CIA says half of all UFO sightings In the 50's and 60's were actually the U-2 spy plane.

[rtxoff]

Almost all UFOs can be classified as man made objects and the rest that can not are natural phenomenons. The day where UFOs will be alien flying machines will be the day when the pink unicorns raise into the sky to doom humanity.

[crazyewok]

There are a lot of UFO reports that involve black triangles, usually defined only by white lights at each corner. Compare to this.

Well seeing as the USAF has a big thing for black triangles I dont think we need to look to far to who owns them and what they are.

[78stonewobble]

Almost all UFOs can be classified as man made objects and the rest that can not are natural phenomenons. The day where UFOs will be alien flying machines will be the day when the pink unicorns raise into the sky to doom humanity.

Well I allways wondered that if "they" can cross interstellar distances and presumably "cloak". Why can't they or won't they cloak completely and instead just drop small hints about themselves? And if small hints are ok, why not just land and have a cup of coffee, try the drive in and so on?

...

But I do find Unidentified Flying Objects a pretty interesting concept, IF you cut out the huge jump to the conclusion of aliens. Secret planes are interesting and so are the possibility of rare or previously unknown physical phenomena like sprites.

[Bill Phil]

Well I allways wondered that if "they" can cross interstellar distances and presumably "cloak". Why can't they or won't they cloak completely and instead just drop small hints about themselves? And if small hints are ok, why not just land and have a cup of coffee, try the drive in and so on?

...

But I do find Unidentified Flying Objects a pretty interesting concept, IF you cut out the huge jump to the conclusion of aliens. Secret planes are interesting and so are the possibility of rare or previously unknown physical phenomena like sprites.

Aliens are... Probably fearful of us. Think about it. We're so hateful to ourselves, what extra-terrestrial species would want to say hi, knowing we would be done kind of threat? At least there's a reason for invasion, a first strike defensive maneuver.

Aliens sounds cooler than spy planes and sprites.

[78stonewobble]

Aliens are... Probably fearful of us. Think about it. We're so hateful to ourselves, what extra-terrestrial species would want to say hi, knowing we would be done kind of threat? At least there's a reason for invasion, a first strike defensive maneuver.

Aliens sounds cooler than spy planes and sprites.

Pft... thats just speciest and generalizing... Not sure we'd want to hang with them then.

*lol* It sounds like that scenario of 2 people liking eachother (or disliking for that matter), but never having the nerves to tell the other one that and nothing changes for either of them.

PS: It doesn't make alot of sense. We are absolutely no threat to their homeplanet with our current level of technology and even if, in the future, we develop that kind of technology, they could ... just not tell us, their homeplanets location (remote contact with no possibility of capture). And while we can be mean to eachother, we don't seem spitefull enough to search half the galaxy for someone who has never done us anything.

Edited January 2, 2015 by 78stonewobble

[Bill Phil]

If they can go interstellar, why bother with Earth? Why not send a probe? They probably already have, millennia ago... And had to destroy it so as not to contaminate anything.

Think "Black Night Satellite" but more Galileo/Cassini esque.

- - - Updated - - -

Pft... thats just speciest and generalizing... Not sure we'd want to hang with them then.

*lol* It sounds like that scenario of 2 people liking eachother (or disliking for that matter), but never having the nerves to tell the other one that and nothing changes for either of them.

PS: It doesn't make alot of sense. We are absolutely no threat to their homeplanet with our current level of technology and even if, in the future, we develop that kind of technology, they could ... just not tell us, their homeplanets location (remote contact with no possibility of capture). And while we can be mean to eachother, we don't seem spitefull enough to search half the galaxy for someone who has never done us anything.

We can eventually kill them off. It'd be a preventive measure. Plus, with all the .... TV from the 30s and the sci-if, they'll think we have the technology if they have no concept of sci-fi.

[Rakaydos]

There is some speculation that the Abercrombe Warp drive might accidently cause time travel on longtrips where they develop relativistic sidreal velocities.

