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Physical Evidence Related to UFO Reports: The Proceedings of a Workshop Held at the Pocantico Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York, September 29 - October 4, 1997
... At the October 1997 workshop sponsored by the Society for Scientific Exploration, Jean-Jacques Velasco and Illobrand von Ludwiger presented to a review panel a number reports on "anomalous radar targets," or radar UFOs, as well as a few cases in which objects were seen at the same time that radar detected an unidentified object (radar-visual UFOs) (Sturrock, 1998). Velasco presented an excellent example of the radar-visual category in which an object was seen above clouds (altitude about 10 km) by an air crew flying at an altitude of about 11,700 m. ...
... The summary report of the panel (Sturrock, 1998) essentially ignores the radar-visual evidence, referring only to "a few reported incidents which might have involved rare but significant phenomena such as electrical activity high above thunderstorms (e.g., sprites) or rare cases of radar ducting." The report continues, "...the review panel was not convinced that any of the evidence involved currently unknown physical processes or pointed to the involvement of an extraterrestrial intelligence." ...
... In commenting on radar detections of unidentified objects or phenomena, Von R. Eshleman, in Appendix 4 to the report (Sturrock, 1998), wrote, "It is possible that some of the radar cases presented to the panel have a natural explanation," leaving open the possibility that some do not have a natural explanation (but Eshleman did not pursue this possibly fruitful avenue of investigation). Specifically he suggested that "time-variable atmospheric ducting" of electromagnetic radiation could explain some of the radar sightings. ...
Radar and radar-visual sightings were among the various types of UFO sightings discussed by the review panel sponsored by the Society for Scientific Exploration in the Fall of 1997. Although several well-described cases involving radar were presented to the panel, including cases in which apparently structured objects were seen coincident with radar detection, the opinion of the panel was that, whereas a few of the cases might represent "rare but significant phenomena," "rare cases of radar ducting," or "secret military activities," none of the cases represented "unknown physical processes or pointed to the involvement of an extraterrestrial intelligence." One of the panel members (Eshleman) proposed a general explanation for the radar cases in terms of atmospheric effects including refraction and ducting. There is no indication in the complete report that the panel members offered specific explanations for any report, or that any panel member was able to prove that atmospheric effects of any sort could account for the radar and radar-visual sightings. This paper, a response to the panel opinion, demon-strates that careful consideration of atmospheric effects is not sufficient to explain at least some of the radar, radar-visual, and photographic sightings that have been reported over the years.
... After interrogating Brazel, Wilcox placed a call to the Roswell Army Air Field. Major in-depth study, even if the physical evidence does not necessarily indicate violations of known natural laws or the involvement of an extraterrestrial intelligence (Greenewald, 2019;Kuettner et al., 1970;Sturrock, 1999;Sturrock et al., 1998). This latter idea is known as the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH), which contends that some UFO/UAPs represent spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial life or nonhuman aliens, or non-occupied alien probes from other planets visiting Earth. ...
... Approaches can include searching for previously unknown or unexamined government or civilian documentation about any and all aspects of the event, as well as applying the latest qualitative and quantitative methods and cross-disciplinary efforts to existing evidence with the aim of extracting new insights or information. This case has been traditionally explored by maverick researchers operating individually, but new and significant advancements are perhaps more likely to come from adopting the model of scientific UFO panels that pool resources and apply crossdisciplinary expertise to targeted problems (e.g., Condon & Gillmor, 1968;Clemence, 1969;Kuettner et al., 1970;Sturrock et al., 1998). This tactic has been used to an extent on a smaller scale for Roswell-related research (e.g., Eberhart, 1991;Houran, 2005;Houran & Porter, 1998Schollum, 2015), so it might be successful if expanded and supported with adequate resources. ...
... in-depth study, even if the physical evidence does not necessarily indicate violations of known natural laws or the involvement of an extraterrestrial intelligence (Greenewald, 2019;Kuettner et al., 1970;Sturrock, 1999;Sturrock et al., 1998). This latter idea is known as the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH), which contends that some UFO/UAPs represent spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial life or nonhuman aliens, or non-occupied alien probes from other planets visiting Earth. ...
