Aliens

[Dotini]

Hardly - I'm a molecular biologist, not a physicist.

Anything that is in the sky that you don't recognise is a UFO. Anything. It could be a bee, a falling model of St. Peter's Basilica, a raccoon sucked up by a tornado... anything. As long as you don't recognise it and it's in the sky, it's a UFO.

Unacceptable. You are a sentient and brilliant man. You are equipped with discursive and analytical abilities which enable you to make a much more nuanced assessment than the one just presented.

Respectfully yours,
Dotini

 

[Joey D]

UFO = Unidentified Flying Object. but yeah, but the word usually used as "alien spaceship"

Anyway i have no doubt flying saucers exists, but i dont know if they are human or alien made.

I love the hieroglyphs of alien spaceships, helicopters, aliens found in ancient egypt writings.

As a trained archeaologist of sorts I can tell you that isn't right, there has been modifications to the glyphs and erosion.

http://www.catchpenny.org/abydos.html

 

[Dotini]

What would you say to the news that humanity is currently under assault from an alien organism with no nucleic acid genome which is rapidly evolving according to strict Darwinian principles? They are causing always fatal, inoperable and incurable wasting diseases in ourselves and our animals. These organisms are gaining resistance to drugs and disinfectants faster than we can invent them. They cannot be killed in an autoclave. Are they from outer space? Are they the work of a benevolent Creator, an evil genie, or what?

Here is the story from those folks at the journal, Science.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/sri-sfs122909.php

Respectfully submitted,
Dotini

 

[Famine]

No, they're just proteins. Proteins which are vital to our survival, for that matter.

 

[Sam48]

Taking this into a christian perspective for a sec, if there was life on another planet, wouldn't that mean Jesus would have had to go there (or already has been there) as well?

 

[Famine]

Life appears in the first part of the Bible, Jesus in the second. So no.

 

[FoolKiller]

Taking this into a christian perspective for a sec, if there was life on another planet, wouldn't that mean Jesus would have had to go there (or already has been there) as well?

Don't worry, the Catholic Church is on it.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,573806,00.html

Science fiction has tackled the concept too. I have seen both Anne McCaffrey and Arthur C. Clarke broach the subject.

 

[Sam48]

Don't worry, the Catholic Church is on it.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,573806,00.html

Science fiction has tackled the concept too. I have seen both Anne McCaffrey and Arthur C. Clarke broach the subject.

Interesting

 

[Dotini]

The Royal Society is meeting to discuss if ET is already here on Earth: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7000795.ece

 

[Dotini]

In recent days a veritable storm of internet posts have been appearing all centered around a youtube video seeming to represent NASA footage of several giant metallic Earth-size UFO's currently orbiting within the Sun's corona. Google on "UFO's orbiting Sun". I expect this will turn out to be a brazen hoax. Meanwhile, here's a peek:

http://aliencasebook.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-hugh-ufos-orbiting-sun.html

 

[ANFD]

I know for a fact that aliens exist and also that they walk amoungst us ..... my "Green Card" states it very clearly

For those who do not know what a Green Card is ...... certification of "Landed status immigrant" in the USA is refered to as an "Alien registration card"

 

[Exorcet]

The Royal Society is meeting to discuss if ET is already here on Earth: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7000795.ece

Sounds like someone just woke up with the idea and got some people to go along.

 

[Touring Mars]

In recent days a veritable storm of internet posts have been appearing all centered around a youtube video seeming to represent NASA footage of several giant metallic Earth-size UFO's currently orbiting within the Sun's corona. Google on "UFO's orbiting Sun". I expect this will turn out to be a brazen hoax. Meanwhile, here's a peek:

http://aliencasebook.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-hugh-ufos-orbiting-sun.html

Nah. One of the most prominent "UFO's" has (if you look at the images from previous weeks) been sitting there, motionless, for weeks. Given the billions of dollars invested in scientific research and the obvious interest in locating new planets and the possibility of discovering life outwith the planet Earth, I find it a bit odd that no-one chose to report a Jupiter-sized object in our midst, and allow some geek on YouTube to steal their thunder. I bet someone at NASA has a red face this morning....