So consider an FTL "scout craft"- the FTL ring, a tokomak fusion ring, engines and tankage on the bottom to keep the warp and thrusters aligned, habitation in a few broad decks on top. Give it some basic lateral aerodynamics/heat shielding. Classic "Alien craft" design.

We send it out in the 2200s and it comes back in the 1960s. What happens?

The crew doesnt want to cause a time paradox, so they cant just introduce themselves to the world.

[Nibb31]

Yep, one of the most annoying tropes is that UFOs are always assumed to be of extraterrestrial origin. Just because they are unidentified and unexplained doesn't mean they aren't from here. There is as much chance of an unidentified phenomenon being extraterrestrial as of it being from the distant future, Soviet or CIA secret mind-control projects, a parallel universe, some unknown terrestrial species, ghosts, an act of God, leprechauns, or rainbow-colored unicorns.

In fact, the chances of a UFO actually being from outer space are pretty remote and far-fetched compared to the other wacky explanations.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Nibb31

[KerikBalm]

There is some speculation that the Abercrombe Warp drive might accidently cause time travel on longtrips where they develop relativistic sidreal velocities.

So consider an FTL "scout craft"- the FTL ring, a tokomak fusion ring, engines and tankage on the bottom to keep the warp and thrusters aligned, habitation in a few broad decks on top. Give it some basic lateral aerodynamics/heat shielding. Classic "Alien craft" design.

We send it out in the 2200s and it comes back in the 1960s. What happens?

The crew doesnt want to cause a time paradox, so they cant just introduce themselves to the world.

An FTL time travel can never travel back in time farther than when there first started to be a relativistic velocity difference.

Its the same as if you took a wormhole, sent 1 end away at the speed of light, and then traveled through it to take "advantage" of the time dialation effect.

An FTL craft built in the 2200s wouldn't go back in time any further than the 2200s. And its an Alcubierre, and I think it gets far too much attention for the large amount of unobtanium and handwavium involved.

Personally, I think a large amount of this UFO/aliens fus comes from spy satellites. The very early sats had to deorbit the film rolls, which then needed to be recovered.

Imagine seeing something renetering low on the horizon.... then a while later, government agents show up in the middle of nowhere (to recover the recon film), and won't say who they are or what they are doing (its top secret, just related to cold war and a nuclear standoff)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_%28satellite%29

Film was retrieved from orbit via a reentry capsule (nicknamed "film bucket"), designed by General Electric, which separated from the satellite and fell to earth.[25] After the fierce heat of reentry was over, the heat shield surrounding the vehicle was jettisoned at 60,000 feet (18 km) and parachutes deployed.[26] The capsule was intended to be caught in mid-air by a passing airplane[27] towing an airborne claw which would then winch it aboard, or it could land at sea.[28] A salt plug in the base would dissolve after two days, allowing the capsule to sink if it was not picked up by the United States Navy.[29] After Reuters reported on a reentry vehicle's accidental landing and discovery by Venezuelan farmers in mid-1964, capsules were no longer labeled "Secret" but offered a reward in eight languages for their return to the United States.[30]

Capsule retreivel (when the midair thing was successful, as it obviously wan't always)

Heat shields are also rather disc like.... I can imagine those might have resulted in a few reports. The secrecy of recovery likely made people more paranoid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenit_%28satellite%29

If a russian capsule every went off course, it would surely be the target of a US recovery effort.

It consisted of a spherical re-entry capsule 2.3 m in diameter with a mass of around 2400 kg. This capsule contained the camera system, its film, recovery beacons, parachutes and a destruct charge. In orbit, this was attached to a service module that contained batteries, electronic equipment, an orientation system and a liquid fuelled rocket engine that would slow the Zenit for re-entry

Mysterious disc shaped objects dropping from space, classified as top secret and recovered under strict secrecy.... That *had* to have resulted in a few UFO stories that lead people to wonder if it was aliens.

Edited January 2, 2015 by KerikBalm

[Moar Boosters]

A fair number of UFO sightings can probably be attributed to ball lightning. It's one of the least understood atmospheric phenomena and displays a wide variety of characteristics often mentioned in UFO sightings. Bright lights in the sky moving at incredible speeds, changing direction with apparent disregard of momentum and physics, sometimes disappearing completely in front of people's eyes.