... Approaches can include searching for previously unknown or unexamined government or civilian documentation about any and all aspects of the event, as well as applying the latest qualitative and quantitative methods and cross-disciplinary efforts to existing evidence with the aim of extracting new insights or information. This case has been traditionally explored by maverick researchers operating individually, but new and significant advancements are perhaps more likely to come from adopting the model of scientific UFO panels that pool resources and apply crossdisciplinary expertise to targeted problems (e.g., Condon & Gillmor, 1968;Clemence, 1969;Kuettner et al., 1970;Sturrock et al., 1998). This tactic has been used to an extent on a smaller scale for Roswell-related research (e.g., Eberhart, 1991;Houran, 2005;Houran & Porter, 1998Schollum, 2015), so it might be successful if expanded and supported with adequate resources. ...
Something unquestionably strange fell southeast of the tiny New Mexican town of Corona in the summer of 1947—an event that has become an iconic case in ufology and part of mainstream culture. Documentation and eyewitness testimony proves that rancher William Ware “Mack” Brazel took samples of that debris into the Roswell, New Mexico, sheriff’s office who in turn, reported the situation to Roswell Army Air Force officials. Controversy about the incident has always centered on the identification of the recovered debris versus its existence. Photographs of the purported debris have suggested a terrestrial explanation, while eyewitness descriptions have supported either that explanation or something much more exotic. Attempts to decipher text from a photographed document known as the Ramey Memo have not provided definitive results that would rule out any explanations. Still, there are two areas in which empirical studies can be conducted and advancements possibly made. These involve (a) strides to clarify the operational and logistical details of ‘Project Mogul,’ which is the US military’s claimed source of the debris, and (b) new efforts to read the Ramey Memo from higher quality digital scans. A grounded theory (or deductive) examination of these two lines of empirical evidence fails to clearly support the military’s latest ‘official explanation’ and thus leaves open the extraterrestrial hypothesis for the debris. Future directions for research are therefore discussed. Keywords: empiricism, Project Mogul, UAPs, UFOs, Roswell Incident, Ramey memo, trace cases.
... • A variety of reports of UFO sightings from witnesses who have no apparent reason to be considered untrustworthy a priori, including some high-ranking military, pilots, and government officials (Kean, 2010) • The still remaining residual of unexplained UFO sightings (Ailleris, 2011) • The numerous references to physical traces of UFOs, e. g. photo and film material, radar recordings, ground traces, vegetation damage, functional impairments of vehicles and machines, gravitational, inertial and electromagnetic effects for which no satisfactory explanations have yet been found (Sturrock et al., 1998) The above considerations almost inevitably lead to the conclusion that research into the UFO phenomenon urgently needs to be professionalized. In other words, instead of leaving the research of UFOs increasingly to layman researchers working in private settings-with all the associated consequences-established scientific and academic research should deal with the topic proactively. ...
Single case studies have a long tradition in the field of parapsychology and anomalistics research. Naturally, thorough case studies do not usually provide hard evidence for the existence of paranormal effects. However, they demonstrate the dynamics of occurrence of such extraordinary phenomena and experiences in the living world. This volume is intended to give an overview of the methodological peculiarities of anomalistic field research. On the basis of historical and current case studies, certain specific psychosocial dynamics and problems in this interesting and challenging field of research are presented and discussed.
This book contains 15 chapters written by different authors on the subject of single case studies. Although the focus is on poltergeist cases, other fields of anomalistics are also addressed, such as the UFO topic, or allegedly photographic anomalies.
... • A variety of reports of UFO sightings from witnesses who have no apparent reason to be considered untrustworthy a priori, including some high-ranking military, pilots, and government officials (Kean, 2010) • The still remaining residual of unexplained UFO sightings (Ailleris, 2011) • The numerous references to physical traces of UFOs, e.g. photo and film material, radar recordings, ground traces, vegetation damage, functional impairments of vehicles and machines, gravitational, inertial and electromagnetic effects for which no satisfactory explanations have yet been found (Sturrock et al., 1998) The above considerations almost inevitably lead to the conclusion that research into the UFO phenomenon urgently needs to be professionalized. In other words, instead of leaving the research of UFOs increasingly to layman researchers working in private settings-with all the associated consequences-established scientific and academic research should deal with the topic proactively. ...
