UNITED STATES

Dr. Clyde W. Tombaugh, American astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto. On August 20, 1949, he observed a UFO that appeared as a geometrically arranged group of six-to-eight rectangles of light, window-like in appearance and yellowish-green in color, which moved from northwest to southeast over Las Cruces, New Mexico. He stated:

"I doubt that the phenomenon was any terrestrial reflection, because... nothing of the kind has ever appeared before or since... I was so unprepared for such a strange sight that I was really petrified with astonishment." (The UFO Evidence, ibid.)  

Dr. Carl Sagan, Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University:

"It now seems quite clear that Earth is not the only inhabited planet. There is evidence that the bulk of the stars in the sky have planetary systems. Recent research concerning the origin of life on Earth suggests that the physical and chemical processes leading to the origin of life occur rapidly in the early history of the majority of planets. The selective value of intelligence and technical civilization is obvious, and it seems likely that a large number of planets within our Milky Way galaxy - perhaps as many as a million - are inhabited by technical civilizations in advance of our own. Interstellar space flight is far beyond our present technical capabilities, but there seems to be no fundamental physical objections to preclude, from our own vantage point, the possibility of its development by other civilizations." (Sagan, Carl, "Unidentified Flying Objects," The Encyclopedia Americana, 1963.)  

Dr. Frank B. Salisbury, Professor of Plant Physiology at Utah State University:

"I must admit that any favorable mention of the flying saucers by a scientist amounts to extreme heresy and places the one making the statement in danger of excommunication by the scientific theocracy. Nevertheless, in recent years I have investigated the story of the unidentified flying object (UFO), and I am no longer able to dismiss the idea lightly." (Paper on "Exobiology" presented at the First Annual Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Symposium, held at the United States Air Force Academy, in May 1964. Quoted in Fuller, John G., Incident at Exeter, Putnam, 1966.)  

Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Chairman of the Department of Astronomy at Northwestern University and scientific consultant for Air Force investigations of UFOs from 1948 until 1969 (Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book). Over his long career, he made numerous comments about the scientific implications of the UFO phenomenon:

"Despite the seeming inanity of the subject, I felt that I would be derelict in my scientific responsibility to the Air Force if I did not point out that the whole UFO phenomenon might have aspects to it worthy of scientific attention." (Hearings on Unidentified Flying Objects, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Eighty-ninth Congress, Second Session, 1966.)

"I have begun to feel that there is a tendency in 20th Century science to forget that there will be a 21st Century science, and indeed a 30th Century science, from which vantage points our knowledge of the universe may appear quite different than it does to us. We suffer, perhaps, from temporal provincialism, a form of arrogance that has always irritated posterity." (Hynek, J. Allen, letter to Science magazine, August 1, 1966.)

"When one gets reports from scientists, engineers and technicians whose credibility by all common standards is high and whose moral caliber seems to preclude a hoax, one can do no less than hear them out, in all seriousness." (Hynek, J. Allen, "The UFO Gap," Playboy, Vol. 14, No. 12, December 1967.)

"There exists a phenomenon... that is worthy of systematic rigorous study... The body of data point to an aspect or domain of the natural world not yet explored by science... When the long awaited solution to the UFO problem comes, I believe that it will prove to be not merely the next small step in the march of science but a mighty and totally unexpected quantum jump." (Hynek, J. Allen, The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry, Chicago: Regnery Co., 1972.)  

Dr. Leo Sprinkle, Professor of psychology at the University of Wyoming had his first UFO sighting in 1951 when he and a friend saw "something in the sky, round and metallic looking." In 1956, he had a second sighting while driving with his wife near Boulder, Colorado:

"We watched it for quite a few minutes. We could see it was larger than the headlights of the cars below. And we could see it was not attached to anything. And there was no sound. I became frightened actually, because it wasn't anything I could understand... from a personal viewpoint, I am pretty well convinced that we are being surveyed." ("Flying Saucers," Special Issue of Look magazine, 1967.)  

