t have time to go invading other planets or their planet will fall apart.

There’s also the little thing called God who has created the universe and the planets and space to keep things separated. If God did indeed create aliens they are cordoned off from this galaxy.

This is our galaxy and solar system. There are no aliens in this solar system.

[Bear Stearns]

Why does Rice play Texas?

[The New California Republic]

I don't think that they are actually spaceships, I think that they are exactly what their name suggests they are: Unidentified Flying Objects. Taking Occam's Razor to it, the most reasonable identification of them would be things like weather phenomena, planes, the sun glinting off satellites, and faults of the observer such as foreign bodies/dust in the eyes, optical illusions, and mental illness.

It's very telling that, in a world that is more saturated by imaging equipment than at any point in history, that no credible photo of a UFO has yet emerged.

[The Galactic Liberal Democracy]

I believe that UFOs may use electromagnetic fields for propulsion. EM fields could make a very maneuverable craft that flies in an odd manner.

And for a craft capable of countering Earth's gravitational force (to say nothing of actually achieving interstellar travel), it would require a powerplant that would make it light up like a fucking Christmas tree in visible and infared, to such a degree that nobody would doubt their existence, and nobody could cover up their existence. At the very least, such a craft would require massive fucking radiators that would ruin the most common forms they're described as. No fucking flying saucers or cigars.

It's just a theory, but I feel like it's a good one..

The word you're looking for is "hypothesis", not "theory", and no, its not even a good hypothesis. Lrn2Occam'sRazor

Resources on UFOs:
HowStuffWorks
Wikipedia
History Channel
Space. com

OMFG, you're taking the fucking HISTORY CHANNEL of all things as a legitimate fucking source? That's like getting your geography news from the Flat Earth Society.

I put "resources" that have different opinions. The history channel is just one prominent one.

UFOs aren't necessarily aliens and there's no size reference. Pilots have described lights and vague shapes, not "there was a flying saucer 5 feet wide right next to a reference point that I could reliably determine the dimensions by." As for camera footage, theh have some. The recent Navy pilot footage notably. And it's not their fault the images aren't clear as day- the quality is the same as all other military aircraft cameras.

Mass spottings have also happened, of which many people have pictures and video of. Abductions and stuff oien that don't have any proof that they even happened besides doctored photos, but it's a different story when the military is seeing them with legitimate evidence.

The Navy has had many encounters with UFOs. They don't know what they are, only that they do appear. "Unidentified" is part of it after all. Whatever they are, they could be a problem.

[Grenartia]

In order from most likely to least likely (if one is ruled out for any given case, go to the one immediately below it, and repeat until it cannot be ruled out):
-Traditional aircraft
-Experimental aircraft
-Atmospheric phenomena
-Hallucinations
-Hoaxes

If you reach this point, go back and reevaluate all the facts, because they're certainly not fucking alien spacecraft.

They're something. Given tha that the Australian pilots through the Russian scientists have found things,

That statement makes no sense. Why can't you UFO conspiracy types be more coherent?

it's safe to say something unexplainable to most people is in the skies,

Most people, then, aren't thinking as critically as they should be, and aren't as educated in science as they should be.

and nobody has been forthcoming with an answer on what specifically they are

Plenty of people have plenty of answers to describe the phenomena. Its just that none of the credible ones are saying anything you want to hear.

and how they work.

Because describing how they work requires assuming the ET hypothesis is true, which is such a massive fucking leap on its own, that it strains credibility.

Physical evidence and proven footage from pilots does exist,

If the physical evidence actually exists and isn't hoaxed, then there wouldn't be any question as to whether or not ET has visited us.

As for the "proven footage from pilots", as I recall, the only really compelling evidence is that stuff released from the Navy about a year or so ago, and even that, if memory serves, was later shown to be a stationary (or nearly stationary) object(that only appeared to be moving due to the fact that the planes observing it were themselves moving), like a weather balloon.

although it's not clear what to make of it. Some anomaly flies above.

