haligali
21st March, 2009, 03:52 PM
Unidentified flying object (commonly abbreviated as UFO) is the popular term for any aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily or immediately determined.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-SHG_CONDON_REPORT_AND_UFOS_HYNEK-0) Both military and civilian research show that a significant majority of UFO sightings are identified after further investigation, either explicitly or indirectly through the presence of clear and simple explanatory factors (see Occam's Razor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor)).[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-1) The United States Air Force (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAF), who coined the term in 1952, initially defined UFOs as those objects which remain unidentified after scrutiny by expert investigators,[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-2) though the term UFO is often used more generally to describe any sighting unidentifiable to the reporting observer(s). Popular culture frequently takes the term UFO as a synonym (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonym) for alien spacecraft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_hypothesis). Some investigators now prefer to use the broader term Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (or UAP), to avoid the confusion and speculative associations that have become attached to UFO.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-3)
Studies have established that only a small percentage of reported UFOs are actual hoaxes,[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-4) while the majority are observations of some real but conventional object - most commonly aircraft, balloons, or astronomical objects such as meteors or bright planets - which have been misidentified by the observer as anomalies. A small percentage of reported sightings (usually 5%-20%) are classified as unidentified flying objects in the strictest sense. (see below (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#Identification_of_UFOs) for some studies)
UFO reports became more common after the first widely publicized US sighting - reported by private pilot Kenneth Arnold (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Arnold) in 1947 - which gave rise to the popular terms "flying saucer" and "flying disc". Since then, millions of people believe that they have seen UFOs[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-5).
UFOs have received very little attention or support in mainstream scientific literature. Some scientists have argued that all UFO sightings are misidentifications of prosaic natural phenomena. [7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-Menzel-6) Nevertheless, historically there has been controversy among prominent scientists, including members of the AAAS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAAS), regarding whether UFOs warrant serious scientific investigation. [8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McDonald-7) [9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-COMETA-8) [10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McCarthy-9)
[/URL]
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McCarthy-9"]Do you Agree?
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McCarthy-9)
Studies have established that only a small percentage of reported UFOs are actual hoaxes,[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-4) while the majority are observations of some real but conventional object - most commonly aircraft, balloons, or astronomical objects such as meteors or bright planets - which have been misidentified by the observer as anomalies. A small percentage of reported sightings (usually 5%-20%) are classified as unidentified flying objects in the strictest sense. (see below (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#Identification_of_UFOs) for some studies)
UFO reports became more common after the first widely publicized US sighting - reported by private pilot Kenneth Arnold (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Arnold) in 1947 - which gave rise to the popular terms "flying saucer" and "flying disc". Since then, millions of people believe that they have seen UFOs[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-5).
UFOs have received very little attention or support in mainstream scientific literature. Some scientists have argued that all UFO sightings are misidentifications of prosaic natural phenomena. [7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-Menzel-6) Nevertheless, historically there has been controversy among prominent scientists, including members of the AAAS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAAS), regarding whether UFOs warrant serious scientific investigation. [8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McDonald-7) [9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-COMETA-8) [10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McCarthy-9)
[/URL]
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McCarthy-9"]Do you Agree?
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO#cite_note-McCarthy-9)