 

[Dotini]

Here's the latest sensational photograph taken of a unique "X"-shaped object in our solar system.
http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroid-belt-hypervelocity-impact-hubble.html

And here, a British scientist claims overwhelming evidence that life on Earth came from the stars.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...aliens-from-outer-space-scientist-claims.html

 

[FoolKiller]

Here's the latest sensational photograph taken of a unique "X"-shaped object in our solar system.
http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroid-belt-hypervelocity-impact-hubble.html

I don't see an X-shaped object. I see a cloud of particles that is in a somewhat X-like pattern at its thickest, or most reflective, point. Likely created by some comet/asteroid thing and the X pattern is as coincidental as clouds shaped like animals. There is nothing Alien about this.

And here, a British scientist claims overwhelming evidence that life on Earth came from the stars.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...aliens-from-outer-space-scientist-claims.html

I am having trouble finding his research proving the pranspermia theory, just this story about how he claims he has "overwhelming" evidence.

Of course, this is the same guy that claimed SARS was from space.

 

[Dotini]

There is nothing Alien about this.

I suppose it is only alien in the sense that it is extraterrestrial. If we had an Astronomy thread I would have posted it there. Hopefuly it provided a moment of worthwhile amusement for you, Foolkiller.

 

[Scaff]

I am having trouble finding his research proving the pranspermia theory, just this story about how he claims he has "overwhelming" evidence.

Of course, this is the same guy that claimed SARS was from space.

A quick look at Cambridge Universities journal site provided a link to a .pdf copy of the piece published by them from which this claim comes.

http://journals.cambridge.org/actio...bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=

I have not had a chance to read it yet, but wanted to provide the link none the less.


Regards

Scaff

 

[Dotini]

Regards

Scaff

Scaff, it's an honor to receive your visit. I've wanted to tell you for ages how important your tuning guides have been to me, all printed out and thoroughly dog-eared. Thanks ever so much!! GT4 and GTPlanet have been an important part of my life for several years.

Highest praises,
Dotini

 

[FoolKiller]

A quick look at Cambridge Universities journal site provided a link to a .pdf copy of the piece published by them from which this claim comes.

http://journals.cambridge.org/actio...bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=

I have not had a chance to read it yet, but wanted to provide the link none the less.


Regards

Scaff

Thanks, I'm not sure how I missed it, other than looking for it while at work.

I just read through the bits I understand (molecular science and spectral imagery is beyond me) and it seems to be a fairly sound theory. He has good evidence to support it based on biological traces found in cosmic dust, which I feel gives a fairly reasonable explanation to how the panspermia theory might work.

I do think he makes a couple of assumptions that could be dangerous without a current way to study it, such as organic compositions in cosmic dust must be from bacteria (Page 3). It prevents me from seeing his research as having the overwhelming evidence he claims, even if his assumption is likely. I also feel like there were a couple of spots where he appears to completely disregard geocentric theories, even referring to them as convoluted at one point (Page 7). It comes off a bit unprofessional in my view, possibly sounding like someone who has been desperate to prove his theory for 50 years.

He has presented a decent theory that should be seriously looked at. But there isn't enough here to throw out geocentric origin theories, in my mind.

 

[Dotini]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7015816.ece

I wish we had an astronomy thread. Here is a superb series of Hubble pictures of Pluto, revealing a red, white and black carbon-rich world with dynamic seasons based on variations in its 248 year orbit.

 

[Famine]

I wish we had an astronomy thread.

Assuming we don't, and we may not have, why not make one?

Rumble Strip with a Hobbies tag would suit best, I feel.

 

[PeterJB]

It's a shame that with all the UFO sightings over the years, only a handful of them look at all convincing. It seems silly that none in the past 500 years or so have yet given genuine proof of Alien existence, e.g. by capturing a close up and in detail photograph or film of either an Alien or their Spacecraft. If you take the Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter for example (here's a link fo those who want more information) it has got to be the most convincing and interesting UFO Sightings I've looked into, and yet it's a great shame that their is no photographic or video evidence to go with it, because I believe that it was indeed Aliens they saw, partly because creatures of a similar appearance were spotted in Wales in the 1970's.

