UFO’s/High Altitude Lightening

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Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

Albert Einstein

Swamp gas for the 21st century?
;-)

Earth Day may fall later this week, but as far as former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell and other UFO enthusiasts are concerned, the real story is happening elsewhere. Mitchell, who was part of the 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission, asserted Monday that extraterrestrial life exists, and that the truth is being concealed by the U.S. and other governments.

Former astronaut: Man not alone in universe

(CNN) -- Earth Day may fall later this week, but as far as former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell and other UFO enthusiasts are concerned, the real story is happening elsewhere.


Mitchell, who was part of the 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission, asserted Monday that extraterrestrial life exists, and that the truth is being concealed by the U.S. and other governments.

He delivered his remarks during an appearance at the National Press Club following the conclusion of the fifth annual X-Conference, a meeting of UFO activists and researchers studying the possibility of alien life forms.

Mankind has long wondered if we're "alone in the universe. [But] only in our period do we really have evidence. No, we're not alone," Mitchell said.

"Our destiny, in my opinion, and we might as well get started with it, is [to] become a part of the planetary community. ... We should be ready to reach out beyond our planet and beyond our solar system to find out what is really going on out there."

Mitchell grew up in Roswell, New Mexico, which some UFO believers maintain was the site of a UFO crash in 1947. He said residents of his hometown "had been hushed and told not to talk about their experience by military authorities." They had been warned of "dire consequences" if they did so.

But, he claimed, they "didn't want to go to the grave with their story. They wanted to tell somebody reliable. And being a local boy and having been to the moon, they considered me reliable enough to whisper in my ear their particular story."

Roughly 10 years ago, Mitchell claimed, he was finally given an appointment at Pentagon to discuss what he had been told.

An unnamed admiral working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff promised to uncover the truth behind the Roswell story, Mitchell said. The stories of a UFO crash "were confirmed," but the admiral was then denied access when he "tried to get into the inner workings of that process."

The same admiral, Mitchell claimed, now denies the story.

"I urge those who are doubtful: Read the books, read the lore, start to understand what has really been going on. Because there really is no doubt we are being visited," he said.

"The universe that we live in is much more wondrous, exciting, complex and far-reaching than we were ever able to know up to this point in time."

A NASA spokesman denied any cover-up.

"NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover-up about alien life on this planet or anywhere else -- period," Michael Cabbage said Monday.

Debates have continued about what happened at Roswell. The U.S. Air Force said in 1994 that wreckage recovered there in 1947 was most likely from a balloon-launched classified government project.

Stephen Bassett, head of the Paradigm Research Group (PRG), which hosted the X-Conference, said that the truth about extraterrestrial life is being suppressed because it is politically explosive.

"There is a third rail [in American politics], and that is the UFO question. It is many magnitudes more radioactive than Social Security ever dreamed to be," Bassett said.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/20/ufo.conference/index.html


If anyone believe it's Edgar Mitchell.

Kenzie,
The title of your message is "Natural explanations for UFO's" and i think there is a scientific explanation for 90% of all UFO sightings.

The remaining 10% of unexplained sightings can simply be put down to the flaws in our own human nature. We as humans are not computers and all our senses, sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste all have flaws that can make us believe things that might not be true.

Hence there is no reason to doubt someone that says "I'm 100% sure i saw a flying saucer". In their mind, they might well have seen a flying saucer, it does not mean the flying saucer was really there :)

95% of people on this planet believe that there is one supreme being called "God" or "Allah" or whatever. So isn't that seeing and believing in something based completely on faith alone. As humans we have many flaws, our mind can play tricks.

John.

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I think more like 99% can be explained...

birds, military aircraft, reflections of light, natural phenoms, fakes, etc.

I will say this though....

I had an expierience of my own when i was 16 or so. I remember to this day. It was much different than typical UFO sightings...

I was driving (in my first car) 3 friends in the car. Driving in a suburb of DC through a normal big suburb community.

And i remember it to this day.. A pyramid shaped object... brightly colored... but not solid... it was glowing spheres on each end, connected with brightly colored columns of light. If you google the "Great pyramid of light", that is what it looked like, except brightly colored with spheres on each connection point.