Dr. James E. McDonald, Senior Physicist at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona, testified at the UFO hearings convened by the House Committee on on Science and Astronautics in 1968:

"The type of UFO reports that are most intriguing are close-range sightings of machine-like objects of unconventional nature and unconventional performance characteristics, seen at low altitudes, and sometimes even on the ground. The general public is entirely unaware of the large number of such reports that are coming from credible witnesses... When one starts searching for such cases, their number are quite astonishing. Also, such sightings appear to be occurring all over the globe." ("Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects," Hearings before the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U.S. House of Representatives, July 29, 1968.)  

Dr. Robert M. L. Baker, Jr., President of West Coast University; author of two astrodynamics textbooks; head of Lockheed's Astrodynamics Research Center (1961-64); member of the faculty of Astronomy and Engineering at UCLA (1959-71).

He has specialized in the study of motion pictures of UFOs and anomalistic radar images, and has concluded that two of the most famous UFO motion pictures, taken in the 1950s, cannot be explained in terms of conventional phenomena.

In 1968, he made the following statement concerning the one U.S. radar system in operation at that time that, to his knowledge, exhibited sufficient continuous coverage to reveal UFOs operating above the earth's atmosphere:

"The system is partially classified and, hence, I cannot go into great detail... Since this particular sensor system has been in operation, there have been a number of anomalistic alarms. Alarms that, as of this date, have not been explained on the basis of natural phenomena interference, equipment malfunction or inadequacy, or man-made space objects." (1968 Congressional Hearings, ibid.)  

Stanton T. Friedman, nuclear physicist and well known UFO researcher, responsible for the original investigation of the Roswell, New Mexico incident. In a prepared statement submitted to the House Science and Astronautics Committee UFO Hearings in 1968, he posed and answered a series of key questions about the UFO phenomenon:

"1. To what conclusions have you come with regard to UFOs? I have concluded that the earth is being visited by intelligently controlled vehicles whose origin is extraterrestrial. This doesn't mean I know where they come from, why they are here, or how they operate.

"2. What basis do you have for these conclusions? Eyewitness and photographic and radar reports from all over the earth by competent witnesses of definite objects whose characteristics such as maneuverability, high speed, and hovering, along with definite shape, texture, and surface features, rule out terrestrial explanations.

"6. Were there any differences between the unknowns and the knowns? A 'chi square' statistical analysis was performed comparing the unknowns in this study to all the knowns. It was shown that the probability that the unknowns came from the same population of sighting reports as the knowns, was less than 1%. This was based on apparent color, velocity, etc... Maneuverability, one of the most distinguished characteristics of UFOs, was not included in this statistical analysis." (1968 Congressional Hearings, ibid.)  

Dr. Margaret Mead, world-renowned anthropologist, stated:

"There are unidentified flying objects. That is, there are a hard core of cases - perhaps 20 to 30 percent in different studies - for which there is no explanation... We can only imagine what purpose lies behind the activities of these quiet, harmlessly cruising objects that time and again approach the earth. The most likely explanation, it seems to me, is that they are simply watching what we are up to." (Mead, Margaret, "UFOs - Visitors from Outer Space?," Redbook, vol. 143, September 1974.)  

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics UFO Subcommittee. The AIAA established a subcommittee in 1967 to look into the UFO question. The UFO Subcommittee issued several reports and statements, including in-depth studies of two UFO incidents. The UFO Subcommittee stated that its "most important conclusion" was that government agencies consider funding UFO research:

"From a scientific and engineering standpoint, it is unacceptable to simply ignore substantial numbers of unexplained observations... the only promising approach is a continuing moderate-level effort with emphasis on improved data collection by objective means... involving available remote sensing capabilities and certain software changes." (Story, Ronald D., The Encyclopedia of UFOs, New York: Doubleday, 1980.)  

The Subcommittee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics criticized the conclusion of The Condon Report as the personal views of Dr. Condon, and added:

"The opposite conclusion could have been drawn from The Condon Report's content, namely, that a phenomenon with such a high ratio of unexplained cases (about 30 percent) should arouse sufficient scientific curiosity to continue its study." (Story, Ronald D., ibid.)  

