Washington Post on SSE UFO Study [news]
From: ufobfmuseum@value.net
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 16:51:08 -0800
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PANEL URGES STUDY OF UFO REPORTS
Unexplained Phenomena Need Scrutiny, Science Group Says
By Kathy Sawyer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 29, 1998; Page A01
Some supposed UFO sightings have been accompanied by unexplained
physical evidence that deserves serious scientific study, an
international panel of scientists has concluded.
In the first independent scientific review of the controversial topic
in almost 30 years, directed by physicist Peter Sturrock of Stanford
University, the panel emphasized that it had found no convincing
evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence or any violation of natural
laws.
But the panel cited cases that included intriguing and inexplicable
details, such as burns to witnesses, radar detections of mysterious
objects, strange lights appearing repeatedly in the skies over certain
locales, aberrations in the workings of automobiles, and radiation and
other damage found in vegetation.
The 50-page review, being released today, asserts that the scientific
community might learn something worthwhile if it can overcome the fear
of ridicule associated with the topic and get some funding for
targeted research to try to explain these occurrences.
"It may be valuable to carefully evaluate UFO reports to extract
information about unusual phenomena currently unknown to science," the
report stated, adding that such research could also improve
understanding of, and in some cases debunk, supposed UFO events.
For example, Earth science researchers have eventually accepted
several phenomena "originally dismissed as folk tales," including
meteorites and certain types of lightning, the panel noted.
The findings are from a four-day workshop held in Tarrytown, N.Y.,
followed by a second three-day meeting in San Francisco, both last
fall. The results are published in the current issue of the Society
for Scientific Exploration, which was established by Sturrock.
The inquiry involved scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cornell and Princeton universities, the universities of
Arizona and Virginia, and institutions in France and Germany, among
others. A panel of nine physical scientists analyzed presentations by
eight UFO investigators, who were encouraged to present their
strongest evidence. The project was funded by Laurance S. Rockefeller
through his LSR Fund because of a belief, the report said, that "the
problem is in a very unsatisfactory state of ignorance and confusion."
The panel suggests the scientific community has suffered a failure of
curiosity regarding UFOs. Despite an abundance of reports over the
last 50 years, "and despite great public interest, the scientific
community has shown remarkably little interest in this topic."
Asked about the conclusions, a sampling of scientists and officials
outside the panel expressed surprise that a topic with such a high
"giggle factor" might be reincarnated for serious study, possibly
further blurring the lines between legitimate research and the
"lunatic fringe." Some said they would never comment on the touchy
topic, and some said they would reserve judgment until they had read
the report.
In a telephone interview, Sturrock said that he hopes at least some
scientists "will read the report and become curious. . . . The
challenge is to do good science on this issue. It's difficult."
Some reported UFO incidents could have been caused by rare natural
phenomena, such as electrical activity high above thunderstorms, or
other known physical effects, the panel found. But there were some
phenomena they could not easily explain.
The existing evidence from past cases is unlikely to produce either a
solid debunking or other satisfactory explanation of the reports, the
panel found. But "new data, scientifically acquired and analyzed
(especially of well-documented, recurrent events) could yield useful
information," it said.
To be credible to the scientific community, future UFO "evaluations
must take place with a spirit of objectivity and a willingness to
evaluate rival hypotheses" that so far has been lacking, the report
said.
Among the potentially fruitful areas of investigation the panel cites
are:
Physical effects on witnesses. Burns, or sensations of heat, and eye
problems are the most frequently reported forms. The available
evidence, though sparse, suggests microwave, infrared, visible and
ultraviolet radiation, although "a few cases seem to point toward high
doses of ionizing radiation, such as X-rays or gamma rays."
Radar detections of UFOs. Scientific study would require the
cooperation of military authorities. An example occurred in January
1994, in the skies above Paris, when an airborne crew saw "a gigantic
disk" more than 3,000 feet in diameter. The disk was detected on
military radar for 50 seconds, slowed abruptly from 110 knots to zero,
then disappeared.
Semi-regular sightings of strange lights (such as those in Hessdalen,
Norway, and Marfa, Tex.), in some cases associated with measured
magnetic disturbances.
Apparent gravitational and/or inertial effects, as in a case that
occurred in Ohio in 1973. A number of witnesses, both on the ground
and in an Army Reserve helicopter, saw lights, including a powerful
green glow, and a "cigar-shaped gray metallic object," during which
time the helicopter ascended although its controls were set for
descent. Scientists apparently failed to investigate the one item of
physical evidence -- a magnetic compass that had begun to spin during
the event and was subsequently removed because it was unserviceable.
Injuries to vegetation and other ground traces. In a 1981 case in
Trans-en-Provence, France, a witness reported an ovoid object emiting
a low whistle as it flew in for a landing. Police and special UFO
researchers found two concentric circles and other traces that, when
subjected to laboratory analysis, showed the soil had been heavily
compacted, though without major heating, and there were symptoms of
aging in the plants there. A toxicologist concluded that some, though
not all, of the effects could have been caused by powerful microwave
radiation.
The Sturrock group said that because of advances in knowledge and
technical capability, chances of significant learning are greater now
than 30 years ago when the Air Force and the CIA supported a two-year
investigation by the Colorado Project, directed by Edward U. Condon.
That 1968 report concluded that "further extensive study of UFOs
probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be
advanced."
The Air Force last year made public its latest report on the infamous
1947 incident near the town of Roswell, N.M., which gave rise to a
whole flying-saucer culture of paranoia, up to and including the
fictional television program "The X-Files." Titled "The Roswell
Report: Case Closed," that report, like the Sturrock panel, reiterated
earlier conclusions that there is no evidence of aliens or their
spaceships.
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RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: Interesting
Index: SSE (#2)
Index: Peter Sturrock (#1)
Created: Jun 29, 1998