Reports of strange air phenomena have astonished human beings for centuries and have been interpreted as UFOs (unidentified flying objects) in the sense of alien spaceships since at least the middle of the 20th century. Because of the large number of events that have been linked to the UFO theme since then, and the intensive social and cultural reception of the subject and accompanying scientific and social controversies, the UFO topic plays an important role within today’s anomalistic research. The keyword “UFO phenomenon” includes a broad spectrum of human experiences, ranging from simple sightings of unusual lights in the sky to complex, extraordinary experiences with unknown beings and objects. The term “UFO” was first used by the Air Technical Intelligence Center of the US Air Force in the early 1950s. ...
... z. B.Sturrock et al. 1998), für die bislang noch keine befriedigenden Erklärungen gefunden werden konnten.Die grundlegende Prämisse der wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung des UFO-Phänomens lautet, dass UFOs grundsätzlich mit Hilfe wissenschaftlicher Methoden erforscht werden können(vgl. Ammon 2011: 174; Mojsilovic 2011: 20). ...
... To potentially accelerate the development of innovative photonic/light-based technologies from breakthrough discoveries on the unexplained light phenomena described above, we reasoned that it was timely to assess the opinions of researchers about UAP that have historically been frowned upon by scientists. UAP may include HL as well as other types of "UFO-like" events that have been ignored or rejected by most scientists, although described by a panel of academic scientists to be worthy of study (Sturrock, 1998(Sturrock, , 1999. More specifically, we thought that assessing and understanding the opinions of the academic community about UAP might stimulate discussions among scientists and policy makers toward future funding support for the scientific investigation of UAP, HL in particular. ...
For hundreds of years, scientists have been studying light, which is used nowadays to explore the universe and cure diseases. Here, we present the results of a survey indicating a significant support from a subset of the academic community to investigate rare, unusual and unexplained atmospheric light phenomena that have historically been unexplored by scientists—the transient luminous phenomena in the valley of Hessdalen in Norway in particular. We propose that stable, long-term funding, and thorough investigation of poorly understood and/or unexplored luminous phenomena occurring in the low atmosphere could lead to the creation of new inter-disciplinary research programs in multiple universities, and ultimately, to important fundamental discoveries in the field of atmospheric science, photonics and beyond.
We used a multiteam system approach (MTS) to map the critical and constructive feedback from four invited Commentaries on Rock et al.’s (2023) probabilistic analysis of purported evidence for postmortem survival. The goal was to mine actionable insights to guide future research with the potential for important learnings or breakthroughs about the nature or limits of human consciousness and their relation to transpersonal psychology. The commentators’ input identified only a few measurable variables or empirical tactics that conceivably challenge or refine our latest Drake-S Equation for survival. However, a review of these suggestions using logical and statistical criteria revealed that none immediately upend our previous conclusion that the published effect sizes for various Known Confounds (including hypothetical "living agent psi") do not fully account for the published prevalence rates of Anomalous Experiences traditionally interpretated as survival. However, the commentators proposed several good recommendations for new studies that could eventually alter this calculus. Accordingly, we outline the architecture of a proposed cross-disciplinary research program that extends the present MTS approach and its collected insights and focuses strictly on empiricism over rhetoric in this domain. The results of this coordinated effort should likewise help to clarify a range of psychological and biomedical phenomena that speak to the nature and limits of human consciousness.
