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In Allan Hendry’s UFO handbook, he lists the most common night time objects reported as UFOs are stars and planets.
A great number of people during his evaluation of UFOs at CUFOS seemed to be completely ignorant of the night sky. This is nothing new. The USAF knew that people often would state that stars and planets were UFOs. They were often ridiculed for suggesting these as an explanation
for a UFO report. This was especially true in high publicity cases. However, the truth of the matter is that planets and stars are big UFO pretenders. One has to just look at the MUFON/NUFORC databases to see it.
Is it astronomical?
There are four items that stand out that will quickly identify most astronomical (stars/planets) objects.
Does it return every night in the
1. same general location?
Does it slowly descend in the west or
2. does it slowly ascend in the east?
Is it visible for long periods of time?
3.Does it appear as the sky gets dark or
4. disappear as the sky gets light?
All of these will identify most astronomical
UFO reports. However, one has to consider that witnesses can make mistakes that make it difficult to identify them as astronomical objects.
Scintillation effects Bright stars often twinkle violently when close to the horizon. This twinkling can produce changes in color and apparent motion changes. The astronomical
term for this is called scintillation and is most common with bright stars close to horizon. However, I have seen the star Sirius do this at very high angles of elevation. The brighter the star, the more likely the effects of scintillation will distort its appearance. Planets No other celestial object is responsible for UFO reports than the planet Venus.
However, the planets Jupiter and Mars (every two years near opposition) can produce them as well. Planets are usually referred to as star-like by many witnesses but they often can be described as having significant angular size, emitting spikes, and casting shadows. There are many cases of “trained observers”
being fooled by the planets Venus and Jupiter.
Probably the best documented sighting that demonstrates this is case number 37 in the Condon study. All sorts of things were done involving the planet Venus. A police officer pursued it and others thought it followed them. A plane was sent to pursue it based on direction by the officers and a radar operator, who claimed to have a radar contact. Dr. J. Allen Hynek would describe the case as “... a fantastic example of how persuasive the planet Venus can be as a nonscreened UFO. Police officers in 11 counties were “taken in” by this planet. It is a case of particular value to psychologists and, one is tempted to say, to those responsible for hiring policemen.”1
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Dr. Roy Craig would describe some of the effects observed by the “trained observers”, who felt they were pursuing or being followed by the planet Venus:
The apparent pursuit of moving vehicles, or flight from them, is characteristic of any distant object which is imagined to be close to the observer. Because of the object’s great distance, it remains essentially the same direction from the observer as the observer moves. Because of the object’s great distance, it remains essentially the same direction from the observer as the observer moves. Compared with trees or terrain nearby which change in direction as the observer moves past them, the object, retaining a constant direction, does seem to be moving the same speed and direction as any observer who thinks it no more distant than the reference terrain...
It is a characteristic of this “pursuit” that the object stops when the observer stops, resumes its motion as the observer resumes motion, goes the opposite direction when the observer reverses direction, and travels at whatever speed the observer happens to travel.2
The lesson learned here is not to sell the planet Venus short and dismiss it simply because an observer indicates motion.
Daylight Planets
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Venus and, sometimes, Jupiter can be seen in the daytime with the naked eye if one knows where to look. A person who catches these objects in the sky, will often stare at them long enough to convince themselves they are seeing something strange. Using binoculars can make matters worse as one might be able to see a “half-moon” shape for Venus when it is near 50% sunlit. This can make people think they are seeing some sort of dome shaped object.
Dr. Roy Craig describes an incident early in the Condon study where a UFO was seen in broad daylight by team members.
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The Administrative Assistant, Mary Lou Armstrong, was upset with the local AF base UFO officer who suggested it might be Venus. She felt no scientist could be fooled by Venus. Imagine her surprise when the scientists examined their data and determined they were seeing Venus in the daytime!
Belief over reason I do not like to use Venus as an explanation for a UFO sighting unless there is good reason to consider it. One has to be pretty sure that the direction, time and description can be matched with a misperception of the planet. Venus has a UFOlogical stigma associated with it, where UFO proponents tend to dismiss it as a valid explanation even when it fits (see Jimmy Carter UFO).
It isn’t only UFOlogists who are hard to convince. Try convincing somebody whose sighting is extraordinary to them is only the planet Venus. An example of this can be found in a recent MUFON UFO report:
First spotted and photographed in November 2008 above my house in Reading, PA. Spotted sporadically throughout 2009. Since March 2010 it appears every
night around 8:20pm and is usually gone in an hour. Don’t even TRY telling me this is VENUS as you did with so many others.
Apparently, the MUFON investigators keep telling him it is Venus but he remains unconvinced. All of these descriptions match Venus evening apparitions. The photographs submitted with this report look a lot like a star-like object imaged with a high zoom and at a low angle of elevation. There is nothing to dismiss the idea that this is Venus. The power to believe one is viewing a “true” UFO can often override any logic that can be applied.
Notes and references
1. Hynek, J. Allen. The UFO Experience A Scientific Inquiry. New York: Marlowe & Company 1972. p. 205
2. Craig, Roy. UFOs: An Insider’s View of the Official Quest for Evidence. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1995. p. 47
3. MUFON case management system. Started sporadically in November 2008. In 2010 we see it nightly for about 45 minutes. Submitted May 4, 2010.
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Quelle: SUNlite 4/2010
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