UFOs

The Claims:

Unidentified flying object (UFO) is the popular term for an aerial object that cannot be identified by the observer.  While technically speaking there is nothing Extraordinary about seeing an object in the sky which at the current moment has no ready explanation, supposed sightings of UFOs are too often claimed to be spacecrafts of extraterrestrial origin, and that is the interpretation to which this Campaign is responding.  The belief that all or most UFO’s are extraterrestrial in original have prompted hundreds of investigations and have been the topic of numerous books, television documentaries, magazines and films. There is a lack of reliable physical evidence for UFOs, but it is believed by conspiracy theorists that this is due to a massive cover up, involving governments all over the globe.

Three of the most contentious incidents in UFO encounters are the Berwyn Mountain Incident (UK), Rendlesham Forest Incident (UK) and the Roswell  Incident (USA).

The Evidence:

The Roswell Incident:

This incident alone has resulted in the publication of several books, often giving contradictory accounts of details and sequences of events regarding the purported crash.  At least one UFO is said to have crashed northwest of Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 1947.  There has also been speculation that aliens, some possibly still alive, were recovered and autopsied and that a massive government cover-up of any knowledge of the incident took place. The recovered material from the crash was reported by the authorities to be the remnants of an advanced weather balloon.  Film footage of what was claimed to be an alien autopsy was presented in 1995 which generated international attention but has since been discredited and is now considered a hoax.

In addition, all of the witness accounts came a minimum of 31 years after the supposed crash.  Memories from this long ago are subject to question and may have been influenced by subsequent accounts as to how the events in question occurred. Amongst some prominent UFO researchers today the Roswell Incident is not considered to be likely caused by the crash of an alien spacecraft.

To date no one has ever presented physical evidence of non-terrestrial alien artifacts or biological material.

The Berwyn Mountain Incident:

In the Berwyn Mountain Incident an alleged UFO crashed in the Berwyn mountain area in Britain on 23 January, 1974.  Unusual lights were seen in the sky followed by a violent shaking of the ground and at first it was believed that there had been an airplane crash.  It is known that the shaking was caused by an earthquake which measured 4.5 on the Richter scale.  Police and an RAF rescue team investigated the Berwyn mountains but did not find anything.

Pat Evans, a nurse who lived in the area contacted police and volunteered to go to the scene.  On arriving, she and her two daughters allege that they saw a large, glowing ball of light which changed from red to yellow to white.  Other reports state that the area was cordoned off in a short time by the military and police effectively making it a no-go zone.

Claims that the object was a UFO of extraterrestrial origin are unlikely, given the size of the craft, and the remote locality which would have prevented dismantling such a large object, carting it off and removing all trace of damage.  Dr. Ron Maddison, an astronomer, visited the site and concluded that the events were caused by bolide meteors entering the earth’s atmosphere followed by an earthquake along the Bala Fault.

At this time there is no firm evidence that suggests a UFO of alien origin crashed in Berwyn Mountain.

The Rendlesham Forest Incident:

It is generally concluded that the events in Rendlesham forest took place on the nights of the 26th and 28th of December, 1980.  The events took place close to two former RAF bases used by the United States Air force where, on the 26th of December at 3:00 AM, a security patrol reported strange lights that appeared to be descending in the forest.  At first it was thought that it was an aircraft which had crashed and on entering the forest servicemen reported seeing strange lights and one bright light of unknown origin, which was in all likelihood a lighthouse several miles away on the coast.

Serviceman Jim Penniston claimed that he saw, touched, and photographed the unidentified craft and believed it to be from the future.  Three impressions in a triangular pattern from the scene were examined later by a forester who indicated that they seemed to be rabbit diggings covered with pine needles.

In addition, a bright meteor was observed over southern England at precisely the time of the first reports of a bright object landing in the forest.  In the early hours of the morning of the 28th servicemen returned to the area with radiation detectors, but these results have been discredited since the detectors used were not capable of measuring background radiation and thus readings at the low end of the scale are meaningless.  One theory is that the whole affair was a hoax perpetrated by a former US security policeman Kevin Conde, who may have used a police vehicle with modified lights.

Conclusion:

If the above incidents were actual UFO crashes it would indicate that advanced alien beings, who were able to travel light years to get to Earth, were suddenly very bad at keeping their vehicles in the air. The biggest logical mistake that happens when witnesses report strange sightings and experiences is that they jump immediately to the most unlikely conclusion that alien beings are visiting earth, and ignore the less interesting, but much more probable explanation, of natural phenomena or human error.  Objects routinely mistaken for UFOs include terrestrial aircraft, the planet Venus, and weather balloons.

Links:

Wikipedia Page on Roswell

Wikipedia Page on Berwyn Mountain

Wikipedia Page on Rendlesham Forest

The Skeptic’s Dictionary Entry on UFOs

“It’s a UFO, by Jove” by Phil Plait