I just gave you a list of the most probable explanations.

The problem is (figuratively) dismantling it. No publicly know phenomenon or aircraft behaves as the sightings do.

Except, there are perfectly rational explanations not involving "BUTT ALIENS"

If aliens are on Earth, UFOs and not interactions are the proof.

The problem is that you're assuming your fringe, pet hypothesis is true with no good reason, and then trying to justify it using any way of stretching the truth that you can get away with. You're not being skeptical enough about your hypothesis, which does it the greatest possible injustice.

Interest in ionic wind technology is relatively new, but I think it reminisces of many sightings.
https://www.insidescience.org/news/no-p ... kes-flight
https://amp.theguardian.com/science/201 ... kes-flight
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vzZy1Aqleno

"Muh ionic wind".

It could reproduce characteristics of UFO sightings if developed enough.

I literally study rocket science (and physics in general), fam. Trust me when I tell you that no, it fucking can't. Ionic aircraft are possible, yes, but would inherently be observed doing things radically differently from what UFOs are described as doing. To say nothing of the fact that ionic propulsion is fucking ludicrous for any spacecraft that is allegedly capable of performing high-acceleration maneuvers.

[Grenartia]

UFO’s are Unidentified Flying Objects.

That encompasses ANYTHING that an observer can not identify.

A pilot flying a jet aircraft may have an anomaly in their windshields glass causing light to refract abnormally creating an object visible in the cockpit. This is often communicated to ATC and ATC checks the radar and tells the pilot “Yeah, there’s nothing on the radar” then they call the National Weather Service and low and behold it’s a weather balloon.

Weather balloons and other high altitude balloons are very commonly called in as UFO’s.

In addition to the mundane there’s the slightly more interesting UFO variety of new government aircraft being tested. Area 51 isn’t where they keep aliens. It’s where they keep and test the cutting edge stealth aircraft. Nonetheless they aren’t invisible and they too have been called in by pilots wanting an explanation for that thing that shot past them at Mach 3 without showing up on the radar.

Light refraction and optics can also create visible objects within a building, example: an airport lounge member sees a disk shaped saucer out of the window when in reality the light refracting off the glass of the tower hit a radar dish nearby and then bounced toward the window creating a disc shaped reflection. The person panics and tells other people who also see it.

Put simply, I don’t believe in alien UFO’s they are always man made or a fabrication of natural phenomena.

Why would aliens spend so much time and money energy and resources to visit one insignificant speck of dust of a planet we call Earth.

I was with you right up to this sentence right here. Presuming, for the sake of argument, that aliens are visiting Earth, they do have legitimate reason to visit: Its called scientific observation. Your argument is like someone asking why the US spent so much time, money, energy, and resources to build and launch 5 space probes that have left or will leave the solar system.

The aliens have their own worlds to look after and govern. They don’t have time to go invading other planets or their planet will fall apart.

They wouldn't necessarily be here to invade. Quite simply, there's nothing they need that we have (other than the information obtainable from studying our biology and cultural aspects) that they couldn't get for far less trouble from some uninhabited rock somewhere else. And they wouldn't need to invade us to get that scientific and cultural information.

There’s also the little thing called God who has created the universe and the planets and space to keep things separated. If God did indeed create aliens they are cordoned off from this galaxy.

This is our galaxy and solar system. There are no aliens in this solar system.

Well, aside from possible life on Titan and Europa. Certainly no little green men, though.

[-Ocelot-]

What are they: Experimental aircraft units that some nations develop and may or may not be used more widely.

What makes them go: We'll know in 10 years, give or take. Assuming that such aircraft go beyond their experimental phase.

[The Galactic Liberal Democracy]

UFO’s are Unidentified Flying Objects.

That encompasses ANYTHING that an observer can not identify.

