# What would have to be true for "UFO" aliens to be real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459 "2013-05-27T12:35:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ttf3289](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@ttf3289](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ttf3289)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/61 "2013-06-11T20:57:06Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Also if aliens are so far more advanced than us (to the point where they seem able to clone humans, several abductees report seeing humans who seem slightly off, who are probably cloned)\*\* why have they not mastered the art of wiping a person’s memory?\*\* Maybe they have mastered the art of wiping a person’s memory; I don’t remember anything about aliens. Do you? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Ayebaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darth_ayebaw/32/9870_2.png) [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/62 "2013-06-13T05:44:27Z")
> [@nickak2003](#): > > exactly, and why would they think to make those connections? The same reason they’d made such connections with god - anthropomorphizing‎. I don’t think you need to ask why ancient people saw ‘other types/forms of human’ in strange clouds any more then you need to ask why they thought the same of rocks, or trees. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/63 "2013-06-13T17:42:55Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > I’d point the thing at Capella, the nearest star that is most like our, a G2 at 11 light years. Not quite; Capella is a double giant star 42 light years away, and is quite unlike our Sun; it is already off the Main Sequence and would not be hospitable for many reasons. You might be thinking of Tau Ceti, 11.2 ly away and a G8.5v star; this is a reasonably SAun-like star and has five planets, none of which are Earth-like but there is just enough room to squeeze an undetected Earth-like terrestrial in there. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/64 "2013-06-13T17:46:12Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Not quite; Capella is a double giant star 42 light years away, and is quite unlike our Sun; it is already off the Main Sequence and would not be hospitable for many reasons. Eh? There are no “hospitable” stars, only “hospitable” **planets** – any kind of star could have a “Goldilocks Zone” in its system – is it not so? ---
**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:** [June 13, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/65 "2013-06-13T18:04:37Z")
> [@nickak2003](#): > > There is an incredible amount of alien and ufo like stuff in art history, so the phenomena of spotting or at least believing in extraterrestrials goes back really far. check out this page: [UFOs and Extraterrestrials in Art History - In5D](http://www.in5d.com/ufos-in-art-history.html) Sorry, mate; that appallingly designed page is utter crap. A good analysis of the phenomenon of apparent UFOs in ancient art is on this translated Italian page > **[ART and UFO - Part 1](http://www.sprezzatura.it/Arte/Arte_UFO_1_eng.htm)** and more pages in Italian which with luck can be translated fairly easily [Microsoft Translator - Translate to English](http://tinyurl.com/co8xb5z) (translated by microsoft translator - be patient) [Microsoft Translator - Translate to English](http://tinyurl.com/cj9uawu) (translated by microsoft translator - be patient) [Microsoft Translator - Translate to English](http://tinyurl.com/cfpe3jm) (translated by microsoft translator - be patient) [Microsoft Translator - Translate to English](http://tinyurl.com/cxjhm8x) (translated by microsoft translator - be patient) [Microsoft Translator - Translate to English](http://tinyurl.com/d44xfbv) (translated by microsoft translator - be patient) [Microsoft Translator - Translate to English](http://tinyurl.com/bpfhyav) (translated by microsoft translator - be patient) [Microsoft Translator - Translate to English](http://tinyurl.com/cz3mz6v) (translated by microsoft translator - be patient) ---
**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:** [June 13, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/66 "2013-06-13T18:10:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Eh? There are no “hospitable” stars, only “hospitable” planets – any kind of star could have a “Goldilocks Zone” in its system – is it not so? Many stars do not have a ‘habitable zone’ for various reasons- some binary stars occupy their own habitable zones, so no planets would be possible in those locations. Capella is inhospitable for another reason- the two stars are close enough together that a planet in a wide orbit might be far enough away to be biocompatible; but because these two stars have left the main sequence, a planet in this location would not be biocompatible for very long. Before too many million years have passed, a planet in this location would be boiled or frozen as the stars expand and contract rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/67 "2013-06-13T20:26:39Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Not quite; Capella is a double giant star 42 light years away, and is quite unlike our Sun; it is already off the Main Sequence and would not be hospitable for many reasons. > > You might be thinking of Tau Ceti, 11.2 ly away and a G8.5v star; this is a reasonably SAun-like star and has five planets, none of which are Earth-like but there is just enough room to squeeze an undetected Earth-like terrestrial in there. I could indeed be thinking of Tau Ceti. Certainly it’s a candidate. There’s several potential destinations that aren’t impossibly far away. And our ability to detect and examine exoplanets will certain improve. By launch time, we might know pretty well what to expect at the far end. But it seems that gas giants are plentiful at least, so we can re-fuel and keep going if need be. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2013, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/68 "2013-06-14T08:04:24Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Even using fusion or fission or even antimatter, an interstellar ship would need to carry an impossible amount of mass with it. > > The only “continuous” system I’ve heard that might be plausible is using a powerful earth-based laser to push a giant sail. Not really sure how they would stop it at it’s destination. This version of the sailbeam idea uses a magnetic brake to slow down at the destination. > **[597Kare.pdf](https://www.niac.usra.edu/files/library/meetings/fellows/oct01/597Kare.pdf)** > > 209.03 KB …see slide 28 ‘How to stop when you get there’. Usefully, it uses the same magnetic sail it uses for acceleration. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/69 "2013-06-14T19:14:04Z")
\*\*What would have to be true for “UFO” aliens to be real? \*\* Easy. Land the UFO on the front lawn of the White House, come out and talk to the leaders of the country, instead of landing in the Ozarks, grabbing hillbillies and shoving things up their butt (and not in a good way :D). [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHvLz0JiMk8) 2:25 ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/70 "2013-06-14T19:26:34Z")
If a UFO ever makes it here it will be because they have discovered the technology that has allowed them to detect and hitch a ride on a universe so large we cannot detect. They can travel many times the speed of light in this universe with no expenditure of energy except entering and leaving. The hard part is they need to jump off at the right place. I really don’t think they will ever make it here. ---
**Author:** ![reef\_shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@reef\_shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reef_shark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459/71 "2013-06-14T23:47:07Z")
The abductions. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJCynumjJck) Keep in mind they wouldnt be ‘aliens’, they would be demons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-to-be-true-for-ufo-aliens-to-be-real/659459.md?page=3)