However, it does seem suspect that more than half of all reported UFO Sightings were in East Coast USA during the 1950's, was it just general paranoia? Or was their an extra-terrestrial civilisation studying the Earth to expand their knowledge of our world, or to prepare for an invasion?

 

[Dotini]

It's a shame that with all the UFO sightings over the years, only a handful of them look at all convincing. It seems silly that none in the past 500 years or so have yet given genuine proof of Alien existence, e.g. by capturing a close up and in detail photograph or film of either an Alien or their Spacecraft. If you take the Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter for example (here's a link fo those who want more information) it has got to be the most convincing and interesting UFO Sightings I've looked into, and yet it's a great shame that their is no photographic or video evidence to go with it, because I believe that it was indeed Aliens they saw, partly because creatures of a similar appearance were spotted in Wales in the 1970's.

However, it does seem suspect that more than half of all reported UFO Sightings were in East Coast USA during the 1950's, was it just general paranoia? Or was their an extra-terrestrial civilisation studying the Earth to expand their knowledge of our world, or to prepare for an invasion?

Peter JB, thanks for your well presented example sighting and truly excellent questions.

Your first observation is the most important one. There is absolutely no hard proof that aliens or their craft exist. No alien or alien artifact is on file anywhere, as far as we know. Therefore, it's probably safe to conclude that aliens don't really exist (here and now) and that there's absolutely no need to worry about any kind of invasion.

That the bulk of sighting which occurred during the '50's were on the east coast is only reflective of the fact that's where the bulk of the population lived at the time. More people, more reports.

Nevertheless, so many reports are filed by credible people like pilots, astronauts and policemen, and so many tantalizing but blurry photographs and videos exist, it is important to acknowledge that a UFO phenomenon does indeed exist. It is just not explainable by real live aliens piloting nuts and bolts saucers form another planet.

There are many theories that have been offered to explain the mystery. They are all explored here:http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/2752/an_a_to_z_of_ufo_theories.html

I happen to be fond of the earth energy/ultraterrestrial hypothesis, but that's just a guess.

Respectfully yours,
Dotini

edit: It would seem my link is not good, so you're own your own for a while. Don't take any of it too seriously, as they're only partly real at best. They like to get into your head and play with it. Ignore them and they'll go away.

Edit: The following is from a recent Issue of the ForteanTimes, covering UFO explanations A-Z by Jenny Randles (note, she omits the demonic entity hypothesis):

If you watch a typical documentary about UFOs, you might be forgiven for thinking that there’s a stark and straightforward choice as to what might lie behind these sightings – some sort of misperception or the so-called ETH (extraterrestrial hypothesis) of spacecraft visiting Earth from an alien world. In fact, there have been many other theories of UFO origins over the past six decades...


AWAKENINGS
At a point close to sleep, visual and auditory hallucinations are common, according to psychological studies. False awakenings, where a dream that includes a UFO encounter is misperceived as a waking memory, are also known. Some cases involving alien contact and bright lights seen outside bedroom windows have been successfully proven to fit these vivid experiences to which everybody is prone.

BIRTH TRAUMA
This was proposed to explain the surgical nature and physical appearance of the entities described in many alien abduction cases as well as the clinical, white environment. It was suggested that the stress of something perceived as a close encounter exposed deep-seated memories of the birth process, which emerged as alien-like imagery. Studies comparing people born naturally and by cæsarean section failed to produce evidence of expected differences reflecting their experiences.

CHANNELLING
A surprising number of witnesses to close encounter cases also have experience of what might be called channelling other intelli*gences via mediumistic-like messages. These are often presumed to be from deceased persons. The theory proposes that visions and perceptions of alien contacts are misperceived images within the consciousness of ‘gifted’ mediums who ascribe contact with ‘the dead’ as coming from non-human intelligences.

DEATH STATES
Both OBEs (out-of-body experiences) and NDEs (near-death experiences where a witness has an OBE during a physical crisis such as a car crash) are reported by over 10 per cent of the population. They share key features with UFO close encounters, and this theory defines a continuum of ‘altered states’. Psychological, physiological and potentially metaphysical events may be interpreted according to the personal belief system and cultural experience of the witness.