A few big differences from other stories... it was not solid. It was like the image of the great pyramid of light.. it was spheres connected with thin columns of light with open air inbetween.

Another main difference is that it was maybe 2ft. x 2ft... very small.. And appeared directly next to my car as we were driving. It basically paced us on the outside of the drivers side door for about 3 or 4 seconds. It appeared very suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly, but it was there. For that 3-4 seconds it paced us at the height of my drivers side window.. it was slowly rotating but paced us so perfectly that it could have been attached to my car.

I did not halucinate as right after it essentially disappeared/zoomed off... I asked everyone in the car and my friend sitting behind me saw it as well.

This is actually the first time i've told this story. You tell stories like this and people think you're crazy.

I have no explanation for what I saw that day. It was too perfect and too complicated to be natural phenom... too small to be military... too colorful and complicated to be reflection of any type.

to this day... i wish i had a camera at that moment. (this happened about 17 years ago)


Anyways... 99% can be explained. And if not for my personal expierience I would say 100% could be explained. but i cannot explain what I saw and never will be able too.

At the time I was 16 and it was a reaction of "WTF was that!!?" ... an hour later I wasn't worried about it. 17 years later and involved in this project, I think about it often, wishing i had a camera or looked a little harder.

If you made it this far.. thanks for reading. ;)

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Not long ago, there was a meteor that fell over the state of Colorado. It was seen by thousands of people, photographed by hundreds, including many excellent stills as well as motion pictures.

This was just a single meteor that was so well documented in pictures.

The stories of UFO (remember the meaning of the abbreviation?) visitations are quite numerous. And yet, none have been documented with quality photographs and movies as this single meteor was.

If Earth were being visited as often as the UFO enthusiasts think we are, then it would be common knowledge.

UFO = Unidentified Flying Object

No problem there. There certainly are things that happen up there that we cannot, at the time, identify.

The problem is when you decide to Identify the UFO as an alien space craft, without the slightest bit of evidence.

I too saw a UFO once. It was brightly lit, and moving slowly across the sky. I wondered what the heck it could be since it was clearly not an aircraft.

Then it flared up brightly and fell to Earth.

It turns out that someone had placed a lot of birthday candles on a flat piece of cardboard, and attached a paper bag, upside down, by strings from the bag to the corners of the cardboard. Then lit the candles which filled the bag with hot air, lifting the whole contraption into the sky.

So it turned out to be perfectly Earth-bound in origin, but, for a few minutes it was a UFO to my eyes.

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I was on my computer when I heard a loud airplane. I was in my living room at the computer when I heard the airplane. My son was home and yelled to me Mom, come here there's a UFO. I ran into the kitchen and looked. He said see it's out there. I said where, he said right over the other house. I looked and saw a bright glowing round shape object which appeared to have a glitter effect. Then it went up and left. I then went outside to see the airplane making circles and chasing the object.

We spotted a strange bright hovering circle that was glittering above horizon in broad daylight, fighter jets moved in on ufo and it was loud outside, ufo than disappears and leaves trail in sky in broad daylight and the black fighter jets flew low at it and when the ufo disappears the fighter jets go away. Very strange occurence.

We live in the burbs. About 35 to 45 miles from O'hare airport. This sort of thing just doesn't happen around here. Very strange to say the least. I'm now IFO, UFO, USO'S, everything, strange an weird, believer. Who knows maybe one day all these reports will amount to something

I've been looking in the paper to see an article about the experience. Nothing availabe. Next step to report the siting to Mufon. I in my heart know something did happen. Government cover-up. LOL, why not. :-)

I've been looking in the paper to see an article about the experience. Nothing availabe. Next step to report the siting to Mufon. I in my heart know something did happen. Government cover-up. LOL, why not. :-)

Try an ad in the local paper, see if anyone else saw something. If there are no takers then there is no cover up, just no witnesses other than you.

Sorry, but it happens even without any government conspiracy or cover-up.

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I was on my computer when I heard a loud airplane. I was in my living room at the computer when I heard the airplane. My son was home and yelled to me Mom, come here there's a UFO. I ran into the kitchen and looked. He said see it's out there. I said where, he said right over the other house. I looked and saw a bright glowing round shape object which appeared to have a glitter effect. Then it went up and left. I then went outside to see the airplane making circles and chasing the object. ...

