![]() The SETI activity has not been immune from scientists’ criticism. First articulated by the physicist Enrico Fermi, it’s a paradox because advanced civilizations should be spread throughout the galaxy, yet we see no sign of their existence. As a result, researchers have recast the question “Are we alone?” to “Where are the aliens?” The absence of evidence for intelligent aliens is called the Fermi paradox. ![]() This confidence has fueled an active search for extraterrestrial intelligence, known as SETI. ![]() Indeed, most astronomers think it very unlikely that humans are the only or the first advanced civilization. Called exoplanets, some are close to the Earth’s mass and at just the right distance from their stars to potentially have water on their surfaces – meaning they might be habitable.Īstronomers estimate that there are 300 million habitable worlds in the Milky Way galaxy alone, and each one is a potential opportunity for life to develop and for intelligence and technology to emerge. The search is motivated by the fact that astronomers have, to date, discovered over 4,400 planets orbiting other stars. While the scientific community has almost entirely avoided engaging with UFOs, a much more mainstream search for intelligent aliens and their technology has been going on for decades. I’ve served on review panels for 35 years, and can imagine the reaction if such a proposal came up for peer review: raised eyebrows and a quick vote not to fund. And while UFO research has employed some of the tools of the scientific method, it has not had the core of skeptical, evidence-based reasoning that demarcates science from pseudoscience.Ī search of 90,000 recent and current grants awarded by the National Science Foundation finds none addressing UFOs or related phenomena. If astronomers are intrigued by UFOs – and believe some cases deserve study with academic rigor – what’s holding them back? A history of mistrust between ufologists and scientists hasn’t helped. #NEW ALIEN NEWS 2016 PROFESSIONAL#Sturrock also surveyed professional astronomers and found that nearly half thought UFOs were worthy of scientific study, with higher interest among younger and more well-informed astronomers. However, a review in 1998 by a panel led by Peter Sturrock, a professor of applied physics at Stanford University, concluded that some sightings are accompanied by physical evidence that deserves scientific study. ![]() The Condon Report put a damper on further research when it found that “nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that has added to scientific knowledge.” Condon at the University of Colorado published the first major academic study of UFO sightings. Scientists worry about their professional reputations, and the association of UFOs with these supernatural stories causes most researchers to avoid the topic.īut some scientists have looked. They are part of a landscape of conspiracy theories that includes accounts of abduction by aliens and crop circles. Over half of sightings can be attributed to meteors, fireballs and the planet Venus.Īnother reason for the scientific hesitance is that UFOs have been co-opted by popular culture. One reason is that most scientists think there is less to most reports than meets the eye, and the few who have dug deeply have mostly debunked the phenomenon. Instead, UFOs have been taboo for academic scientists to investigate, and so unexplained reports have not received the scrutiny they deserve. You’d think scientists would enjoy the challenge of solving this puzzle. Historically, UFOs have felt off limits to mainstream science, but perhaps no more. government to collect better data on UFOs, and I think the release of the report increases the chances that scientists will try to interpret that data. But the report is important because it opens the door for a serious look at UFOs. ![]() I do not believe that the new Pentagon report or any other sightings of UFOs in the past are proof of aliens visiting Earth. #NEW ALIEN NEWS 2016 FREE#I also teach a free online class on astrobiology. I’m a professor of astronomy who has written extensively on the search for life in the universe. The report presents no convincing evidence that alien spacecraft have been spotted, but some of the data defy easy interpretation. The military has rebranded unidentified flying objects as unidentified aerial phenomena –UAPs – in part to avoid the stigma that has been attached to claims of aliens visiting the Earth since the Roswell incident in 1947. On June 25, 2021, the Pentagon released a much-anticipated report on UFOs to Congress. ![]()
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