Is this a UFO? No, but it is "the queen of UFOs".  The planet Venus in evening twilight a few months after superior conjunction.

My skeptical opinion about UFOs

 

"I think that it is much more likely that the reports of flying saucers are the result of the known irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence rather than the unknown rational efforts of extraterrestrial intelligence." Dr. Richard Feynman

UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object. Note the word UNIDENTIFIED. The individual making the report affixes the label of Unidentified to the object. My opinion on UFOs is that they do exist as UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS in the mind of the observer. In a great many cases they turn out to be normal objects/astronomical events seen under unusual situations by excited observers. In other cases, they are vivid imaginations or simple hoaxes. Even the most hardened UFOlogist (one who studies the phenomena), who believes that there is something behind these reports, will admit that at least nine out of ten cases are misperceptions and hoaxes. The values usually turn out to be more like 3-10% of the reports remaining unexplained. With such a small percentage of remaining cases, one has to wonder exactly what reports are actual observations of objects that are something beyond what we know about the world today. For most UFOlogists, this means that the most likely source is spaceships from another world. This is a bold statement based on reports that are suspect with misidentification. This hypothesis, called the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (ETH), is based on eliminating all possibilities for the source of the report. It is not based on any practical evidence that can be presented.

With over 30 years of amateur astronomy experience, I have yet to see anything I could not explain. I would love to see a genuine alien spaceship but have yet to see one. I have put in more observing time than most people who claim to have seen at least one genuine spacecraft! Am I not a good observer? Do I miss UFOs because they don't want to come near my location? Is it possible that I don't see UFOs because I do not believe in them? I doubt these possibilities. Perhaps the more likely answer is that I do not see UFOs because they are nothing but misperceptions and misidentifications by inexperienced/excited observers. They could also be observations of rare phenomena not known to the observer. Clearly, there are many possible explanations and the least likely is that of little green men in spaceships. However, there is a significant amount of the population who seriously believe that UFOs are actually alien spaceships. Why do they believe this? Probably because they are not very well informed, are selective on what they want to read/hear, or possess a strong desire to believe in something exotic/greater than themselves. The media tends to sensationalize many events and rarely examines a story beyond the minimum required. They add fuel to the fire in order to keep the viewer/reader interested. After all, the headline "Man Bites Dog" sells a lot more newspapers/captures more viewers than the mundane report.

Despite over fifty years of "research", UFO organizations have yet to provide us with any significant data that can backup the claim that UFOs are caused by aliens piloting spaceships. Many of their "investigations" are often suspect and tell only one portion of the story. These investigators will omit/ignore facts that indicate the source of the report was something more mundane. While the gullible media and public swallow "The saucers are coming" headline, it always seems like there is a more reasonable explanation.

This web page provides links to some of my opinions on UFOs and UFOlogy as well as some landmark UFO cases that I have examined. My desire is to provide information and a point of view that is often ignored or omitted at most UFO web sites. Feel free to contact me with any information or feedback you desire via email at tprinty_comcast.net (substitute the _ with the "at" symbol).

Roswell: The UFO case that keeps on giving

The Trindade island UFO: Scientific evidence or trick photography?

The Big Sur UFO: UFO attacks warhead or misinterpretation?

The Kecksburg UFO crash: Trying to cash in on Roswell's fame

Belgium 1990: A case for radar-visual UFOs?

The Ed Walters case: Gullibility in Gulf Breeze

The July 11, 1991 Mexico City UFOs: Basic astronomy ignored

The 1997 Arizona UFOs: Ignoring key evidence maintains the mystery

The 2004 Mexican AF UFO video: UFOs or just oil wells?

The 2008 Stephenville UFO case: Trying to make much about very little

Large UFOs in orbit around the Earth?

The USAF and UFOs

Witness Perception issues

My opinions about UFOs and UFOlogy

Download the latest issue of SUNlite

UFO links

 

Return to my main web page where you can see my other interests and hobbies