Dr. Richard Haines, Psychologist specializing in pilot and astronaut "human factors" research for the Ames NASA Research Center in California, from where he retired in 1988 as Chief of the Space Human Factors Office. He has stated:

A principal focus of his UFO research concerns aircraft cases:

"Reports of anomalous aerial objects (AAO) appearing in the atmosphere continue to be made by pilots of almost every airline and air force of the world in addition to private and experimental test pilots. This paper presents a review of 56 reports of AAO in which electromagnetic effects (E-M) take place on-board the aircraft when the phenomenon is located nearby but not before it appeared or after it had departed.

"Reported E-M effects included radio interference or total failure, radar contact with and without simultaneous visual contact, magnetic and/or gyro-compass deviations, automatic direction finder failure or interference, engine stopping or interruption, dimming cabin lights, transponder failure, and military aircraft weapon system failure." (Haines, Dr. Richard, "Fifty-Six Aircraft Pilot Sightings Involving Electromagnetic Effects," MUFON 1992 International UFO Symposium Proceedings.)  

Dr. Peter A. Sturrock, Professor of Space Science and Astrophysics and Deputy Director of the Center for Space Sciences and Astrophysics at Stanford University; Director of the Skylab Workshop on Solar Flares in 1977. He has stated:

"The definitive resolution of the UFO enigma will not come about unless and until the problem is subjected to open and extensive scientific study by the normal procedures of established science. This requires a change in attitude primarily on the part of scientists and administrators in universities." (Sturrock, Peter A., Report on a Survey of the American Astronomical Society concerning the UFO Phenomenon, Stanford University Report SUIPR 68IR, 1977.)

"Although... the scientific community has tended to minimize the significance of the UFO phenomenon, certain individual scientists have argued that the phenomenon is both real and significant. Such views have been presented in the Hearings of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics [and elsewhere]. It is also notable that one major national scientific society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, set up a subcommittee in 1967 to 'gain a fresh and objective perspective on the UFO phenomenon.'

In their public statements (but not necessarily in their private statements), scientists express a generally negative attitude towards the UFO problem, and it is interesting to try to understand this attitude. Most scientists have never had the occasion to confront evidence concerning the UFO phenomenon. To a scientist, the main source of hard information (other than his own experiments' observations) is provided by the scientific journals. With rare exceptions, scientific journals do not publish reports of UFO observations. The decision not to publish is made by the editor acting on the advice of reviewers. This process is self-reinforcing: the apparent lack of data confirms the view that there is nothing to the UFO phenomenon, and this view works against the presentation of relevant data." (Sturrock, Peter A., "An Analysis of the Condon Report on the Colorado UFO Project," Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1987.)  

Dr. Jacques Vallee, astrophysicist, computer scientist and world renowned researcher and author on UFOs and paranormal phenomena. He worked closely with Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Commenting on the need for science "to search beyond the superficial appearances of reality":

In his last book, he reveals from his diaries how the government has deliberately misled the scientific world, the media and the public regarding their information on UFOs and paranormal research:

"It is unusual for scientists to keep diaries and even more unusual for them to make them public... I have followed this rule of silence for the last thirty years, but I have finally decided that I had no right to keep them private anymore... They provide a primary source about a crucial fact in the recent historical record: the appearance of new classes of phenomena that highlighted the reality of the paranormal. These phenomena were deliberately denied or distorted by those in authority within the government and the military. Science never had fair and complete access to the most important files.

"The thirteen years covered here, from 1957 to 1969, saw some of the most exciting events in technological history... Behind the grand parade of the visible breakthroughs in science, however, more private mysteries were also taking place:... all over the world people had begun to observe what they described as controlled devices in the sky. They were shaped like saucers or spheres. They seemed to violate every known principle in our physics.