Sounds and reads just like a police helicopter, with it's searchlight on, making a circular search of a nearby area.

Any flashing lights or sirens also?

Anything in the local press? (A real UFO will be seen and noted by very many people...)

Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

So one day, I'm at home in my house watching the TV.....

A famous magician comes on the TV and appears on stage with a beautiful young girl.

The magician asks the beautiful girl to step into a large "Coffin shaped" box on the stage.

The magician then proceeds to use a wood saw to saw down the middle of the box completely cutting the beautiful girl in half.



The magician then pulls the two parts of the box apart and the girl is in two pieces. The magician then puts the box back together and the girl gets out and walks away happily.

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We have all seen something similar on the TV at some stage.

Now when i say that i swear that i saw that girl cut in half, I'm not lying! I'm also not lying if i say that to this present day, i cannot explain how he did it. I swear that i saw this with my own two eyes. I wish i had a camera or a video to show you but don't! But hundreds of other people also saw this and they will also confirm that they saw the magician cut the girl in half!

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So why is the magician not in jail today for murder? We know 100% for sure that he cut the girl in half!

Just because we cannot explain what we saw with our own eyes does not make it real. The human mind is very frail. We are easily deceived!

John.

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Hence the "U" in "UFO"...they aren't called VFS (Visiting Flying Saucers).

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Has everyone forgotten about theories like multiverse ,could there be a way that
our so called UFOS have found a way to travel from one universe to anther and lets leave magicians and wired stuff out of it.

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We choose to go to the moon and to do other things, we choose to go to the moon not because its easy but because its hard. kennedy

Just because we cannot explain what we saw with our own eyes does not make it real. The human mind is very frail. We are easily deceived!

John.

David Copperfield did that except he was trying to escape and a gigantic saw was coming down. I think he deliberately stayed there to get cut in half. Is he, alien?

My little ufo experience still cannot explain. I tried everything suggested here. Thanks everyone. I never contacted Mufon, cause don't want to be shown on UFO Hunters.

ok...must have been out of my mind on 5/30/09.

UK UFO sightings spiked when blockbusters released. I did go see District 9 last night, still only saw the one i think. Judge for yourself.

CNN:


UFO 'appeared above jazz stage at Glastonbury'

Story Highlights
•Newly released files contain over 4,000 pages of UFO sightings

•Most cases have been accounted for with more mundane explanations

•Number of sightings linked to popularity of sci-fi film and television shows

(CNN) -- An alien with a lemon-shaped head and a jazz-themed encounter with a UFO at the Glastonbury Festival are among hundreds of UFO encounters detailed in the latest batch of documents released Monday by the UK's Ministry of Defence.

Fourteen files, containing over 4,000 pages of UFO sightings from 1981 to 1996, have now been placed on Britain's National Archives database and are publicly available online.

The sightings range from lights in the sky to close contact with aliens, and the files contain detailed analysis on some of the UK's most popular cases -- a number of which remain officially unexplained.

In one incident in 1995, two men in their 20s from Staffordshire, central England, told police they saw an alien with a lemon-shaped head descend from a hovering UFO and tell them "We want you; come with us."

In another sighting recorded by defense officials in 1994, two women at the Glastonbury music festival reported seeing a UFO floating above the jazz stage

However, 90 percent of cases have been accounted for. Multiple sightings of a brightly illuminated oval object in London during 1993 and 1994 were later explained as an airship advertising the launch of the Ford Mondeo car.

In 1993, more than 30 reports of illuminations over central England during a six-hour period led to senior defense staff being briefed, before it was established that the lights had been caused by a Russian rocket re-entering the atmosphere

The documents reveal that in 1996 there were 608 sightings, a dramatic surge from the previous year's 117.

However, this may have less to do with exceptional levels of extra-terrestrial activity, than with the release of blockbuster film "Independence Day" and the popularity that year of sci-fi TV series "The X-Files."

David Clarke, a UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who has studied the files, said: "Obviously, films and TV programs raise awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see."

