UFO - unidentified flying object; in the media, any celestial phenomenon, the nature of which the observer himself cannot determine. In this case, it is usually assumed that a compact moving object, similar to an aircraft, was observed, the appearance of which is associated with a visit to Earth by aliens from space. The term UFO is a direct translation of the English UFO - unidentified flying object, which came into use in 1950-1955. In Russian, especially in works trying to bring a scientific basis for the study of UFOs, other related terms are sometimes used: anomalous atmospheric phenomenon (AAL), anomalous aerospace object (AAO), unidentified aerospace phenomenon (NAA).
The observation of incomprehensible atmospheric and celestial phenomena is not an "invention" of the 20th century. In the history of mankind, there are many cases of "heavenly signs". Especially many reports of UFO sightings came from eyewitnesses (and pranksters) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the creation of the first airships and airplanes. The outbreak of mass interest in UFOs began in the era of the heyday of aviation and the creation of rocket technology.
BIRTH OF SENSATION
The first UFO report, which aroused great public interest and an avalanche of publications, was made by American pilot Kenneth Arnold. While flying in the afternoon of June 24, 1947 near Mount Rainier in Washington state, he noticed nine strange objects. One of them resembled a crescent moon with a small dome in the middle, and eight others looked like flat discs glistening in the rays of the sun. According to Arnold's estimates, the objects hitting him moved at a speed of about 2700 km / h. Speaking about their appearance, Arnold compared them to "tailless aircraft". He noted that the movement of strange objects was, "like a speedboat racing on the waves", or "like a saucer thrown over the surface of the water." This is how the now popular term "flying saucer" or "flying saucer" arose.
The first publication of the Arnold case was received with skepticism, but after a few weeks the press was filled with testimonies of other eyewitnesses. Magazines and books on this topic began to appear.
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OFFICIAL UFO INVESTIGATIONS
As new weapons were being tested in the armed forces of some countries at that time, it was suspected that reports of unknown phenomena in the atmosphere could be associated with these tests. The US Air Force began collecting and organizing UFO reports in 1948 in order to determine their military significance. Civilian scientists and engineers were involved in this work. The analysis of the collected facts for the CIA and the leadership of the US Army was carried out several times. This work, known as Project Blue Book, continued with varying degrees of activity until 1969.
There were several reports of visual and radar UFO sightings near Washington National Airport in July 1952. Given the public and government attention to these reports, the CIA sent fact-finding instructions to the army and intelligence, and created an expert panel of engineers, meteorologists, physicists, and astronomers to analyze the reports, led by physicist H. Robertson (California Institute of Technology Institute in Pasadena). Having studied the facts, experts came to the conclusion that 90% of UFO reports have an astronomical or meteorological explanation: the vast majority of them are associated with the observation of the Moon and bright planets (especially Venus), clouds and auroras, birds, airplanes, balloons, rockets, meteors, spotlights and other phenomena understandable for professionals,but occurring in unusual conditions or observed by insufficiently qualified eyewitnesses. One of the members of the commission, the famous American astronomer Donald Menzel (DH Menzel) published in 1953 the book Flying Saucers, in which he explained the nature of some UFO sightings.
Interest in UFOs increased in the early years of the space age. From the USA, it spread to Western Europe, the USSR, Australia and other countries. A second commission to study UFO reports worked in the United States in February 1966 and came to the same conclusions as the first. However, some scientists and engineers remained dissatisfied with the work of these commissions; especially active opponents of the "natural" UFO hypothesis were meteorologist James McDonald (University of Arizona at Tucson) and astronomer Allen Hyneck (Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois). These scientists believed that some UFO reports clearly indicated the existence of aliens.
In 1968, commissioned by the US Air Force, the University of Colorado organized a group of 37 experts under the leadership of the prominent physicist and atomic energy specialist Edward Condon (EUCondon). The UFO Scientific Research group's report was reviewed by a special committee of the US National Academy of Sciences and published in early 1969. It analyzed 59 UFO reports in detail. In "Conclusion" Condon categorically rejects the "extraterrestrial hypothesis" and recommends that further study of the problem be stopped.