"Governments took notice, organizing task forces, encouraging secret briefings and study groups, funding classified research and all the time denying before the public that any of the phenomena might be real... The major revelation of these Diaries may be the demonstration of how the scientific community was misled by the government, how the best data were kept hidden, and how the public record was shamelessly manipulated." (Vallee, J., Forbidden Science, Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1992.)  

Dr. John E. Mack, Professor of psychiatry at The Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and founding director of the Center for Psychology and Social Change. A 1977 Pulitzer Prize winner for his biography of Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Mack has studied the subject of UFO abductions in recent years:

"I will stress once again that we do not know the source from which the UFOs or the alien beings come (whether or not, for example, they originate in the physical universe as modern astrophysics has described it). But they manifest in the physical world and bring about definable consequences in that domain." (Mack, J., Abduction - Human Encounters With Aliens, New York: Scribners, 1994.)  

BELGIUM

Dr. Auguste Meessen, Professor of physics at the Catholic University in Louvain and one of the scientific consultants for the Belgian Society for the Study of Space Phenomena (SOBEPS). In an interview with French journalist, Marie-Therese de Brosses, Professor Meessen discussed the recent UFO wave in Belgium:

"There are too many independent eyewitness reports to ignore. Too many of the reports describe coherent physical effects, and there is an agreement among the accounts concerning what was observed... But of course there are also physical effects. The Air Force report [of the F-16 jet scramble incident on the night of March 30-31, 1990] allows us to approach the problem in a rational and scientific way. The simplest hypothesis is that the reports are caused by extraterrestrial visitors, but that hypothesis carries with it other problems. We are not in a rush to form a conclusion, but continue to study the mystery." (Brosses, M.-T. de, "F-16 Radar Tracks UFO," Paris Match, July 5, 1990. English version in the MUFON UFO Journal, No. 268, August 1990.)  

CHINA

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. One of the branches of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is the China UFO Research Organization (CURO). As of 1985, CURO had 20,000 members, and two publications, the Journal of UFO Research and Space Exploration. The Journal's first issue in 1981 included an article by Comrade Bang Wen-Gwang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Beijing Astronomical Research Society. The article stated in part:

"In this field [Ufology], prejudice will take you farther from the truth than ignorance... But with a topic such as UFOs, where does the scientific method begin? And where does it end? This grand endeavor would consist of the serious recording of the enormous available data and the use of all scientific procedures for the purpose of analysis... China is so vast, and UFOs are certainly being witnessed again and again all throughout China, and China most definitely will evolve her own indigenous school of UFO researchers. This is our sincerest and deepest hope." (Wen-Gwang, B., "The Aspirations & Hopes of the Chinese UFO Investigator," The Journal of UFO Research, No. 1, People's Republic of China, 1981.)  

UFO Scientific Conference in Darlian. In 1985, the government newspaper, China Daily, reported that a UFO Scientific Conference was held in Darlian, with some forty papers presented on various aspects of UFO research. Professor Liang Renglin of Guangzhou Jinan University, Chairman of CURO, stated in the Darlian Conference that more than 600 UFO reports had been made in China during the past five years. The article concluded:

"UFOs are an unresolved mystery with profound influence in the world." ("UFO Conference Held in Darlian," China Daily, August 27, 1985; quoted in Good, T., ibid.)  

FRANCE

Dr. Pierre Guérin, senior researcher at the French National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), has written extensively about the need for scientific research in the UFO field. He concluded a summary of the UFO evidence published in Sciences & Avenir in 1972 with the following words:

"At the very least, it is already possible to show scientifically the evidence for physico-chemical modifications affecting sometimes the ground of alleged landing sites, as well as the effects produced on the vegetation. Such research has already begun and doesn't necessarily require large sums.

"The UFO problem in its totality, nevertheless, cannot be really understood unless our science someday is able to propose physical models that take into account the observed phenomena. We are not able to know if this will ever occur, and in any event, we are still very far from that stage." (Guérin, P., "Le Dossier des Objets Volants Non Identifiés," Sciences & Avenir, No. 307, Paris, September 1972.)  