A pilot flying a jet aircraft may have an anomaly in their windshields glass causing light to refract abnormally creating an object visible in the cockpit. This is often communicated to ATC and ATC checks the radar and tells the pilot “Yeah, there’s nothing on the radar” then they call the National Weather Service and low and behold it’s a weather balloon.

Weather balloons and other high altitude balloons are very commonly called in as UFO’s.

In addition to the mundane there’s the slightly more interesting UFO variety of new government aircraft being tested. Area 51 isn’t where they keep aliens. It’s where they keep and test the cutting edge stealth aircraft. Nonetheless they aren’t invisible and they too have been called in by pilots wanting an explanation for that thing that shot past them at Mach 3 without showing up on the radar.

Light refraction and optics can also create visible objects within a building, example: an airport lounge member sees a disk shaped saucer out of the window when in reality the light refracting off the glass of the tower hit a radar dish nearby and then bounced toward the window creating a disc shaped reflection. The person panics and tells other people who also see it.

Put simply, I don’t believe in alien UFO’s they are always man made or a fabrication of natural phenomena.

Why would aliens spend so much time and money energy and resources to visit one insignificant speck of dust of a planet we call Earth.

The aliens have their own worlds to look after and govern. They don’t have time to go invading other planets or their planet will fall apart.

There’s also the little thing called God who has created the universe and the planets and space to keep things separated. If God did indeed create aliens they are cordoned off from this galaxy.

This is our galaxy and solar system. There are no aliens in this solar system.

It's illogical to say "they can't be here because I don't want then here!" And God doesn't have supreme authority over all that goes down. The actual argument is the distance of planets.

That aside, I didn't say the UFO couldn't be American or otherwise. It's not known to the public, so what are they? Without the actual parts, we can't confirm where the object is from. All it means is that something out there doesn't make sense to most people if we try to explain it. If we've confirmed what it is not, that leaves us with what it is. Movement not covered by the natural or conventional still is movement.

Some of it is probably government activity exclusively. Some events have been excused with explanations that are actually really weak, but it's obvious the government is just acting in self interest, no doubt hiding secret activity of the human type. They don't need to hide aliens because they aren't concerned with that.

Or it could be China or Russia giving us panic attacks by flying straight over us with unknown aircraft. That would be awfully foolish though.

Thirdly, another party can't be ruled out. Some non-state actor may be involved. Species is irrelevant, the problem is who? If an unknown factor is added, that makes things troublesome. It doesn't matter if they look like us, if anyone has been obscuring so much advancement from public eye, that's terrifying by itself.

[The New California Republic]

There’s also the little thing called God who has created the universe and the planets and space to keep things separated. If God did indeed create aliens they are cordoned off from this galaxy.

Fucking lol.

[Andsed]

Most of these "UFO''s" can easily be explained away. Not to mention the fact that aside from the very low quality footage little actual evidence alien spacecraft exists. Also are you using Wikipedia and the History channel as your sources?

[The Galactic Liberal Democracy]

They're something. Given tha that the Australian pilots through the Russian scientists have found things,

That statement makes no sense. Why can't you UFO conspiracy types be more coherent?

it's safe to say something unexplainable to most people is in the skies,

Most people, then, aren't thinking as critically as they should be, and aren't as educated in science as they should be.

and nobody has been forthcoming with an answer on what specifically they are

Plenty of people have plenty of answers to describe the phenomena. Its just that none of the credible ones are saying anything you want to hear.

and how they work.

Because describing how they work requires assuming the ET hypothesis is true, which is such a massive fucking leap on its own, that it strains credibility.

Physical evidence and proven footage from pilots does exist,

If the physical evidence actually exists and isn't hoaxed, then there wouldn't be any question as to whether or not ET has visited us.

As for the "proven footage from pilots", as I recall, the only really compelling evidence is that stuff released from the Navy about a year or so ago, and even that, if memory serves, was later shown to be a stationary (or nearly stationary) object(that only appeared to be moving due to the fact that the planes observing it were themselves moving), like a weather balloon.

although it's not clear what to make of it. Some anomaly flies above.

