extraterrestrial life

Description

UFO Murfreesboro TN USA An unidentified flying object, often abbreviated UFO or U.F.O., is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object, often associated with extraterrestrial life. While technically a UFO refers to any unidentified flying object, in modern popular culture the term UFO has generally become synonymous with alien spacecraft;[1] however, the term ETV (ExtraTerrestrial Vehicle) is sometimes used to separate this explanation of UFOs from totally earthbound explanations.[2] Proponents argue that because these objects appear to be technological and not natural phenomena and are alleged to display flight characteristics or have shapes seemingly unknown to conventional technology, the conclusion is that they must not be from Earth.[3][4][5][6] Though UFO sightings have occurred throughout recorded history, modern interest in them dates from World War II (see foo fighter), further fueled in the late 1940s by Kenneth Arnold's report of a close encounter, which led to coining of the term flying saucer, and the Roswell UFO Incident. Since then governments have investigated UFO reports, often from a military perspective, and UFO researchers have investigated, written about, and created organizations devoted to the subject. One such investigation, the UK's Project Condign, made public in 2006, attributed unaccountable UFO sightings to a hitherto unknown and scientifically unexplained "plasma field." It also concluded that Russian, former Soviet Republics, and Chinese authorities had made a co-ordinated effort to understand the UFO phenomenon and that military organizations, particularly in Russia, had done "considerably more work (than is evident from open sources)" on military applications stemming from their UFO research. The report also noted that "several aircraft have been destroyed and at least four pilots have been killed 'chasing UFOs'."[7] Studies have established that the majority of UFO observations are misidentified conventional objects or natural phenomena—most commonly aircraft, balloons, noctilucent clouds, nacreous clouds, or astronomical objects such as meteors or bright planets with a small percentage even being hoaxes.[8] After excluding incorrect reports, however, most investigators have acknowledged that between 5% and 20% of reported sightings remain unexplained, and therefore can be classified as unidentified in the strictest sense. Many reports have been made by such trained observers as pilots, police, and the military; some have involved simultaneous radar tracking and visual accounts.[9] Proponents of the extraterrestrial hypothesis suggest that these unexplained reports are of alien spacecraft, though various other hypotheses have been proposed. While UFOs have been the subject of extensive investigation by various governments and although some scientists support the extraterrestrial hypothesis, few scientific papers about UFOs have been published in peer-reviewed journals.[10] There has been some debate in the scientific community about whether any scientific investigation into UFO sightings is warranted.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] The void left by the lack of institutional scientific study has given rise to independent researchers and groups, including NICAP (the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena) in the mid-1900s and, more recently, MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) [18] and CUFOS (Center for UFO Studies).[19] The term "Ufology" is used to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects. According to MUFON, as of 2011 the number of UFO reports to their worldwide offices has increased by 67% from the previous three years and now averages around 500 reported sightings per month.[20] UFOs have become a relevant theme in modern culture,[21] and the social phenomena have been the subject of academic research in sociology and psychology.[10]