Dr. Claude Poher, expert on aeronautics, astronomy and astronautics, engineer at the French Space Agency (CNES) for thirty years, specializing in rocket propulsion and nuclear space energy; former Chairman of many working groups in the International Astronautical Federation; founder of GEPAN in May 1977 and its first Director until 1979.

Before creating GEPAN, he had studied the UFO phenomenon for many years and had access to French military and police UFO files, including classified reports. In a report on UFOs for French officials, he wrote:

He further comments on the science and technology implied by the eyewitness descriptions of the phenomenon:

"Given the volume of the objects described in the observations... I can affirm that our futuristic space generators are far from being able to produce the amount of energy seen by the UFO witnesses. The light power seen is probably the tip of the iceberg, because no thermodynamic system can produce energy without dissipating a part of it. The megawatts of observed light are most likely the energy 'leak' from the energy conversion system used by the flying object, which means that the useful energy produced is much greater than what is seen.

"The knowledge of such an energy production method is crucial for the future of mankind. The UFO observation reports tells us that ambitious, entirely new, solutions are possible [underlined in the original]. This is very important." (Letter to Marie Galbraith, November 26, 1995.)  

GERMANY

Professor Hermann Oberth, German rocket expert considered (with Robert Goddard and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky) one of the three fathers of the space age. In 1955, Dr. Werner von Braun invited him to the U.S. where he worked on rockets with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and later NASA. Oberth's active interest in UFOs began in 1954:

"It is my thesis that flying saucers are real and that they are space ships from another solar system. I think that they possibly are manned by intelligent observers who are members of a race that may have been investigating our earth for centuries. I think that they possibly have been sent out to conduct systematic, long-range investigations, first of men, animals, vegetation, and more recently of atomic centers, armaments and centers of armament production." (Oberth H., "Flying Saucers Come From A Distant World," The American Weekly, October 24, 1954.)

As a rocket scientist and space pioneer, Prof. Oberth paid close attention to the propulsion aspect of UFO research:

"They are flying by means of artificial fields of gravity... They produce high-tension electric charges in order to push the air out of their paths, so it does not start glowing, and strong magnetic fields to influence the ionized air at higher altitudes. First, this would explain their luminosity... Secondly, it would explain the noiselessness of UFO flight... Finally, this assumption also explains the strong electrical and magnetic effects sometimes, though not always, observed in the vicinity of UFOs." ("Dr. Hermann Oberth discusses UFOs," Fate, May 1962.)

"It is my conclusion that UFOs do exist, are very real, and are spaceships from another or more than one solar system. They are possibly manned by intelligent observers who are members of a race carrying out long-range scientific investigations of our earth for centuries." (UFO News, 1974.)  

GREECE

Dr. Paul Santorini, Greek physicist and engineer credited with developing the proximity fuse for the Hiroshima atomic bomb, two patents for the guidance system used in the U.S. Nike missiles, and a centimetric radar system.

He has stated that he believes UFOs are under intelligent control. In 1947, he investigated a series of UFO reports over Greece that were initially thought to be Soviet missiles. He stated:

"We soon established that they were not missiles. But, before we could do any more, the Army, after conferring with foreign officials, ordered the investigation stopped. Foreign scientists flew to Greece for secret talks with me... A world blanket of secrecy surrounded the UFO question because the authorities were unwilling to admit the existence of a force against which we had no possibility of defense." (Fowler, R., UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, New York: Bantam Books, 1974.)  

SWITZERLAND

Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, Pioneer of psychiatry, stated in 1954:

"A purely psychological explanation is ruled out... the discs show signs of intelligent guidance, by quasi-human pilots... the authorities in possession of important information should not hesitate to enlighten the public as soon and as completely as possible." ("Dr. Carl Jung on Unidentified Flying Objects," Flying Saucer Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1955.)

