Can all UFO's be explained away?

Every time I come across new "evidence" of an ET space ship visiting us, I try to find an earthly explanation to the case - of course hoping to find a case that can't be explained. Here's what I came out with...


~ Mass sightings

Typical scenario: A town of 7,000 people withesses a flying, cigar-shaped enormous object that appears intelligently controlled and is illuminated with strange lights. Electronics from the area go dead.

Possible non-ET explanation:
- Mistaking the sighting to be something it's not. Some of the lights could be explained as Chinese lanterns, the Phoenix lights (lights that go to formations) could be explained as a military hologram experiment, but what about the large dark craft witnessed for example in Argentina a while back, etc. I always refuse to go with the It could be anything. No, it can't be anything. It can be an unrecognized air plane or a weather phenomena such as ball lightning, but not "anything."

~ Individual & group sightings

Typical scenario: A husband and a a wife in their farmside house witness a flying saucer - possibly experience strange symptoms such as itching, heating up - watching it hower until it disappears into the horizon - and the camera won't function. Also their car and radio malfunction when in presence of the craft.

Possible non-ET explanation:
- Simply a joke. (When we believe they saw what they saw. So it was either a joke, or a secret military craft, but not swamp gas or pack of goose, but a black howering object emitting strange lights...)

~ Evidence from people of reliable status

Typical scenario: An army official, policeman or plane pilot describes how they detected an unidentified flying object on radar, or even the actual craft with their own eyes. It was like nothing they'd seen before, appeared intelligently controlled and manouvered in a fashion none of our known craft does. Note that these people jeopadrise their job by telling this in public, and supposedly have nothing to gain from it.

Possible non-ET explanation:
- The military is purposefully misleading people into the "ridicule zone" where any possible sivilian or enemy sighting of their top secret super technology craft is declared "space alien ship baloney" - the intention being to use the UFO mystery as a cover-up to their secret war technology, or distracting people's attention into something else, for example when a secret urane factory is close to being exposed, or something.

~ Disclosure

Typical scenario: Several countries have now released official files on unidentified flying objects. Yet USA is keeping Roswell among with the several other cases under wraps - apparently due to the heat of discussion already linked to the cases - which, in some peoples' minds proves the credibility of the conspiracy theory of a government cover-up.

Possible non-ET explanation:
- Why would they not release a disclosure of UFO's if there really is nothing to hide - I'm not the most educated person to answer this. Maybe they want aware people like us to keep focusing on something that doesn't exist, rather than getting involved in other affairs.

~ Contact of the 4th kind / Abduction

Typical scenario: A person tells about a horrible night when he was surrounded by humanoid creatures and lifted through the roof and ceilings into a space craft, where under a bright light he/she was subjected to irritating medical examinations.

Possible non-ET explanation:
- The person had a mental issue.


Continues...


[edit on 23-4-2010 by Jonas86]

~ Cattle mutilations

Typical scenario: A land owner finds one his horses laying dead on the field. The meat from the left jaw of the animal is missing, as well as the left eye and possibly the rectum area together with some inner organs, with blood dried out of the animal. Conducting this sort of procedure seems highly unlikely to be carried out with our technology, especially given the precision of work and the conditions (on a field at night-time) so supposedly the only possible explanation is an ET force was involved.

Possible non-ET explanation:
- A sick form of fun carried out by a human being with high technology and an attempt to lure people into considering an alien attack (or occupation of a "test sample") had taken place.

~ Crop circles

Typical scenario: A farmer realizes his crop has been damaged. Taking a look from bird-perspective reveals a carefully crafted pattern in the growth, as if a "stamp mark" from a landed extra-terrestial space craft or a message conducted through some weird kind of technology, possibly delivered by aliens.

Possible non-ET explanation:
- They're done by humans. They can be done with careful calculations and proper tools, it just seems too difficult given the apparent lack of purpose for such a nightly campaign. As we all know there are dozens of pictures from huge, wonderful patterns.

In light of the above-mentioned examples, I sort of still find the entire topic of extra-terrestial visitations on our planet quite faschinating if indeed ALL the cases can be explained out with:

A) Psychotic people (psychology)
B) Hoaxes (stories, CGI) & jokes (marketing, humour)
C) Unidentified object NOT being extra-terrestial in origin (science)
D) Secret military technology

So... discuss, and add what I'm missing out

[edit on 23-4-2010 by Jonas86]

The disclosure by a reliable source has always been one of my favorites, however it is hard to tell who is legit. I think one of the best is William Cooper. It doesn't get much more reliable then that!

-E-

Hi there,

One thing you've overlooked is hard evidence. In the form of soil samples taken from landing sights. These samples show changes in the molecular structure and composition of the effected soil. ei. It floats in water when a control from the same area does'nt. No plant life can grow in the effected area any more. The presence of acids that could only be formed if the soil was ionised in some way.