By this time, 12,618 UFO reports had been collected in the Blue Book project archive. All of them were either “identified” with one of the known phenomena (astronomical, atmospheric or artificial), or “unidentified”, often due to the low information content of the message. Based on the Condon Report, Project Blue Book was closed in December 1969. The only official and fairly complete archive of UFO reports was the Canadian one, containing about 750 reports and transmitted in 1968 from the Department of Defense to the Science Council of Canada. There were also comparatively small archives in official institutions in Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Australia and Greece.
In general, other commissions that have studied UFO reports have come to the same conclusions as the Condon Commission. In France, it was the Group for the Study of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (GEPAN = Groupe d'Etude des Phenomenes Aerospatiaux Non-Identifies), which had been working since 1977. In the USSR, this conclusion was made by a group of experts working on the "Grid" theme of the Ministry of Defense and the Academy of Sciences (1978-1990). True, it was noted that individual well-documented UFO sightings still failed to provide an exhaustive scientific explanation.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR UFO STUDIES
The Condon Report and the findings of other official organizations generated mixed reactions from the public. Most of the public and some experts were inclined to continue the study of UFOs: some pointed to a small, but still real chance to establish contact with extraterrestrial civilizations in this way; others believed that UFO eyewitness reports provided a new method for social psychological research. Therefore, in parallel with state commissions in many countries, groups of enthusiasts and public organizations for the study of UFOs appeared, conducting independent collection of information and its analysis. For example, in the USA, the National Committee on the Investigation of Aerial Phenomena (NCIAP) was organized,Organization for the Study of Atmospheric Phenomena (APRO = Aerial Phenomena Research Organization) and others. In 1973 a group of American scientists organized in Northfield (Illinois) the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS = Center for UFO Studies). In the USSR, as part of the All-Union Council of Scientific and Technical Societies, the Commission on Anomalous Phenomena worked under the leadership of Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V. S. Troitsky; other organizations also appeared.
Reports of UFO sightings in the USSR and Russia are collected in various private, public and state archives. One of the first and most complete in the 1960s – 1980s was the archive of the Moscow astronomy teacher F. Yu. Siegel. Many letters from eyewitnesses were received by astronomical observatories and institutes, the Russian Academy of Sciences.
PETROZAVOD PHENOMENON
Of particular importance is the mass sighting of UFOs on September 20, 1977 in the morning in the north-west of Russia, known as the "Petrozavodsk Phenomenon". Its description is given, for example, in the newspaper "Izvestia" on September 23, 1977 in the article "Unidentified phenomenon of nature" (quoted from the book of Platov and Rubtsov):
“The residents of Petrozavodsk witnessed an unusual natural phenomenon. On September 20, at about four o'clock in the morning, a huge "star" suddenly flashed in the dark sky, impulsively sending sheaves of light to the earth. This "star" was slowly moving towards Petrozavodsk and, spreading over it in the form of a huge "jellyfish", hung, showering the city with a multitude of the finest ray streams that gave the impression of pouring rain.
After a while, the ray glow ceased. The Medusa turned into a bright semicircle and resumed its movement towards Lake Onega, the horizon of which was enveloped in gray clouds. In this veil, then a semicircular gully of bright red color in the middle and white on the sides formed. The whole phenomenon, according to eyewitnesses, lasted 10-12 minutes."
This event caused a lot of publications and an unprecedented surge of interest in the UFO problem. It attracted the attention of serious scientists (Migulin V. V., Vetchinkin N. V., Platov Yu. V., Makarov A. A., Sokolov B. A., Gindilis L. M., Rubtsov V. V., etc..), which proved that the described phenomenon was mainly caused by the launch of a rocket (AES "Kosmos-955") from the cosmodrome near the city of Plesetsk (Arkhangelsk region).
RELIABILITY OF UFO REPORTS
Reports of UFO sightings, with rare exceptions, are highly subjective and contain little factual data, such as the exact time of observation, the angular dimensions and speed of the object, the state of the atmosphere, etc. The few cases of mass observation of one phenomenon by many independent eyewitnesses show that the estimates of the angular size of the object and the duration of the phenomenon in different people sometimes differed tens of times.
The low reliability of many UFO reports is explained not only by the professional unpreparedness of casual eyewitnesses, but also by the completely objective (although not always explained) physiological features of our vision. For example, near the horizon, the disc of the Moon or the Sun appears to be much larger than high above the horizon. When observing a distant object from a moving vehicle, say from a car window, it seems to us that it flies very quickly. The relatively low resolution of our eyes leads to the fact that we take a distant flock of birds or a cloud for a solid object with a sharp edge. An incompletely clear psychological mechanism of vision leads to the effect of a flying moon: when we notice the moon with a peripheral vision in a break of clouds rapidly running across the sky, it seems to us that the clouds are stationary,and a bright object is rapidly flying through them.