1. Von Menschen, Außerirdischen und UFOs
Reflexionen über intelligentes Leben außerhalb der Erde haben eine lange Tradition (vgl. Hövelmann 2008: 183). Bereits in antiken Kosmologien, die das Universum von einer ‚Weltseele' durchdrungen sahen, findet sich die Vorstellung, dass, neben der Erde, auch andere Himmelskörper Leben tragen. In dem von dem aristotelisch-ptolemäischen Weltbild geprägten Mittelalter gerieten derartige Ideen aus der Mode, doch im Zuge der geistigen Umbrüche zu Beginn der frühen Neuzeit wurden auch diese antiken Fäden wieder aufgenommen. Besonders zu nennen sind in diesem Zusammenhang die Renaissance -Gelehrten Nikolaus von Kues, Giordano Bruno, Nikolaus Kopernikus, Galileo Galilei und Johannes Kepler, die gemeinsam zur Überwindung des geozentrischen Welt-bildes beitrugen und somit eine neue Grundlage für das Nachdenken über den Kosmos und die Möglichkeit bewohnter Welten außerhalb der Erde schufen (vgl. Heuser 2008: 55). Die Entwicklungen der modernen Raumfahrtechnik ab Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts und die Entdeckung zahlreicher Planeten außerhalb unseres Sonnensystems 1 in jüngster Zeit beflügelten erneut allerlei Spekulationen über außerirdisches Leben. Jenseits dieser Überlegungen tauchen in der Geschichte immer wieder Berichte über eigenartige ‚Flug'-oder ‚Luftschiffe' auf, die den Menschen seit jeher Rätsel aufgaben und spätestens seit der historischen Sichtung des US-amerikanischen Geschäftsmanns und Hobbypiloten Kenneth Arnold im Jahr 1947 als UFOs (unidentifizierte fliegende Objekte) auch im Sinne außerirdischer Raumschiffe gedeutet werden. Seither hat man es mit regelrechten Wellen unerklärlicher Himmelsphänomene zu tun, wie zuletzt in Belgien in den Jahren 1989/90. Hier berichteten hunderte Augenzeugen ber eigentüm-liche Flugobjekte, die angeblich auch von Radaranlagen erfasst werden konnten. Die belgische Luftwaffe unternahm aufgrund einer der Beobachtungen mehrere Abfangver-suche, die jedoch allesamt scheiterten, da die Objekte in sehr kurzer Zeit auf enorme Geschwindigkeiten zu beschleunigen schienen.
The purpose of this article is to use the principles of scientific infer-ence to provide guidance in evaluating complicated issues such as those raised by the study of anomalous phenomena. Specifically, the article presents a for-malism (a "protocol") for organizing and combining the many judgments that must be made in the scientific evaluation of the relevant hypotheses. All judg-ments are to be expressed as probabilities, and the rules for combining proba-bilities are derived from Bayes' theorem. Setting up a problem in a manner that permits such an analysis can be helpful in imposing a structure and disci-pline upon the analysis, and also in exposing relevant questions that might otherwise have remained hidden. Furthermore, the introduction of probabili-ties makes it possible to put on a sound numerical basis such assertions as "ex-traordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." One finds that extraordi-nary evidence can be built up from many (but not very many) items of unspectacular evidence, provided the items are truly independent. The proposed procedure permits a clear separation between a statement of initial prejudice and an evaluation of the significance of considered evi-dence. However, it would be even better to set out explicitly the considera-tions on which the prejudice is based, and to view those considerations as part of the evidence to be evaluated. The procedure also draws a clear separa-tion between the roles and judgments of data analysts (who assign probabili-ties to specified statements, based on the evidence), and those of theorists (who assign probabilities to the same statements, based in turn on the consid-ered hypotheses). In order to reach a consensus on any topic, it is recommended that probability estimates be made by teams of experts, all team-members being presented with the same data but acting independently, and procedures are proposed by which individual estimates may be combined to yield a consensus estimate.
Refereed journals, to which scientists turn for their reliable in- formation, carry virtually no information on the UFO problem. Does this imply that scientists have no views and no thoughts on the subject, or that all scientists consider it insignificant? Does it imply that scientists have no re- ports to submit comparable with UFO reports published in newspapers and popular books? The purpose of this survey was to answer these questions.
The site of the 198 1 Trans-en-Provence UFO case was visited again during 1988. Soil samples taken at the time of the initial investigation were analyzed in an American laboratory in an effort to validate the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) study of the case. The results of the interviews with the witness and his wife, and the examination of samples taken at the surface and below the surface of the physical trace support the findings of the CNES team and the truthfulness of the witness' testimony. In particular, it was found that the surface sample only differed from the depth sample by the presence of biological (plant and insect) material on the surface. Calcium and silicon were the dominant elements in all fields exam- ined, with aluminum and iron also present. No indication was found of cement powder, oil, or chemical contaminants that could have indicated the presence of tractors or other industrial vehicles at the site.