# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/101 "2021-04-10T10:54:58Z")
How nice of the triangular alien to have flashing nav lights. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2021, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/102 "2021-04-10T11:08:13Z")
My wife is sitting in a yellow easy chair about three meters from me, reading a Bridgerton book on her Fire tablet. A loud fart echoes in the room. We both look at each other in surprise. I tell her it wasn’t me. She swears it wasn’t her. Obviously the most reasonable explanation is that an invisible alien sneaked into our house and let one rip. ---
**Author:** ![stuccosuperstar2020](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@stuccosuperstar2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuccosuperstar2020)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/103 "2021-04-10T11:11:08Z")
I don’t think so. But considering the news of the last 12 months, nothing shocks me anymore. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/104 "2021-04-10T11:28:58Z")
> [@naita](#): > > How nice of the triangular alien to have flashing nav lights. Exactly. Someone must have told them to comply with FAA regulations. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/105 "2021-04-10T11:32:20Z")
The difference being is that I absolutely want it to be true that it’s aliens, despite that it probably isn’t. As opposed to the constant fear that all the latest horrible news IS true, despite wanting it to be not. I’m drunk, I can’t tell if that made sense. But I hope you understand the gist of it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/106 "2021-04-10T13:50:20Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I’ve reported a certain poster who just spams ufo links. > It’s been about a dozen in a row with no discussion. It is stealth advertising for their hideously-designed website, linked in the “about” page. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/107 "2021-04-10T15:56:28Z")
> **[Astronomer Avi Loeb Says Aliens Have Visited, and He’s Not Kidding](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astronomer-avi-loeb-says-aliens-have-visited-and-hes-not-kidding1/)** > > In conversation, the Harvard University professor explains his shocking hypothesis—and calls out what he sees as a crisis in science ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/108 "2021-04-10T16:30:20Z")
Here’s Mick West’s bokeh explanation for the triangular night scope clip; looks good to me. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/g256IPFoqMg/maxresdefault.jpg "Is This Pyramid UFO just Bokeh?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g256IPFoqMg) ---
**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:** [April 10, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/109 "2021-04-10T23:24:49Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > My wife is sitting in a yellow easy chair about three meters from me, reading a Bridgerton book on her Fire tablet. > > A loud fart echoes in the room. We both look at each other in surprise. > > I tell her it wasn’t me. She swears it wasn’t her. > > Obviously the most reasonable explanation is that an invisible alien sneaked into our house and let one rip. Swamp gas! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/110 "2021-04-12T14:13:38Z")
An alien civilization so incredibly advanced that it can send probes to Earth over massive light-year distance is simultaneously so sloppy that its probes are repeatedly detected by everyone from ordinary folks to military observers. This explanation ranks with FinnAgain’s Genius Fool theory\*, which states that sinister conspiracies orchestrated by government and corporate leaders with access to unlimited funds and power are readily unraveled by curious amateurs on the Internet. \*which he was mocking. \*\*hidden farts commonly come from dogs, which have mastered the art of Silent but Deadly. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/111 "2021-04-12T17:56:07Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Obviously the most reasonable explanation is that an invisible alien sneaked into our house and let one rip. But what did it s_mell_ like??? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/112 "2021-04-12T17:57:31Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > > [@Cervaise](#): > > > > Obviously the most reasonable explanation is that an invisible alien sneaked into our house and let one rip. > > But what did it s_mell_ like??? - Uranus. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/113 "2021-04-12T22:17:55Z")
[tips hat] ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/114 "2021-04-14T18:35:19Z")
No one sees the UFO’s because everyone’s staring at their phones! A Rigelian mothership could be hovering overhead and no one sees it because, hey look it’s a cat playing the piano. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/115 "2021-04-15T19:01:54Z")
**Are Aliens Visiting Earth?** Not if they’re smart. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/116 "2021-04-30T21:37:20Z")
Phil Plait used to be an active user here on this message board, his username was “BadAstronomer” or something close to that. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/117 "2021-04-30T21:43:38Z")
I personally find it vastly unlikely any alien life has visited Earth, mainly because of the great distances involved and the difficulty if not impossibility of going faster than light. Plus, what percentage of alien civilizations will even give a shit about exploring? Just because we do does not mean all aliens will. It might be a very small percentage, even among the alien civilizations with the technological capability. ---
**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 1, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/118 "2021-05-01T01:27:40Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > An alien civilization so incredibly advanced that it can send probes to Earth over massive light-year distance is simultaneously so sloppy that its probes are repeatedly detected by everyone from ordinary folks to military observers. I’m thinking that these things are not aliens. But, don’t anthropomorphize. It may seem sloppy to you but it could be exactly the way the alien scientists wanted it. Also, the probes they _don’t_ want to be detected might not be. How would you know? ---
**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 1, 2021, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/119 "2021-05-01T04:26:12Z")
As the June deadline approaches for the Pentagon to release a preliminary report on UFOs, mainstream media outlets are beginning to pay closer attention to a phenomenon that can no longer be denied or prosaically explained away. Just today, The New Yorker released a comprehensive piece about how UFOs went from being the purview of fringe believers, to a rather urgent and serious subject of national security and intelligence: > **[How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/10/how-the-pentagon-started-taking-ufos-seriously)** > > For decades, flying saucers were a punch line. Then the U.S. government got over the taboo. The New York Post also released an interview with Luis Elizondo, the former AATIP program director. In the interview, Elizondo talks about his tenure in the secret UFO program and the toxic bureaucracy and hostility towards the subject he encountered inside the Pentagon: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/emn6jozxHxU/maxresdefault.jpg "EXCLUSIVE - Ex Pentagon official Luis Elizondo reveals UFO bombshells | The Basement Office") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emn6jozxHxU) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949/120 "2021-05-01T04:35:34Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I personally find it vastly unlikely any alien life has visited Earth, mainly because of the great distances involved and the difficulty if not impossibility of going faster than light. The distances are ludicrously, unimaginably large, but, given the age of the galaxy, there has been plenty of time for a fleet of sub-lightspeed probes to reach every star system from a single origin. > [@](#): > > Plus, what percentage of alien civilizations will even give a shit about exploring? Just because we do does not mean all aliens will. Sure, but no-one needs to claim _all_ alien species will explore, just _some_. Anyway, the reason for not believing that aliens have visited earth is just the lack of evidence. Evidence first, always. And “evidence” in this case means a heck of a lot more than some mysterious lights in the sky. That said, I think it’s a good development that the US military and others take the phenomenon seriously. But part of taking it seriously means putting the alien hypothesis to one side and follow the data. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-aliens-visiting-earth/912949.md?page=7)