# What are UFOs if they're NOT alien spacecraft? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 26, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108 "2024-02-26T17:14:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/441 "2026-08-12T22:13:51Z")
> [@glee](#): > > What puzzles me is UFO enthusiasts concentrating on sightings instead of interviewing folk who have been abducted and can actually describe aliens and their craft… Ufologists have done that. a lot. but its that said, I don’t think that entity encounters involved a literal humanoid (or whatever… they don’t always look humanoid). more like the intelligence behind the encounter putting on a Halloween costume, including (at times) a “spaceship” set. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/442 "2026-08-12T22:16:42Z")
I have gotten requested (or more or less requested) to provide a summary of my views. that would take a while, especially since I would like to try to use as few words as possible. with that said, I have here a good summary of physical evidence for UFOs. this does not describe entity encounters. > **[Show Me the Evidence](https://www.uapstatus.com/p/show-me-the-evidence)** > > Elevating the discussion with clear photographic evidence, material evidence, and witness injury after proximity to UAP. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/443 "2026-08-12T23:33:06Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > I have here a good summary of physical evidence for UFOs. So this is a physical phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/444 "2026-08-13T07:55:33Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > entity encounters also have less hard proof, whereas UFOs have photographic and video proof. I really don’t agree. Actually boarding an alien spaceship and meeting aliens is far easier to prove than blurry pictures of something in the sky! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/445 "2026-08-13T08:52:19Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > “paranormal phenomena” does not mean one thing. it means many things, including UFOs. And “UFO”, by its very definition, also means many things. It encompasses things like aircraft – conventional or experimental – weather balloons, meteors, stars and planets, hoaxes, hallucinations, and outright lies. So the answer to the OP question “what are UFOs if they’re not alien spacecraft?” is that it’s not a valid question because UFOs are not a specific phenomenon that needs to be explained, but just a broad category of mythology. I’m a firm believer in the existence of life elsewhere in the universe, including intelligent life, but given what we know about the universe and the fundamental constraints of interstellar travel, the chances that alien beings have ever visited Earth are so close to zero that “zero” is an excellent approximation. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/446 "2026-08-14T22:59:49Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > So this is a physical phenomenon in part, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/447 "2026-08-14T23:04:18Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I really don’t agree. > Actually boarding an alien spaceship and meeting aliens is far easier to prove than blurry pictures of something in the sky! blurry in some cases and clear as day in other instances. go through the YouTube channel of Angry Astronaut for examples of the latter. with that said, I doubt a lot that “alien spacecraft” explain this. as I have said, I doubt that the NHI come from space and they may have craft (if any) that would defy out concept of “craft”. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/448 "2026-08-14T23:07:22Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > And “UFO”, by its very definition, also means many things. It encompasses things like aircraft – conventional or experimental – weather balloons, meteors, stars and planets, hoaxes, hallucinations, and outright lies. when I say UFO (or for that matter UAP) you know just what I mean. semantics-based quibbling achieves nothing. I consider UFOS “real” (weird as hell, nothing humans could replicate) but not likely not extraterrestrial. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/449 "2026-08-14T23:21:54Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > when I say UFO (or for that matter UAP) you know just what I mean. semantics-based quibbling achieves nothing. It’s not semantic quibbling. It’s a plain statement of fact: there are so many different explanations for alleged UFO sightings, and such tremendous physical constraints in the universe reducing the possibility of any UFO sighting actually being alien spacecraft to a probability of essentially zero, that **any other** explanation, no matter how incredible, is far more likely. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/450 "2026-08-14T23:34:19Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > I have here a good summary of physical evidence for UFOs. this does not describe entity encounters. Not many ‘good’ quality cases there. The first, Hannah McRoberts photo, was apparently not seen by the witnesses. This could be a simple emulsion flaw in the film, or possibly a deliberate hoax. [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mfBz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Febd361cd-77c2-414e-ba23-065088091566_1410x956.jpeg) ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mfBz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Febd361cd-77c2-414e-ba23-065088091566_1410x956.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/451 "2026-08-14T23:36:22Z")
More or less, why has nobody ever gotten a higher resolution photo than this? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/452 "2026-08-14T23:39:21Z")
The second photo, the Lago de Cite photo, was also not seen by any human witness, and does not stand up to careful analysis. [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-m1-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3e8d0d9-e148-4211-b291-4bedc32fa21b_377x331.png) ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-m1-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3e8d0d9-e148-4211-b291-4bedc32fa21b_377x331.png) This image is supposed to have been taken by a high-flying photo reconnaissance aircraft, but the reflections in the surface of the supposed object show a series of light and dark streaks that resemble the interior of a room. This suggests that the anomaly was not present when the photo was taken, and is probably just another emulsion flaw or an artifact that occurred during development. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/453 "2026-08-14T23:49:18Z")
From that same link, the Council Bluffs case looks likely to be an accidental spillage of thermite, perhaps associated with railroad track repairs. * * * The TicTac case has also been extensively examined elsewhere, and here’s Mick West’s analysis of the FLIR clip ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/U1di0XIa9RQ/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/U1di0XIa9RQ?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PL-4ZqTjKmhn5Qr0tCHkCVnqTx_c0P3O2t The motion caught by the camera was not ‘impossible’, but easily explained. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/454 "2026-08-15T00:49:06Z")
Not in a digging mood right now so, since you brought it up, could you please give us a direct link to one of those clear as day photos. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/455 "2026-08-15T12:57:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > _Something has happened every single second since the universe began_ . But, but… I was told that on the seventh day, God rested. So not much happened that day. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/456 "2026-08-15T14:00:22Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Play dumb and insist you have no idea how it got there Unfortunately, people have thought about this story before: hence the belief that aliens wield anal probes. Honestly… I don’t know how it got there, nurse! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/457 "2026-08-16T16:00:06Z")
The nurses and doctors were getting tired of hearing “But I accidently fell on it while I was in the shower-Really!” ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/458 "2026-08-17T23:04:09Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Unfortunately, people have thought about this story before: hence the belief that aliens wield anal probes. that “hilarious” joke (the expiration date for which expired circa 2000) originated, if I remember correctly, from Whitley Strieber having written a work of horror short fiction called “Pain” in which the protagonist undergoes anal rape. according to Strieber, writing the story awakened memories of one or more entity abduction stories, which he had found their way into the story, via his unconscious. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/459 "2026-08-17T23:06:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > More or less, why has nobody ever gotten a higher resolution photo than this? go through Angry Astronaut’s YouTube channel. a number of videos there. (the wobbly UFO one looks fake, though, at least to my eye.) not exactly what you asked for, of course. . ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/460 "2026-08-17T23:07:46Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Not many ‘good’ quality cases there. The first, Hannah McRoberts photo, was apparently not seen by the witnesses. This could be a simple emulsion flaw in the film, or possibly a deliberate hoax. if a deliberate hoax, why did the hoaxer not claim to have seen the UFO, too? and why not make the fake UFO more impressive? it seems you have the a priori idea that UFOs do not exist, therefore you’ll find two different and dissimilar explanations for them. to my mind, for the reasons I just gave, especially the second one, this does not seem to me a hoax, at least. > [@eburacum45](#): > > This image is supposed to have been taken by a high-flying photo reconnaissance aircraft, but the reflections in the surface of the supposed object show a series of light and dark streaks that resemble the interior of a room. This suggests that the anomaly was not present when the photo was taken, and is probably just another emulsion flaw or an artifact that occurred during development. it what way do they resembe the interior of a room? a room, specifically. I mean, light and shadows occur everywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108.md?page=24)