EARTH ENERGIES
Experiments during which rocks containing crystal structures are put under pressure has demonstrated that electrical and chemical processes occur whereby light energy and other types of EM radiation can be triggered. It is thought that in the landscape such Earth energies can generate visible glows and moving light balls over areas where underground strata are under pressure, from reservoirs or fault lines for instance. UFO researchers have independently identified ‘window areas’ where sightings seem partic*ularly common and these appear to match locations with predicted geological attributes.

FUTURENAUTS
If a form of time travel is developed by science centuries from now, then visits from our descendants (as futurenauts), travelling back into their past, seem credible. If so, then they could create many sightings of similar-looking craft scattered through the ages. Their occup*ants might appear human-like, which would match well with much UFO evidence.

GHOSTLY TIME SLIPS
According to some paranormal researchers, ghosts could be video images recorded into the electromagnetic environment of our world via unrecognised physical processes. Evidence includes apparitions following old ground levels since built upon by modern pavements. Curiously, some UFO and alien sightings involve objects and occupants that float above the ground level today. Can ghostly recordings from our future be the cause, with the ground level being that of many centuries from now?

HOAXES
That some UFO cases are simply invented by witnesses is readily proven by documented research and confessions, but it is very difficult to argue more broadly for such an explanation. Indeed, studies show that less than one in 100 cases is hoaxed – although with alien contact reports and photographic cases that percentage rises sharply. The greater the kudos and attention, the more likely a case is to be a hoax.

IFOs
After investigation, analysts agree that between 90 and 95 per cent of all UFO sightings prove to be Identified Flying Objects. Over 300 different things have been misperceived as UFOs – including a bin bag, a shaggy dog and a telegraph pole. The Null Hypotheses proposes that all of the remaining unsolved cases would become IFOs given enough study and sufficient evidence. However, statistical analysis (like that conducted by the Battelle Institute and French aerospace researchers GEPAN) has indicated differences between solved and unsolved cases that challenge this proposal.

JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES
Psychologist Carl Jung wrote an early treatise on UFOs in 1959 and saw hints that the consistent types of sighting being made matched deep-seated mythological archetypes within the human mind. The theory suggests that the disc shape favoured by UFO reports or the tall, blonde aliens and small dwarf-like beings seen by witnesses everywhere match strong subconscious motifs that power our psycho*social needs. UFOs could be a space age guise for the same phenomenon that has fuelled cross-cultural belief in myths and legends for thousands of years.

KOOKS
After eliminating other options, a die-hard sceptic might offer the premise that ‘kooks’ see UFOs because of an innate desire to promote the mystical within their lives. They do so by introducing magic to mundane events so as to elevate their status amongst peers. No significant evidence has been published that more than a few witnesses are so motivated and most psychological profiles of UFO witnesses suggest they are stable individuals who sincerely believe that they have seen something odd.

LENTICULAR CLOUDS
Unusual cloud formations have been proven to create some UFO sightings. Lenticular clouds with their disc or cigar structure can be especially impressive, and though rare in Britain they can form anywhere – one encounter occurred in Rochdale. Rarer cloud types such as noctilucent (which reflect the sun from below the horizon when the local area is in darkness) have also provided plenty of reports.

MULTIVERSE
Physicists have attempted to explain some of the latest problems of cosmology by developing a theory of multiple interlocking universes. This proposes a series of universes that can be linked via subspace but where our limited perception restricts awareness of all but our own. Some universes could be closely aligned to ours and others would have evolved very differently. Rather than aliens coming to Earth from another planet, more advanced humans from a parallel universe might have found a way to cross the divide, with their trans*ient presence in our own universe causing UFOs.

NARCOLEPSY
Some close encounter witnesses have been shown to suffer from short-term ‘time loss’ episodes throughout their lives. Sometimes these are found to be due to temporal lobe epilepsy or narcolepsy (where the person sleeps briefly with no control of the process). New links have been made with vasovagal syndrome, in which sudden fainting fits can occur due to a rapid decrease in blood press*ure when stress triggers a vagus nerve malfunction. Such episodes are twice as common in women (a statistic that matches the higher percentage of female witnesses claiming time loss and alien abduction).