Experts can reliably identify UFOs (or reliably exclude known phenomena from consideration) only if the eyewitness report indicates the exact time and duration of the event, the place of observation, the direction relative to the sides of the horizon or celestial bodies, the state of the atmosphere, the visibility of the stars and the Moon. It is very important to indicate the size of the object, and not by comparing it with everyday objects ("it was the size of an apple"), but in angular units - degrees, or at least in relative angular units - in the fingers of an outstretched hand in front of the face, while observation should be carried out with one eye. All this data must be recorded immediately after observation, without relying on memory.
MAIN TYPES OF IDENTIFIED UFO
Many celestial phenomena that seem unusual to casual eyewitnesses do not present a mystery to specialists. Below are some typical phenomena perceived as UFOs.
ASTRONOMIC
As statistics show, the main astronomical causes of UFOs are the Moon and Venus. Many people are surprised by the fact that Venus is not only a "morning star", but also an "evening star" (of course, not simultaneously, but depending on its position relative to the Sun). It is also unexpected that the brightness of Venus is much higher than that of other stars and planets, and therefore it can be seen against the background of a twilight sky or even through a haze of clouds when the stars are not visible. Observing Venus through clouds is especially impressive, as the floating clouds simulate the flight of a bright point in the opposite direction.
No fewer reports of UFOs are associated with the Moon, which at full moon is 50 thousand times brighter than the brightest stars. Of course, on a clear night, the moon hanging high in the sky is difficult to confuse with anything. But there are circumstances when the Moon exhibits very rare phenomena; for example, we have already mentioned the "flight" of the moon in the clouds and its apparent huge size at the horizon.
TECHNOGENIC
a) Balloons. Nowadays, balloons are mainly used to study the upper atmosphere and astronomical objects. Balloons are launched in many countries, and the wind can carry them almost anywhere on Earth. For example, in 1970 a record was recorded for the duration of a balloon flight: being in the air for more than four years, the device made more than a hundred round-the-world travels at an altitude of almost 35 km. Balloons have different diameters (from 3-4 to 120 m) and different shapes: for example, in France, easy-to-make balloons are often launched, the shell of which is in the form of a tetrahedron. Sometimes cylindrical shells or bundles of several tens of small balls are used. The appearance of such a structure in the air can cause the most unexpected reaction from casual eyewitnesses.
Balloons are especially effective at dusk, when they are brightly lit by the sun against the background of a darkened sky. During the day, in clear weather, they are also easily distinguishable in the sky at a distance of many tens of kilometers. In recent years, high-altitude balloons have begun to be launched much more often: in addition to traditional meteorological tasks, they are now entrusted with a new one - monitoring the state of the ozone layer. Since the ozonosphere is located at high altitudes, very large balloons are used to lift the equipment. For example, on June 4, 1990, American scientists launched a 110 m diameter balloon at an altitude of about 40 km to study ozone over the state of New Mexico. For a ground observer, this sphere had a distinctly distinguishable shape, since its angular size was about 8 minutes of arc (about a quarter of the lunar diameter).
b) Rockets. Small geophysical rockets reach an altitude of 60-200 km, and a large vertical rocket rises to heights of 500-1500 km. They are used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, as well as for astronomical observations and geophysical experiments. These experiments sometimes generate a strong atmospheric glow (usually spherical) observed hundreds of kilometers from the launch site.
When launching military ballistic missiles or launch vehicles with spacecraft, a complex set of light phenomena is observed, especially spectacular at twilight hours. During the first 10 minutes after the launch, the engines work and the rocket stages separate, unused fuel reserves are released into the atmosphere, and a huge amount of combustion products are released, which, at a low density of the stratosphere, expand strongly and are visible from a distance of hundreds of kilometers from the launch site and the rocket flight path.
The main observed phases of a multistage launch vehicle take-off:
1. A bright point appears low above the horizon, which, when moving, leaves a trail similar to the contrail of a jet plane.
2. The track lengthens and becomes wider. In shape, it resembles a fish with a bright point in its "head". This is the torch of a working first stage engine.