Obviously we've only got the witnesses word that they saw the craft land, but theres no discounting the evidence left behind.

Of all the "evidence" thats been put forward over the decades. This is one thing that cant be easily explained away. Whats more is these soil samples are still exactly the same today as they were when first collected.
They still show the same results. Very interesting.

I believe that a large percentage of UFO reports are:

1. Misidentified mundane aircraft
2. Misidentified weather phenomena
3. Deliberate hoaxes
4. Misidentified celestial objects

However, it only takes ONE sighting, of an actual ET craft, to make it legit.

The goal of a true UFO researcher should be to examine the evidence, and first try to rule out the above explanations. If none of those fit, then one must look at the corroboration of evidence, and see if there is more to it.

For example, a case that has:
1. Eyewitness sighting
2. Additional witnesses backing it up
3. Photo or video
4. Checks with local authorities to rule out aircraft and weather, celestial issues...

is certainly a MUCH stronger case than just a photo or sighting report.

There are far more such cases than you might imagine...

reply to post by Gazrok


However, even when you rule out those possibilities it is still not proof that UFOs are ET in origin. There are numerous other theories that fit the evidence just as well as the ET hypothesis. However, considering the high strangeness that goes along with legitimate encounters it may be impossible to ever prove what is piloting these crafts. Even if a UFO lands on the White House lawn and the occupants state they are from another planet we can't be sure that what they are saying is true. In the past the occupants have claimed to be elves, fairies, angels, demons, eccentric scientists, and the list goes on. It seems like as technology and science advances these beings change their story. They simply tell us what makes the most sense based on current scientific trends. We are still essentially in the Space Age, so extraterrestrials make sense to us. However, I wouldn't be surprised if that once physics progresses a little farther these occupants start claiming that they are extradimensional beings.

Well the majority are bound to be a mixture of hoaxes and everyday things, but due to the quality of a lot of evidence they cant be 100% debunked.

As for the other small percentage of sightings, I do think its entirely possible that its just secret Government technology. In fact, Id have to say its more likely to be that than anything of ET origin. Even with the cases where soil samples have been done etc.. it doesnt mean its aliens.
Im sure there are aliens out there somewhere, but there's way too many things that dont add up for it to be aliens visiting.

I guess though at the end of the day they cant all be explained away, because even if they do belong to us then they wont be confirmed for obvious reasons.

This is a rather moot discussion, as they all HAVEN'T been explained away. Since that is the case, the answer is obviously no.... they can't.

I can explain away every UFO sighting. They all fall into one of the following catagories.

1. Misidentified aircraft.
2. Natural Phenomena
3. Psychotic Delusions
4. Hoaxes
5. Alien Spacecraft

Originally posted by JIMC5499
I can explain away every UFO sighting. They all fall into one of the following catagories.

1. Misidentified aircraft.
2. Natural Phenomena
3. Psychotic Delusions
4. Hoaxes
5. Alien Spacecraft

You got me. I meant explain as in explaining to an average person. For ATS folk an Alien Spacecraft is as normal as a sausage in the refridgerator. Actually I edited the first post; the point was explaining the cases if NONE of them are Alien Spacecraft.

[edit on 23-4-2010 by Jonas86]

Of course not.

Nick Pope, who worked in the British MoD for 25+ years and was their UFO representative (you may know him from several UFO documentaries), stated something like "96% of the UFO cases can be explained with natural phenomenon. The rest are still open."

This is means that they're still what the name suggests: Unidentified. It doesn't meant that they're extraterrestrial or intelligent, but just unidentified.

Then again, might be that Pope wasn't really given access to the real data, and they used him as a distraction to get the people think that that's all there is to the cases. Who knows. It's really hard to get pass the surface, things we don't already know from public sources.

reply to post by Jonas86


Jonas86.....

Can all UFO's be explained away?

As per previous well expressed posts in this thread.....

No they can't.

99.9999% can, but not all.

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

reply to post by Maybe...maybe not


I would say well over 95% of all UFO cases can be very easily explained.

100% of all single-witness sightings, for sure.

Also, I consider 100% of all abductions to be utterly bunk. For one, I have experienced sleep paralysis and it is almost to the letter what is described in abduction experiences, and two, no extraterrestrial creature would ever in their right minds expose themselves to our environment or anything from it. No matter how advanced your technology is, all it takes is missing ONE microbe, and every single living creature on a spaceship is as good as dead.

Just look at what Europeans coming to America did to the local population - and they were both from the same planet, adapted to near identical environments.

No,nothing like 100 % of sightings can be fully explained. Does that make them aliens? Nope..

But consider this, wasn't that long ago that, the self same people who claim they can;t possibly be non human/earthly objects, were saying. "There is no such thing as real UFO's at all, everything can be explained by known mechanisms. Then they discovered Triboluminescence does cause people to see lights in the sky that look like classic UFOs

So we moved from, there are no such things at all, to err well OK apart from stuff like Triboluminescence. The fact remains, without people wanting to know what UFOs actually are, rather than choosing to ignore them, we wouldn't know about Earth Lights still.

