Barry Markovsky, University of South Carolina

Most of us still call them UFOs – unidentified flying objects. NASA recently adopted the term “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” or UAP. Either way, every few years popular claims resurface that these things are not of our world, or that the U.S. government has some stored away.

I’m a sociologist who focuses on the interplay between individuals and groups, especially concerning shared beliefs and misconceptions. As for why UFOs and their alleged occupants enthrall the public, I’ve found that normal human perceptual and social processes explain UFO buzz as much as anything up in the sky.

Historical context

Like political scandals and high-waisted jeans, UFOs trend in and out of collective awareness but never fully disappear. Thirty years of polling find that 25%-50% of surveyed Americans believe at least some UFOs are alien spacecraft. Today in the U.S., over 100 million adults think our galactic neighbors pay us visits.

It wasn’t always so. Linking objects in the sky with visiting extraterrestrials has risen in popularity only in the past 75 years. Some of this is probably market-driven. Early UFO stories boosted newspaper and magazine sales, and today they are reliable clickbait online.

In 1980, a popular book called “The Roswell Incident” by Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore described an alleged flying saucer crash and government cover-up 33 years prior near Roswell, New Mexico. The only evidence ever to emerge from this story was a small string of downed weather balloons. Nevertheless, the book coincided with a resurgence of interest in UFOs. From there, a steady stream of UFO-themed TV shows, films, and pseudo-documentaries has fueled public interest. Perhaps inevitably, conspiracy theories about government cover-ups have risen in parallel.

Some UFO cases inevitably remain unresolved. But despite the growing interest, multiple investigations have found no evidence that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin – other than the occasional meteor or misidentification of Venus.

But the U.S. Navy’s 2017 Gimbal video continues to appear in the media. It shows strange objects filmed by fighter jets, often interpreted as evidence of alien spacecraft. And in June 2023, an otherwise credible Air Force veteran and former intelligence officer made the stunning claim that the U.S. government is storing numerous downed alien spacecraft and their dead occupants. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2TumprpOwHY?wmode=transparent&start=0 UFO videos released by the U.S. Navy, often taken as evidence of alien spaceships.

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Human factors contributing to UFO beliefs

Only a small percentage of UFO believers are eyewitnesses. The rest base their opinions on eerie images and videos strewn across both social media and traditional mass media. There are astronomical and biological reasons to be skeptical of UFO claims. But less often discussed are the psychological and social factors that bring them to the popular forefront.

Many people would love to know whether or not we’re alone in the universe. But so far, the evidence on UFO origins is ambiguous at best. Being averse to ambiguity, people want answers. However, being highly motivated to find those answers can bias judgments. People are more likely to accept weak evidence or fall prey to optical illusions if they support preexisting beliefs.

For example, in the 2017 Navy video, the UFO appears as a cylindrical aircraft moving rapidly over the background, rotating and darting in a manner unlike any terrestrial machine. Science writer Mick West’s analysis challenged this interpretation using data displayed on the tracking screen and some basic geometry. He explained how the movements attributed to the blurry UFO are an illusion. They stem from the plane’s trajectory relative to the object, the quick adjustments of the belly-mounted camera, and misperceptions based on our tendency to assume cameras and backgrounds are stationary.

West found the UFO’s flight characteristics were more like a bird’s or a weather balloon’s than an acrobatic interstellar spacecraft. But the illusion is compelling, especially with the Navy’s still deeming the object unidentified.

West also addressed the former intelligence officer’s claim that the U.S. government possesses crashed UFOs and dead aliens. He emphasized caution, given the whistleblower’s only evidence was that people he trusted told him they’d seen the alien artifacts. West noted we’ve heard this sort of thing before, along with promises that the proof will soon be revealed. But it never comes.

Anyone, including pilots and intelligence officers, can be socially influenced to see things that aren’t there. Research shows that hearing from others who claim to have seen something extraordinary is enough to induce similar judgments. The effect is heightened when the influencers are numerous or higher in status. Even recognized experts aren’t immune from misjudging unfamiliar images obtained under unusual conditions.

Group factors contributing to UFO beliefs

“Pics or it didn’t happen” is a popular expression on social media. True to form, users are posting countless shaky images and videos of UFOs. Usually they’re nondescript lights in the sky captured on cellphone cameras. But they can go viral on social media and reach millions of users. With no higher authority or organization propelling the content, social scientists call this a bottom-up social diffusion process.

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In contrast, top-down diffusion occurs when information emanates from centralized agents or organizations. In the case of UFOs, sources have included social institutions like the military, individuals with large public platforms like U.S. senators, and major media outlets like CBS.

Amateur organizations also promote active personal involvement for many thousands of members, the Mutual UFO Network being among the oldest and largest. But as Sharon A. Hill points out in her book “Scientifical Americans,” these groups apply questionable standards, spread misinformation and garner little respect within mainstream scientific communities.

