# Are Aliens Visiting Earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2020, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949 "2020-06-25T10:13:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/222 "2021-05-09T02:50:59Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Oh, you are missing that they saw triangles and other weird lights around crafts? Stealth Fighters and Bombers. Also, missile tests and surveillance systems that are not secret now were confused as UFOs. Stealth fighters can’t do the maneuvers UFOs supposedly do - and have been declassified. It seems the Rosswell artifact was a secret balloon, which was why it was kept so secret. Definitely test aircraft have been misidentified - but none have the characteristics of an UAP. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/223 "2021-05-09T02:54:39Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > BTW @Voyager, even the first famous UFO “flying saucer” sighting was a misunderstanding of the media when reporting what Kenneth Arnold did see in 1947, he never reported seeing flying saucers! Yeah, yeah, he never called them that but the press sure did. I saw a documentary on UFOs from the '50s and I read all the books on them when I was in high school in the mid-60s. Triangles are new, but there were a lot of cigar shaped objects back then also. All had the generic name of flying saucer. And there are plenty of references in Fort’s work, though lots are from the Airship mystery I mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/224 "2021-05-09T02:57:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Stealth fighters can’t do the maneuvers UFOs supposedly do - and have been declassified. It seems the Rosswell artifact was a secret balloon, which was why it was kept so secret. Definitely test aircraft have been misidentified - but none have the characteristics of an UAP. Uh, you are missing that I also do consider witnesses to not be very reliable, the incredible maneuvers reported are explained by misidentification of what they actually saw. IMHO the very few sightings that suspiciously do report crafts that looked as up and coming technology can be explained by the secrecy that was involved in their development. Knowing that even artifacts in cameras can confuse pilots, it is more likely that even for the then secret prototype crafts, some observed “impossible” moves that witnesses claimed to see were indeed not what they were capable of doing. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/225 "2021-05-09T03:04:06Z")
Okay, I did misunderstand you. The reason to think UAPs are possibly from space is that they do thinks impossible according to the currently understood laws of physics. If you throw these reports out as due to either camera artifacts or pilot confusion, I’m fine with some being advanced human technology. How many, we don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/226 "2021-05-09T03:21:36Z")
Well, there are meteorites. No, there is no alien stuff the military has found. Yes, there are a few sightings that can not be easily explained. However, note that both the Germans and the USA made something that looks quite a bit like a flying saucer. And of course there are super top secret test flights too. Of course, we are not alone, but our neighbors are likely very very far away. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/227 "2021-05-09T03:23:29Z")
Well, one should not to throw them out completely IMHO, I’m a Historian too and I do think that some witness sightings should be remembered so as to compare them much later with the technology of the present. It is also noticeable that Aircraft capabilities of already known crafts can also be mistaken in recent days. It has to be mentioned that one recent UFO was explained as a regular passenger plane that was really far away, I do remember how many UFO fans described the mistaken identity craft as also “doing impossible maneuvers” when what is happening in all likelihood is that the pilots are missing some perspectives or misunderstand the distances from instruments. Former Doper Phil Plait (aka The Bad Astronomer) explains (and this was posted earlier too): > **[So, those Navy videos showing UFOs? I’m not saying it’s not aliens, but it’s...](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/navy-videos-showing-ufos-not-aliens)** > > Recently unclassified footage from Navy jets appears to show UFOs moving in weird ways. Turns out, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/228 "2021-05-09T03:32:55Z")
> [@eburacum\_45](#): > > A far more likely explanation is that these clips show conventional aircraft and other mundane objects which have been misinterpreted by the pilots. Here’s Mick West’s analysis. Yes, without a frame of reference, even experts can not estimate speeds or size or distance. Jimmy Carter famously mistook Venus for a UFO. To be far, so did I once. It actually looked like it was following my truck! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/229 "2021-05-09T03:33:24Z")
That is a great cite, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/230 "2021-05-09T03:39:19Z")