"Unfortunately, however, there are good reasons why the UFOs cannot be disposed of in this simple manner. It remains an established fact, supported by numerous observations, that UFOs have not only been seen visually but have also been picked up on the radar screen and have left traces on the photographic plate. It boils down to nothing less than this: that either psychic projections throw back a radar echo, or else the appearance of real objects affords an opportunity for mythological projections." ("A Fresh Look at Flying Saucers," Time, August 4, 1967.)  

USSR/RUSSIA

Dr. Felix Y. Zigel, Professor of mathematics and astronomy at the Moscow Aviation Institute, known as the father of Russian Ufology. In a November 10, 1967 broadcast on Moscow Central Television, with Soviet Air Force General Porfiri Stolyarov, Zigel stated:

"Unidentified flying objects are a very serious subject which we must study fully. We appeal to all viewers to send us details of strange flying craft seen over the territories of the Soviet Union. This is a serious challenge to science and we need the help of all Soviet citizens." (Good, T., ibid.)

"Observations show that UFOs behave 'sensibly.' In a group formation flight, they maintain a pattern. They are most often spotted over airfields, atomic stations and other very new engineering installations. On encountering aircraft, they always maneuver so as to avoid direct contact. A considerable list of these seemingly intelligent actions gives the impression that UFOs are investigating, perhaps even reconnoitering... The important thing now is for us to discard any preconceived notions about UFOs and to organize on a global scale a calm, sensation-free and strictly scientific study of this strange phenomenon. The subject and aims of the investigation are so serious that they justify all efforts. It goes without saying that international cooperation is vital." (Zigel, F., "Unidentified Flying Objects," Soviet Life, No. 2 (137), February 1968.)

In an interview with Henri Gris in 1981, he stated:

"We have seen these UFOs over the USSR; craft of every possible shape: small, big, flattened, spherical. They are able to remain stationary in the atmosphere or to shoot along at 100,000 kilometers per hour... They are also able to affect our power resources, halting our electricity generating plants, our radio stations, and our engines, without however leaving any permanent damage. So refined a technology can only be the fruit of an intelligence that is indeed far superior to man." (Gente, July 31, 1981 and August 7, 1981.)  

Institute of Space Research of the Soviet Academy of Sciences published in 1979, a 74-page statistical analysis of over 250 UFO cases reported in the Soviet Union. After stating that hallucinations, errors, and conventional explanations (aircraft, satellites, etc.) could not account for many of the reports, the study concluded:

"Obviously, the question of the nature of the anomalous phenomena still should be considered open. To obtain more definite conclusions, more reliable data must be available. Reports on observations of anomalous phenomena have to be well documented. The production of such reports must be organized through the existing network of meteorological, geophysical, and astronomical observation stations, as well as through other official channels... In our opinion, the Soviet and foreign data accumulated so far justifies setting such studies." (Gindilis, L.M., Men'kov, D.A. & Petrovskaya, I.G., "Observations of Anomalous Atmospheric Phenomena in the USSR: Statistical Analysis," USSR Academy of Sciences Institute of Space Research, Report PR 473, Moscow, 1979. The English translation of the full report in "NASA Technical Memorandum No. 75665," was reprinted by the Center for UFO Studies in June 1980.)  

USSR Scientific Commissions. The Soviet press was informed in the mid-80s that the All-Union Council of Scientific and Technical Societies (now the Council of Scientific and Engineering Societies) had set up a non-governmental Commission on Paranormal Events, headed by V.S. Troitsky, a Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. A glimpse at the activities of the Commission was published in 1989 by members A. Petukhov and T. Faminskaya:

"Of special value are the archives set up by the Commission. They contain over 13 thousand reports connected with PEs [Paranormal Events] and with UFOs in particular... UFOs have been seen to hover over ground objects, to chase or fly side by side with airplanes and cars, to follow geometrically regular trajectories, and to send out ordered flashes of light. In other words, such 'paranormals' behave, from the viewpoint of human beings, quite often showing capabilities yet beyond the reach of the machines built on the Earth." (Faminskaya, T. & Petukhov, A., "At 4.10 Hours and After," Almanac Phenomenon 1989, Moscow Mir, 1989.)  

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