The American Astronomical Society / UFOS & National Institute for Discovery Science

In my ongoing efforts to determine what I and several others saw in May 2018 I am obviously surfing the web for information. One OP told me about a well respected Professor Emeritus of Applied Physics named Peter A. Sturrock of Stanford University . He Directed a UFO panel and participated in this study [see link]

www.eurekalert.org...

So after reading some of his material he mentions; "The American Astronomical Society". So I go to that site and find nothing on UFOs and when I typed in UFO on their search bar I get this page:

aas.org...

FAQ › Education - General Astronomy Where do I report the discovery of a comet/meteor/UFO, etc.? Last updated: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 - 15:39 Transient astronomical phenomena such as comets, novae, supernovae, etc. can be reported to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Meteor(ite)/fireball reports to the International Meteor Organization. UFO reports to the National Institute for Discovery Science.

Whats weird is that they do not reference NUFORC or MUFON. They provide a link to a 14 year old web page titled "UFO reports to the "National Institute for Discovery Science" which is obviously hacked. [BEWARE], which was founded by Robert Bigelow and ended in 2004. So 15 years later just what are these Space Cadets up to? Or are they sending us a message or just simply incompetent? They seem to be at odds with our Congress [see link]

www.theguardian.com...

Also:

cosmosmagazine.com...

Why don’t astronomers see UFOs? I am often asked by friends and colleagues, “Why don’t astronomers see UFOs?” The fact is that they do. In 1977, Peter Sturrock, a professor of space science and astrophysics at Stanford University, mailed 2,611 questionnaires about UFO sightings to members of the American Astronomical Society. He received 1,356 responses from which 62 astronomers – 4.6 percent – reported witnessing or recording inexplicable aerial phenomena. This rate is similar to the approximately 5 percent of UFO sightings that are never explained. As expected, Sturrock found that astronomers who witnessed UFOs were more likely to be night sky observers. Over 80 percent of Sturrock’s respondents were willing to study the UFO phenomenon if there was a way to do so. More than half of them felt that the topic deserves to be studied versus 20 percent who felt that it should not. The survey also revealed that younger scientists were more likely to support the study of UFOs. UFOs have been observed through telescopes. I know of one telescope sighting by an experienced amateur astronomer in which he observed an object shaped like a guitar pick moving through the telescope’s field of view. Further sightings are documented in the book “Wonders in the Sky,” in which the authors compile numerous observations of unexplained aerial phenomena made by astronomers and published in scientific journals throughout the 1700s and 1800s.

a reply to: Waterglass

I do not think they are referring to "aliens" but just the term UFO, as in unidentified flying objects.
And I would guess the Astronomical Society would get lots of those

a reply to: Spacespider

But to a dead link. I was wondering if they are attempting to deflect the amount of reported UFO sightings which seems to be trending down since 2018. Me wonders

a reply to: Waterglass

Just a remnant of the Bigelow UFO-mania that nobody bothered to fix imho.

At some point FAA manuals had BAASS (another Bigelow thing) listed as contact for commercial pilot UFO reports. So it should not be surprising to see him pop up in other places.

Ran into a pay wall. I was going to join but the price was astronomical.

a reply to: Waterglass

Good thread Waterglass and Dr Sturrock has made some very interesting statements in the past about UFOs:

"Most scientists have never had the occasion to confront evidence concerning the UFO phenomenon. To a scientist, the main source of hard information (other than his own experiments' observations) is provided by the scientific journals. With rare exceptions, scientific journals do not publish reports of UFO observations. The decision not to publish is made by the editor acting on the advice of reviewers. This process is self-reinforcing: the apparent lack of data confirms the view that there is nothing to the UFO phenomenon, and this view (prejudice) works against the presentation of relevant data."
Peter A. Sturrock, "An Analysis of the Condon Report on the Colorado UFO Project," Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol.1, No.1, 1987


"The definitive resolution of the UFO enigma will not come about unless and until the problem is subjected to open and extensive scientific study by the normal procedures of established science.
In their public statements (but not necessarily in their private statements), scientists express a generally negative attitude towards the UFO problem, and it is interesting to try to understand this attitude. Most scientists have never had the occasion to confront evidence concerning the UFO phenomenon.”
Dr. Peter A. Sturrock, Professor of Space Science and Astrophysics and Deputy Director of the Center for Space Sciences and Astrophysics at Stanford University (Survey of American Astronomical Society)

He also penned a great article entitled 'Do Your Homework Before Entering UFO Fray' which perhaps some of the members of the American Astronomical Society need to read.

a reply to: karl 12

Great stuff. Thanks and I will read it.

Interesting thread!

Just doing my part to fix ats

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