Clarke's comments certainly correspond with the other periods of high-frequency sightings in Britain -- one of the other busiest years was in 1978, the same year in which Steven Spielberg's alien-themed "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was released.

The files also shed new light on Britain's own 'Roswell', the Rendlesham Forest sightings of December 1980 in which American air force men saw a series of mysterious lights in the trees at the perimeter of an air base used by the U.S. Air Force.

The then government of Margaret Thatcher was quick to dismiss the incident, but a letter from a former chief of defense staff in 1985 warned that the affair could prove a 'banana skin' for the Ministry of Defence.

"The case has puzzling and disquieting features which have never been satisfactorily explained ... which continue to preoccupy informed sections of the public," said the letter.

Other documents reveal a UFO incident in Belgium between 1989 and 1990 when Belgian Air Force F-16 fighters were scrambled to intercept abnormal, brightly-lit, triangular flying objects reported by police and others.
In November 1993 General Wilfried de Brouwer, chief of operations in the Belgian Air Staff, confirmed that the fighters had locked-on to something with their radar but were unable to explain what it was.


The MoD affirmed that there had been no threat to the UK and that it has never detected a "structured craft flying in UK airspace that has remained unidentified."

This latest release of documents represents the fourth set of UFO files released since 2008 as part of a three-year project in conjunction with the National Archives.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/17/ufo.sightings/index.html

If you see an Object that is Flying and it is Unidentified, then it is a UFO by definition. Doesn't mean it is being flown by little green men though! I don't believe in any of that alien spaceship UFO nonsense. How come there has never been any real proof beyond blurry pictures? And in the days of modern digital cameras, how come these UFO pictures are STILL coming out blurry?

People look up into the sky and they think anything that they see flying has to be "official". It can just be litter. Those mylar "Happy Birthday" balloons make excellent UFO's against a setting sun. Or it can be a hoax. Even complex hoaxes can be pretty easy to pull off.

At the DZ that I skydive at, a group of RC aircraft enthusiasts (they can be a weird bunch) often fly (and crash) their latest investments. One of the more eccentric guys made a RC "flying saucer". It was complete with LEDs that made different light patterns, all controlled by his radio. I'm sure if he flew that thing at night, it would get a lot of attention.

I do find conspiracy theories amusing though.

The "Chemtrail" conspiracy people are the the best. I used to read a "Chemtrail" forum on a website for laughs. If you had *any* knowledge of aviation (especially if you were a pilot), you were immediately dismissed as a "government disinformation agent". Freaking hilarious.

Then you have websites that will have two conspiracy theories side-by-side. One will be that the Apollo Moon missions were a hoax. The Moon landings were all faked by the government. The conspiracy theory right next to it would be that the Apollo astronauts saw UFO's and aliens on the Moon.

Theres so many unexplained phenomena that...

''you would love doing the math''.

Hello Kenzie... [about aluminum rocket engines]

Perhaps you've considered the ''Masten'' rocket science of the Aluminum engine which is now entering the next phase of the google x prize competition for landing a rocket on the moon and photographing images with a robot lander.


Perhaps your ready for this challenge.


Norman.

People look up into the sky and they think anything that they see flying has to be "official". It can just be litter. Those mylar "Happy Birthday" balloons make excellent UFO's against a setting sun. Or it can be a hoax. Even complex hoaxes can be pretty easy to pull off.

At the DZ that I skydive at, a group of RC aircraft enthusiasts (they can be a weird bunch) often fly (and crash) their latest investments.

LOL. Speaking of mylar "flying saucer" balloons...

One of the things I found humorous about the Balloon Boy story is that it took them three days to realize that this thing couldn't lift a 7 year old kid. I don't have a degree in physics or even need any jump experience to realize that. Just common sense! Watched this stupid thing in flight live on TV and was shaking my head at the stupid reporters who thought there was a kid "on board". The thing was just the size of one of those cheap backward "swimming pools" and it was supposedly carrying a 7 year old kid? Guess they missed the Mythbusters episode where it took a hangar full of thousands of balloons to lift a 4 year old a foot of the ground. And why would the thing be lazily potato-chipping in flight if there was the weight of a 7 year in it? It would be sagging in the middle. And where was the kid supposed to have been? Inside the balloon breathing helium?