OPTICAL MIRAGES
Some researchers have proposed that many UFO encounters are the result of unusual mirages triggered by light phenomena such as bright stars or planets. Cases where UFOs appear semi-transparent or appear to fade in and out as the witness moves support the theory, and it has been debated in connection with celebrated sightings such as Rendlesham Forest. However, the dimness of the initial light source for some theorised mirages has been noted.

POLLUTION
A modern theory proposes that atmospheric pollution could be causing close encounters. Some sensitive individuals are known to respond to exposure to EM radiation, such as that emitted by microwave towers, and suffer both physiological and psychological react*ions. Others claim to detect low-frequency waves and hear sounds that most people can’t. The rise in UFO encounters as EM pollution has grown plus the relative preponderance of cases within developed countries support the argument.

QUASI-CONSCIOUS PHENOMENA
One mysterious feature of close encounter cases is their witness selectivity. It’s common for a person or a small group to experience a full-blown episode when further potential witnesses only yards away see nothing. A sphere of influence seems to surround the UFO that turns it from an imagined or trivial event into a shared reality for those inside it. They experience a quasi-conscious phenomenon, real to them, but less real to others only slightly further away. There are two schools of thought on this. One suggests that a shared psychological vision triggers the QC event, another seeks a physical energy that effects human perception to a significant degree only when close to it.

REALITY BORDERLINE CONFUSION
It is argued that humans create a boundary that assigns some things to the category ‘real’ owing to their shared acceptance and regards others as ‘imaginary’. Psychological studies of those raised in an environment where strange perceptions are considered routine show that they can grow up with a greater acceptance level of phen*omena such as angels, UFOs and aliens.

SLEEP PARALYSIS
A key type of abduction encounter is the ‘bedroom visitor’ scenario, where aliens are seen as the witness awakens and experiences paralysis and a pressure like something sitting on the bed. Such cases go back cent*uries, and where once demonic forces were blamed they now suggest the sleep paralysis theory. In deep sleep, body muscles are paralysed, preventing the sleeper from enacting dreams. Normally, we are unaware of this, but waking suddenly can leave a person aware of the paralysis (felt as a press*ure or restraint), which, it is theorised, could be incorporated into a dream or vision of an alien presence.

TIME STORMS
Evidence has been collected of instances where electrical energy, gravity anomalies and other physical effects seem to be associated with misty clouds or masses. These have some attributes of storm clouds, but appear able to distort the perception – or actual pass*age – of time nearby. It is common for these ‘time storms’ to be seen as UFOs and the missing time as an alien abduction, but they have been seen and interpreted differ*ently in the past. One theory is that time storms are rare, possibly naturally occurring events that disrupt the flow of local space/time leading to anomalous events – often perceived mystically.

ULTRATERRESTRIALS
Human beings are generally considered the superior intelligence and dominant life-form on Earth. Since UFOs appear to involve a differ*ent, seemingly greater, intelligence, it has been widely speculated that they come from another planet using advanced techno*logy. The Ultraterrestrial concept proposes instead that there is a more advanced intelli*gence co-existing on Earth but beyond our normal perception, just as an ant might only be vaguely aware of humans as an intimidating or overpowering presence, and whose true nature is beyond their comprehension.

VORTICES
A number of physicists have studied historical reports of fair weather whirlwinds and related atmospheric vortices, uncovering a pattern shared with some modern UFO reports. Lens-shaped masses and electrical and pressure forces are common to both sets of data and it is thought that some perplexing UFO cases might be extreme examples of vortices that can generate floating, glowing atmospheric plasmas through the powerful forces involved.

WAKING LUCID DREAMS
Psychologists are aware of a state known as the lucid dream, where a person becomes conscious that they are asleep and dreaming and their waking mind can take control of the dream environment, producing a remarkably vivid experience. It is suggested that a waking lucid dream operates in a not dissimilar manner, but with the subconscious mind intruding into the waking landscape and adding unreal elements, making the real world temporarily magical. As with a lucid dream, a heightened sense of vividness follows, but as the dreamer returns to conscious reality during a waking lucid dream it is far more likely to be interpreted as a real-life experience than a lucid dream, which starts and ends within a normal dream state.

