And Then There Were Flying Saucers.

László

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There was an opinion piece in the New York Times today containing a link to the article below. The Times article was skeptical, but the author wondered why this kind of information is being permitted to get through channels all of a sudden.

It could be an elaborate hoax, though it seems plausible. In any case, I'm withholding judgment for obvious reasons. We haven't seen evidence beyond this official's report. So I'm a bit skeptical myself.

On the other hand, I found it a fascinating read. So I'm sharing!


One other tidbit I'll add:

A couple of years ago I read a book by Avi Loeb, who is the founding director of Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative, director of the Institute for Theory and Computation within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, chair of the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative, chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies, etc., etc.

He's for real.

His book is called 'Extraterrestrial'. In it Loeb demonstrates (using the math and science) why he is convinced from the scientific evidence that the cigar shaped object that was discovered in 2017 as the first object known to enter the Solar System from outside (from a direction 25 light years away), is in fact of extraterrestrial origin. Probably most of us read about this object that was named Oumuamua by the scientific community, at the time.

Obviously, this is controversial, and I can only take the discussion so far. In fact, I can only take it as far as 'it's an interesting book'. But it is a decent, if not entertaining read, and it's short and breezy. I make no claim that the object was or wasn't extraterrestrial in origin.

I'll admit I love an intriguing discussion. Have at it, if so inclined.

EDIT: I'm not trying to prove anything at all. I just think it's a fun topic, and kind of interesting.
 
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I'll bite! Hot take:

Avi Loeb is famous in the scientific community for spitting out 1000 theories per year in the hopes that one of them sticks. It's basically spam science. He's a notable attention seeker. It's gotten him where he is, but it's not great, more political than anything else.

My opinion is just because they have written 2000 words based on a single uncorroborated source's correspondence, doesn't mean it's true, far from it.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
 
I'll bite! Hot take:

Avi Loeb is famous in the scientific community for spitting out 1000 theories per year in the hopes that one of them sticks. It's basically spam science. He's a notable attention seeker. It's gotten him where he is, but it's not great, more political than anything else.

My opinion is just because they have written 2000 words based on a single uncorroborated source's correspondence, doesn't mean it's true, far from it.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Nonetheless, the book makes an interesting scientific case. Loeb has, after all, achieved quite a lot, so my guess is that he isn't all hype.

But that doesn't mean he's right about this. His math does work, though. I wouldn't simply dismiss it. Doesn't mean he's right. Just is interesting.

I did say I was skeptical of the other stuff I posted. But it's just an interesting topic. I just posted this thread for fun. I'm not trying to prove anything.
 
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This is all I've got for you on this topic:


"They said it was a weather balloon."
This is awesome!

True story:

When I first opened my law office as a very young guy a long, long time ago,, a woman came in who said helicopters were hovering outside her bedroom window, and she wanted me to sue someone.

I told her that I didn't specialize in helicopter litigation. I sent her to the largest, most prestigious law firm in town. with the instruction not to let anyone talk her into leaving until she was able to talk to the senior partner.

I was a very bad boy. ;)
 
What I don't get is the idea the government has something to hide if it komes to ET. We in Europe have nothing like that in our "system". I alway chuckle a little about that.

By the way: my favorite SF film: cowboys and aliens. Not because it is a great movie, but because of the concept. Why do we think ET will visit us in the future? Or now? Why would their visiting hours fit into our technological or theoretical time frame?
 
One night in June of 2013 I saw a UFO and no, I'm not saying nor have I ever said I saw something from another planet. Don't know what it was but it was something that I couldn't identify.

Couldn't see the craft itself but it had 3 white lights in a triangular fashion and one red light in the center. None of the lights blinked as they were all solid. No "flickering" either.

It was slowly heading north then did a slow bank towards the west. Watched until I couldn't see it. Whole episode: 3 minutes.

No sound came from this thing at all. Totally silent.

Wished I had my iPhone back then. Would have no problem getting a good video of it. Judging from how close it was to me I dare say it would have been one of the better video's I've seen. At least it would have proved that I saw something unusual.
 
What I don't get is the idea the government has something to hide if it komes to ET. We in Europe have nothing like that in our "system".
If the article is in fact true - and I am NOT saying it is - the US isn't the only Western country doing this.

Regardless of whether the article is truth or fantasy, what's interesting is that this guy's claim, based on a whistleblower statute, is allowed to proceed publicly despite possible national security implications. That's noteworthy.

One night in June of 2013 I saw a UFO and no, I'm not saying nor have I ever said I saw something from another planet. Don't know what it was but it was something that I couldn't identify.

Couldn't see the craft itself but it had 3 white lights in a triangular fashion and one red light in the center. None of the lights blinked as they were all solid. No "flickering" either.

It was slowly heading north then did a slow bank towards the west. Watched until I couldn't see it. Whole episode: 3 minutes.

No sound came from this thing at all. Totally silent.

Wished I had my iPhone back then. Would have no problem getting a good video of it. Judging from how close it was to me I dare say it would have been one of the better video's I've seen. At least it would have proved that I saw something unusual.
That would have both fascinated and scared the living sh!t out of me at the same time! :eek:
 
If the article is in fact true - and I am NOT saying it is - the US isn't the only Western country doing this.

Regardless of whether the article is truth or fantasy, what's interesting is that this guy's claim, based on a whistleblower statute, is allowed to proceed publicly despite possible national security implications. That's noteworthy.


That would have both fascinated and scared the living sh!t out of me at the same time! :eek:
Believe me, when I first caught sight it was....."what.....is....that?!?!?"
 
Every now and then an "official" will make some claims. The UFO-nutters will go wild, talking about how they're starting to get the public ready for "disclosure." I don't know diddly about any of that. I do find it hard to believe that secrets can be effectively kept for decades.

I've seen some things I can't explain. Some friends and I go camping each summer, up along Lake Superior. We spend a couple of evenings each trip stargazing and watching satellites go past. About a dozen or more years ago, we all saw something inexplicable. What appear to be a normal satellite did a 90-degree change of direction. No curvature to its path--just suddenly going 90-degrees to the former direction of travel. We were all a bit excited about having seen that. Shouldn't be possible, right? Then the thing did it again, resuming the original course.
 
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