Top-down and bottom-up diffusion processes can combine into self-reinforcing loops. Mass media spreads UFO content and piques worldwide interest in UFOs. More people aim their cameras at the skies, creating more opportunities to capture and share odd-looking content. Poorly documented UFO pics and videos spread on social media, leading media outlets to grab and republish the most intriguing. Whistleblowers emerge periodically, fanning the flames with claims of secret evidence.

Despite the hoopla, nothing ever comes of it.

For a scientist familiar with the issues, skepticism that UFOs carry alien beings is wholly separate from the prospect of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Scientists engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence have a number of ongoing research projects designed to detect signs of extraterrestrial life. If intelligent life is out there, they’ll likely be the first to know.

As astronomer Carl Sagan wrote, “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”

Barry Markovsky, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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In a remarkable demonstration of both the unpredictability of space and the extraordinary capabilities of modern astronomical detection, a small asteroid, designated 2024 UQ, recently made headlines after it struck Earth just hours after being identified. This event, which took place on October 22, 2024, marks the third “imminent impactor” recorded this year, highlighting the continual and often daunting reality of near-Earth objects (NEOs).

Discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii, a network of four telescopes dedicated to scanning the night sky for potential collision threats, 2024 UQ was small—measuring only about 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter. While news of an asteroid making contact with Earth can evoke concern, there was no cause for alarm in this instance. The diminutive size of the asteroid meant that it posed very little threat to anything on the ground. In fact, it burned up in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean near California, leaving no trace or damage.

However, the swift timeline of events raises critical questions about the effectiveness of our current monitoring systems. The impact occurred just two hours after the initial detection, which meant that by the time data was transmitted to the impact monitoring systems operated by the European Space Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center, the impact had already taken place. According to their November 2024 newsletter, the ATLAS survey had successfully obtained images identifying the asteroid on a collision trajectory, but due to its position near the edge of two adjacent observational fields, it was not recognized as a significant threat until it was too late.

This incident serves as a reminder of the complexities involved in tracking and predicting the paths of NEOs. While advancements in technology have undoubtedly improved our ability to detect these celestial objects, the circumstances surrounding 2024 UQ showcase the potential for oversights in our monitoring capabilities. Despite this event being minor in scale, it emphasizes the importance of continued investment in space surveillance systems, as well as international collaboration in tracking potential hazards lurking in the vast expanse of space.

As we look forward, this close encounter reaffirms the need for vigilance in our exploration and observation of the cosmos. Each NEO presents an opportunity for learning and growth in our understanding of near-Earth dynamics. While 2024 UQ may have come and gone without incident, it certainly sparks curiosity about what lies ahead in our ongoing quest to safeguard our planet from the skies.

Reference Links:

Space.com: https://www.space.com/the-universe/asteroids/asteroid-that-hit-earth-hours-after-being-detected-was-3rd-imminent-impactor-of-2024

Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS): https://fallingstar.com/

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The Danger from Asteroid Impact: https://fallingstar.com/danger.php

The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/

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A Show About UFOs

Project U.F.O. was an American television series that aired on NBC from 1978 to 1979. The show ran for two seasons, with 13 episodes in each season, and was based loosely on the real-life Project Blue Book. The show was created by Jack Webb, who pored through Air Force files looking for episode ideas.

The show was a production of Mark VII Limited in association with Worldvision Enterprises, now CBS Television Distribution, and was Webb’s last weekly series produced before his death. It was also one of the rare times that Webb did not produce a series with Universal Television or Warner Bros. Television, with whom he had collaborated on every series he made following his departure from Warner Bros.

Project U.F.O. features two U.S. Air Force investigators with the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, charged with investigating UFO sightings. The first season starred William Jordan as Maj. Jake Gatlin alongside Caskey Swaim as Staff Sgt. Harry Fitz. Swaim, who had never had any significant acting experience before landing the role, added diversity as a Southerner with a pronounced accent. In season two, Jordan was replaced by Edward Winter as Capt. Ben Ryan.

In the pilot episode, Gatlin informed the newly assigned Fitz that their job was to prove that each UFO sighting was real by researching and disproving possible alternate explanations. Gatlin also told Fitz that he himself had once seen “something I can’t explain” while flying as an Air Force pilot, which led to his interest in Blue Book.

Project U.F.O. was an intriguing show that explored the mysteries of UFOs and alien sightings. The show’s attention to detail and realism, combined with its intriguing storylines, made it a hit with audiences. The show was also notable for its use of real-life Air Force files and reports, which added to the show’s authenticity.

Project U.F.O. was a groundbreaking television series that explored the mysteries of UFO sightings. The show’s attention to detail, realism, and intriguing storylines made it a hit with audiences, and it remains a classic of the science fiction genre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_U.F.O.

https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/

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