[Agricola]

If there are alien vistors coming to this planet, then it is more plausible they are visiting from another dimension which we can not perceive or interact with, they have found a way to travel into our dimension from theirs. This would support alleged sightings of UFOs just disappearing suddenly.

[Borklund]

Yeah, interdimensional aliens, that must be it. It cannot possibly be that the more reasonable and plausible explanation is a combination of cognitive bias, incompetence and just out and out lies.

I'm rolling my eyes so hard it hurts.

[Kryten]

If there are alien vistors coming to this planet, then it is more plausible they are visiting from another dimension which we can not perceive or interact with, they have found a way to travel into our dimension from theirs. This would support alleged sightings of UFOs just disappearing suddenly.

You might want to try looking into what a 'dimension' is, using a source that's not an awful sci-fi book.

[Bill Phil]

Inter dimensional travel would take an amount of energy similar to interstellar travel. So if we base it off of energy requirements...

It's way more likely that it's some government test vehicle they want secret than aliens or interdimensional beings.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Bill Phil
Phone...

[megatiger78]

I thought that the B-2 stealth bomber trials caused UFO sightings to go up. not the U-2

[Nibb31]

I thought that the B-2 stealth bomber trials caused UFO sightings to go up. not the U-2

The thread title mentions the 50s and 60s.

[Agricola]

You might want to try looking into what a 'dimension' is, using a source that's not an awful sci-fi book.

Typical response of an armchair expert when they encounter someone with an opposing view. Truth is we really do not know much at all, String Theory throws up all kinds of debates and disagreements with experts in the field, do they respond to each other with quotes such as "Read a proper book about it and you might learn something"?

[xcorps]

Angry ad hominem doesn't reinforce theoretical concepts.

If there are alien vistors coming to this planet, then it is more plausible they are visiting from another dimension which we can not perceive or interact with, they have found a way to travel into our dimension from theirs. This would support alleged sightings of UFOs just disappearing suddenly

.

(A) More plausible than what? Interstellar visitors? Can you demonstrate that dimensional travel (lol) is more likely to exist than interstellar travel?

( How is it plausible at all that a non human entity exists in a dimension that we cannot perceive or interact with, yet that species can perceive and interact with this dimension, somehow discovers and visits Earth a couple of times yet makes no effort to interact after expending all that time and effort on "dimensional travel" (lol)? Also, you need to define "dimension". 11? 26? 10? 3? 4? Not even "the experts" are in agreement, and I seriously doubt they are in position to offer the plausibility of non human life visiting Earth.

© String theory supports not a word of your statement.

(D) Kryten didn't offer an opposing view. He simply pointed out the incredible flaw in your post, which is that it is pure science fiction. Like space elevators to Phobos.

Edited January 4, 2015 by xcorps

[Kryten]

Typical response of an armchair expert when they encounter someone with an opposing view. Truth is we really do not know much at all, String Theory throws up all kinds of debates and disagreements with experts in the field, do they respond to each other with quotes such as "Read a proper book about it and you might learn something"?

Using the 'we don't know very much at all' as an excuse to not actually try to learn anything is not helpful; all it does is perpetuate your own ignorance.

[Dominatus]

It's hardly surprising. I saw a B2 stealth bomber landing at night earlier this summer. At first I thought it was an UFO until I managed to identify the outline against the night sky. I don't know the size so I can't estimate the scale but this thing took up almost my whole field of view. The night sky and stars above it were the only indication that something was there. Well, that and the three flashing airplane lights on each point of the triangle. It was magnificent.

[Sampa]

To me, this sounds like a complete cover-up...of something. I myself have seen things in the sky that I could not explain away as anything humans have made, military or otherwise. (on two occasions, to be exact)

[Starwhip]

Ever seen the X-13 Ryan, most alien jet you ever saw!

Aww, it's so short and stubby! Looks like they forgot to add some fuselage parts to make it longer.

Seriously, though, the hovering thing is creepy.