I just gave you a list of the most probable explanations.

The problem is (figuratively) dismantling it. No publicly know phenomenon or aircraft behaves as the sightings do.

Except, there are perfectly rational explanations not involving "BUTT ALIENS"

If aliens are on Earth, UFOs and not interactions are the proof.

The problem is that you're assuming your fringe, pet hypothesis is true with no good reason, and then trying to justify it using any way of stretching the truth that you can get away with. You're not being skeptical enough about your hypothesis, which does it the greatest possible injustice.

Interest in ionic wind technology is relatively new, but I think it reminisces of many sightings.
https://www.insidescience.org/news/no-p ... kes-flight
https://amp.theguardian.com/science/201 ... kes-flight
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vzZy1Aqleno

"Muh ionic wind".

It could reproduce characteristics of UFO sightings if developed enough.

I literally study rocket science (and physics in general), fam. Trust me when I tell you that no, it fucking can't. Ionic aircraft are possible, yes, but would inherently be observed doing things radically differently from what UFOs are described as doing. To say nothing of the fact that ionic propulsion is fucking ludicrous for any spacecraft that is allegedly capable of performing high-acceleration maneuvers.

UFOs haven't been seen up close, they are probably not some ultra high tech Hollywood spaceship that would be impressive. As "it's a weather balloon!" Doesn't describe everything in the air, technology not made public can still exist. Not all the pilots were just idiots who think everything is an alien and the DoD isn't going to make all aircraft they have known to civilians. The objects do move and sometimes interact. The government has admitted that not all aircraft are common knowledge. They could have just called it an army of balloons or jokes that there were aliens.

It's not much to presume that odd objects operate within the United States that aren't weather balloons, drones, or misidentified regular aircraft. There could be reconnaissance planes, experimental equipment, accidents, private technology, or anything else in the unknown. There are more things in the sky besides weather balloons and the NWS is intentionally pretending to be a fleet of UFOs that conveniently pose a danger to pilots.

Vehicles can be produced before everyone knows they exist and nobody knows everything. It doesn't have to be ET, it can be one man foolish around with expensive toys or a defense program working on strange projects.

[Nakena]

Why would aliens spend so much time and money energy and resources to visit one insignificant speck of dust of a planet we call Earth.

They're mostly other humans. If they would have visited Earth, our galactic position be known already and we would have been invaded long time ago or traders would have shown up. We're isolated, unknown or actually alone.

The aliens have their own worlds to look after and govern. They don’t have time to go invading other planets or their planet will fall apart.

Many.

There’s also the little thing called God who has created the universe and the planets and space to keep things separated. If God did indeed create aliens they are cordoned off from this galaxy.

The cope has reached galactic dimensions.

This is our galaxy and solar system. There are no aliens in this solar system.

Solar System? Likely. Galaxy? uhh....

[The Galactic Liberal Democracy]

Most of these "UFO''s" can easily be explained away. Not to mention the fact that aside from the very low quality footage little actual evidence alien spacecraft exists. Also are you using Wikipedia and the History channel as your sources?

I don't really put much faith in their reliability on the matter, but again, they're "resources" and not "sources" that one could read. Major news networks also have articles.

[Las Palmeras]

Most of these "UFO''s" can easily be explained away. Not to mention the fact that aside from the very low quality footage little actual evidence alien spacecraft exists. Also are you using Wikipedia and the History channel as your sources?

I don't really put much faith in their reliability on the matter, but again, they're "resources" and not "sources" that one could read. Major news networks also have articles.

In all honesty, you'd be hard-pressed to find "sources" before the 1940s...this says a lot more about our culture than it does your UFOs.
...
Though to entertain wild hypotheses, if I could ask OP, what makes you say they have to be "otherworldly" as you put it?