You make a good point, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/231 "2021-05-09T03:41:34Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Tucker Carlson believes in UFOs. You know, it is very hard to prove a negative. But you just did. This is 100% solid proof that UFOs are not real. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/232 "2021-05-09T03:45:49Z")
[quote=“albino\_manatee, post:23, topic:912949”] let’s not allow ourselves to be intimidated or manipulated by cover-ups and influencers. nm… ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/233 "2021-05-09T08:45:13Z")
Oh man, this reminds me of my UFO experience. It’s late at night and I’m traveling down the highway. The only two vehicles on the road are me and a truck directly ahead of me. Up in the sky I see this pulsating Red orb. It’s just slowly pulsating from dim to bright red. I was so fascinated by it I was literally leaning up above my steering wheel looking up through my windshield trying to figure out what the hell it was. Finally I just shrugged my shoulders and decided to switch lanes to pass the truck that was ahead of me. As I passed him, I looked to my right and noticed he’s got a long PCV pipe hanging out the back of his truck. The driver had put a red LED light on the end of the pipe to keep idiots like me from running into it. That light was literally like 12 in away from my windshield as I was traveling at 55mph, leaned over my steering wheel trying to figure out what the hell it was. Lol. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/234 "2021-05-09T13:48:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, there are meteorites. I said the likeliest explanation not the only possible explanation. If you find a rock in a field, you should assume it’s a rock that originated on earth and not a meteorite until you have evidence otherwise. The OP was suggesting we do otherwise. They raised the issue of whether “it is more likely that these objects are of an extraterrestrial origin rather than some classified tech?” I was saying the answer to that question is no. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/235 "2021-05-09T17:25:57Z")
True, assume horses not zebras. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/236 "2021-05-09T21:41:30Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > As I passed him, I looked to my right and noticed he’s got a long PCV pipe hanging out the back of his truck. The driver had put a red LED light on the end of the pipe to keep idiots like me from running into it. > > That light was literally like 12 in away from my windshield as I was traveling at 55mph, leaned over my steering wheel trying to figure out what the hell it was. ‘Literally’ 12 inches? Is that the literal ‘literally’, or the figurative one? Because unless that PCV pipe was several hundred feet long you were way too close. You’re lucky you didn’t get your head impaled. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/237 "2021-05-09T21:59:18Z")
Well, let’s put it this way. It was enough so that the pipe was protruding over the hood of my car. And yes, I was driving too close bc I was distracted by the light. I’d say the pipe stuck out about 20 feet beyond his truck bed. I lol, but I do realize that was a close brush with death. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/238 "2021-05-09T23:31:48Z")
I have a hypothesis - the lights making impossible maneuvers are from a 3D laser pointer aliens in orbit are shining down here to mess with our heads. If we can do it to cats … ---
**Author:** ![AlienBabble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alienbabble/32/3344_2.png) [@AlienBabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienBabble)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/239 "2021-05-12T05:15:05Z")
In a Newsweek’s interview released earlier today, Senator Marco Rubio (R) expressed his concerns about the seriousness of the UFO topic and what it represents in terms of national security. Rubio, who has been very vocal about unidentified aerial objects over the last few months, advises to set aside the “stigma” attached to UFOs in order to begin a rigorous assessment of the phenomenon. Rubio is scheduled to appear on _60 Minutes_ this coming Sunday to discuss the UFO topic. > **[Marco Rubio is Taking UFOs Seriously and He Thinks You Should Too](https://www.newsweek.com/marco-rubio-we-cant-allow-stigma-ufos-keep-us-seriously-investigating-encounters-1590554)** > > Senator Marco Rubio believes the truth is out there and he wants to get past the UFO jokes to make sure the national security of the United States isn't threatened in any way, he told Newsweek. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/240 "2021-05-12T10:26:05Z")
Yes, but Marco Rubio is a moron. ---
**Author:** ![AlienBabble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alienbabble/32/3344_2.png) [@AlienBabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienBabble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/241 "2021-05-13T11:27:04Z")
Excellent opinion piece just published in The New York Times by Ezra Klein on the implications of UFOs being of extraterrestrial origin and what it means for our society: > **[Opinion | Even if You Think Discussing Aliens Is Ridiculous, Just Hear Me Out...](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/opinion/ufos-aliens-space.html)** > > How would contact with U.F.O.s and other civilizations change ours? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949.md?page=13)