3. When the engine of the first stage is turned off and the second is turned on, the flame brightness may change. If between these events there is a drain of a guaranteed supply of fuel or a cutoff of the thrust of a solid-fuel engine by creating several side holes in the walls of the rocket, then jellyfish, spirals, umbrellas and other large-scale figures may appear.
4. At high altitudes, where the air density is low, the combustion products expand and take the form of a hemisphere (if viewed from the side) or a “flower”, “cross” (if observed along the trajectory).
5. The movement of the second stage occurs at high speed and also resembles a “fish” with a bright dot in front.
6. If the second stage is shot, a flash may appear in the area of the "fish head".
7. “Fish”, expanding, turns into a hemisphere that occupies a significant part of the horizon. The bright dot disappears.
The first and second phases last 3–7 minutes. The visibility of the “fish” (engine operation) ends in 5–15 minutes, and the gas trail gradually fades within 1–3 hours. The described picture can change significantly in cloudy weather and depending on lighting conditions. Many UFO sightings are associated with the phenomena accompanying the launch of rockets, in particular - mass sightings made by many eyewitnesses over a large area.
c) Satellites. Artificial satellites and space stations in near-earth orbits attracted particular attention in the 1960s – 1970s. Many reports were caused by the passage of the huge satellites Echo and Echo-2: these inflatable balloon satellites with a diameter of 30-40 m, aluminum aluminum from the outside, were used by American engineers as passive radio transmitters. They shone very brightly and moved rapidly among the stars. The Soviet Salyut stations and especially the Russian Mir complex looked no less impressive, as well as the American reusable shuttle ship, which can be seen even through a slight haze in the sky, hiding most of the stars.
Sometimes even a small satellite is able to send a bright "sunbeam" to the Earth, reflecting the rays of our star with a solar panel; such are, for example, the numerous satellites of the Iridium communications system. Several times such experiments were carried out on purpose, wanting to test whether it is possible to illuminate the Earth from space. Experiments with space lasers are expected in the coming years.
The landing of descent vehicles on Earth looks very impressive. Often their flight in the atmosphere occurs over densely populated areas and causes massive reports of UFOs. Here are a few descriptions of the flight of the satellite "Cosmos-169" descent vehicle, observed from Donetsk, Lugansk and other regions of the USSR on the evening of July 17, 1967.
“At about 9 pm or early 10 pm my attention was attracted by a luminous crescent-shaped stripe flying from west to east. No noise or hum during the flight of the UFO was heard”(Verbitsky II, Karachaevsky district, Krasnogorskaya station).
“At 21 hours 15 minutes a burning object in the form of a crescent with a barely noticeable fiery tail flew over our city. He flew smoothly, without any noise, from the southwest to the northeast. The flight duration was no more than a minute. The first impression was that a spherical satellite was flying, brightly glowing on one side”(Malinin's wife, Nevinnomyssk).
“At 9:30 pm, collecting nets for a morning fishing trip and, as always, looking at the cloudless sky in anticipation of good weather, we saw a strange object flying from southwest to northeast at the speed of a jet plane. Maybe it was several objects, but they had a connection with each other and, moving, were in constant equilibrium with each other.
The focus was on a large crescent moon, just above the star, and a short distance ahead of a bright star. The impression was that this star was dragging a crescent moon and a second star next to the crescent. The crescent moon was slightly larger than the moon. The bottom of the crescent was like a rocket jet. All this was clearly outlined in the cloudless sky and disappeared as suddenly as it appeared”(Yunda V. M., Molodogvardeysk, Luhansk region).
ATMOSPHERIC
Although auroras and stratospheric noctilucent clouds occasionally appear in UFO reports, the bulk of the sensations are due to the optical phenomenon of the halo, both solar and lunar, as well as the observation of solitary cumulative (cumulus) clouds, which have a symmetrical shape and a sharp edge. Such clouds often appear over mountain tops and even line up over a mountain range in a chain, reminiscent of a "UFO squadron". It is highly probable that the historical observation of K. Arnold at Mount Rainier on June 24, 1947 belongs to this type.
Of course, not all eyewitness reports, even fully qualified ones, can be identified. Nature is replete with unexplored or not fully understood phenomena. UFO sighting enthusiasts are undoubtedly able to assist in their scientific research.
Author: Vladimir Surdin