X STATE
Many UFO sightings involve ordinary objects misperceived: a person sees what might be the Full Moon yet perceives a disc-shaped craft with aliens getting out. The ‘X State’ theory proposes that something intervenes to cause intelligent witnesses to grossly misperceive something that 99 per cent of the time they would correctly identify but which now acts as the source of an extreme event. Clues suggest that an ‘X State’ might trigger the misperception, as witnesses often speak of dissociation, loss of sense of time and a sensory isolation during which, for example, ambient sounds disappear.

Y CRAFT
‘Y projects’ are said to be secret experimental craft using advanced technology still some years from public knowledge. Examples include ion propulsion engines and inertia dampening fields, allowing for extreme acceleration and manœuvrability. Some UFO researchers claim these are reverse-engineered from captured UFO hardware that has been hidden away. Others think that government and industrial bodies maintain secrecy during tests by allowing – or even fostering – the belief that what was seen was alien, rather than Earthly, technology.

ZOO STOCK
Some researchers speculate that the antics of alien entities during close encounters (abducting, conducting tests, or observing humans as we might watch monkeys in the wild) suggest a Zoo hypothesis: Earth is being treated as a nature reserve and we are the wildlife under observation, visited by beings from elsewhere who treat us with indifference or disdain according to their temperament.

 

[Dotini]

Anthropologists declare discovery of astounding images of aliens, UFO's in ancient, remote cave in India. See it here:
http://www.allnewsweb.com/page1199999325.php

It's a little too good to be true, in my view. Similar but less unambiguous images have been found on the walls of caves of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Usually, they are attributed to neurophysiological sources by investigators familiar with psychopharmacology.

 

[PeterJB]

I would hope they've done tests to prove that it wasn't some kids that painted those on, because they are really interesting. I wonder how old they are too.

 

[Dotini]

I wonder how old they are too.

PeterJB, you know as much as I do at this point. The article says prehistoric and the article says archeologists are doing the investigating. Presumably in due course more information will come out. They do look quite modern, so it may be a hoax. On the other hand, they do resemble similar rock art from prehistoric African sites in particular. In my opinion, they will have been put there by shaman in the course of trance. Trance states are often arrived at with the use of hallucinogenic drugs in modern Western society, but, for instance the San Bushmen in prehistoric (and historic) Africa attained altered states by the use of exhaustive dancing.

 

[PeterJB]

Do you mean that in the trance they would have hallucinated seeing Aliens? Because it would be interesting that they could hallucinate the physical appearance that most people assume Aliens possess.

 

[Dotini]

Do you mean that in the trance they would have hallucinated seeing Aliens? Because it would be interesting that they could hallucinate the physical appearance that most people assume Aliens possess.

PeterJB, you have asked a most interesting question. The short answer is yes, shaman in the advanced stages of deep trance could have hallucinated aliens. But understand that the term "aliens" could easily be replaced by words such as "universal mythological archetype" or even "spiritual being" from not just another world but a higher dimension. If you've heard the term "astral traveling", well that's another form of trance where the (shaman) astral traveler's spirit visits the alien in the alien's own world.

It's not a light matter to enter the trance state. The shaman did not do this for entertainment, but on vital issues of importance or urgency to his tribe.

All humans are susceptible of entering the trance state. It can be done in a hundred different ways. The safest and best way is to quiet down sensory input into the 5 senses, and practice meditation. You won't get big results at first, but if you practice this it will change your life, and always for the better.

Respectfully yours,
Dotini

 

[CodeRedR51]

I voted "yes, but I don't know what they'd be like".

Only ever seen strange lights in the sky (which could be anything) and I do watch alien shows, etc. Considering the size of space, I do believe there is other intelligent life out there. However, the chance that they can actually travel long distances is very remote.

 

[DK]

I've seen strange lights in the sky too. At a rave party.