From my own experience in the field. I'd guess for every one report there could be as many as 10 that go unreported. Not just lights in the sky either. But craft sitting on the ground seen from, fairly close, proximity by , at times, multiple witnesses.

As I have mentioned before, if you are openly skeptical about the whole subject, people don't tell you stuff they might have encountered for fear of being dismissed as a *nutcase*.

In some ways, the most interesting phenomenon about UFOs on-line is this. Post some crap hoaxed video on a forum. Chances are 100 replies going on for days. Try starting a discussion about "Operation Mainbrace"; "Shag Harbour"; Hill 611; The French railway Line case;Mr Janus and the Queen's Equerry etc etc and save for a few acknowledgements, zilch, nada, nowt, one white duck ion your wall.

Why? Well the reasons are pretty complex and partly bound up in the personalities of those who tend to get involved in the subject. Truth is, many skeptics are as wide eyed and naive, as the most convinced believers. They assume they know, just like the believers. Then, just like the believers they simply block out any and all information that doesn't conform to their belief system.

So, the answer to your question is probably. A lot less evidence of a non human intelligence than many would have you believe and a lot more evidence of possible, non human intelligence, than many would have you believe.



[edit on 23-4-2010 by FireMoon]

reply to post by JScytale


JScytale.....

I think that a lot more than 95% of cases can be explained, as per my previous post.

I try to remain a tiny, microscopic little bit open minded about abductions, but.....well.....it's all a bit.....unusual.....

Regarding the microorganism argument, I guess one might argue that alien biology might not interact at all with terrestrial microorganisms.

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

reply to post by Jonas86


Sorry. I was being sarcastic.

Explanation is the vehicle by which we either categorize or dismiss something.
by which we 'settle' something, either one way or the other.
We may favor one type of explanation over another because it is easier to maintain. More social acceptability, lower levels of anxiety, etc., but some 'truth's' if they exist may be very slippery in nature.

isn't 'explanation' a device of psychology, curiosity to still the anxious restlessness of the mind?

It arguably may be completely divorced from whether something is real, tangible, credible or not.

Isn't it a means of directing our attentions or animating or dis-animating our minds? Directing the track of mind animation?

Anxiety doesn't feel good, but it may, in rationed measures be 'good' for us, our minds. If our minds are not anxious or at least articulately animate, we aren't doing anything with them. I suppose there is an expenditure of energy/resources to consider, but conversely there is all the theoretical discovery to consider we 'may' be missing out on.

Maybe we need to examine our minds first to see how, what & if we are equipped & for what things. That we need to maintain some delicate internal balance state, like to see light we need nerves that respond to the delicate reactions to light. If there are things more delicate than light, we have to develop the sensory capacity to discern them.

If there are things more subtle than light, then either we must become sensitized to that/those ranges of things or they will forever elude our perceptions.

We must learn to split the photon(s),
& how finely we split them determines how much or what we may/might be able to see/perceive.

Certainly something seems to be flirting with our imaginations/perceptions, that is undeniable.

Our first attempts may be crude & clumsy, maybe even injurious, but if we do not make the attempt, it could be splendid things/possibilities may [or may not] be passing us by.

[edit on 23-4-2010 by slank]

reply to post by Maybe...maybe not


Re abductions. There was one case i read of I would love dearly to find it again. I was travelling around the USA when i came across it and haven;t been able to find anything about since.

it was some doctor who uses regression talking about one his patients. The basic story went the patient was convinced they were being abducted, but that some of their abductors looked very human and were working on cahoots with the *aliens*. The Doctor thought it was just total fantasy, until one day, the patient arrives and announces they have seen one of their human abductors from the experience. The Doc thinks, yeah right, but the patient is insistent and eventually the Doc agrees to accompany the patient to look for this person.

The person points this person out and says, that is them that's the person who is part of the group that abduct me. The doctor, checks out who the person is and it turns out to be a medical doctor, who works on some research project.

I'd love to know whether this tale was just moonshine or has some veracity to it. Most fascinating if it does have a basis in truth.

I have one problem with alien abductions. Why did the aliens let them go?

In Mexico there are no people who report abductions, despite a lot of UFOs.

I wonder if those abductions are always terminal in nature? Either that or there aren't virtually any.

Reports from the Amazon's indigenous populations suggest the aliens abducting them are much more violent than elsewhere.

If you are an alien & there is no government & society that will hold you in any way accountable, wtf do you care what you do with the dumb monkey species [humans]?
No Public Relations to consider, etc.

Maybe it is good the US government shoots at UFOs? I don't like to think that, but it could be true.

[edit on 23-4-2010 by slank]