We’ve all heard the stories of the spaceship hovering over dark roads and strange lights in the sky, but are they space aliens? They could be, but we have no real physical proof. People are lured into the unknown – and aliens are on the top of the list of the paranormal.
E.T. Gone Home
When the movie E.T. first aired in 1982, it quickly became very popular. E.T. was a gentle alien who was left behind by his family and became attached to an Earth boy named Elliot. Many other books and movies have been based on alien life, some of these aliens are friendly while some are determined to eliminate the human race and take over the world.
These aliens came from the creative minds of writers and directors. It’s very, very unlikely that these types of aliens actually exist, but we really don’t know for sure. These books and movies are entertaining to most of us and hopefully they will continue to provide entertainment for years to come.
UFO and Alien Sightings
Nearly every day there’s some form of UFO sighting. But as mentioned earlier, they are in the form of a story or a blurry photograph or video. There’s no hard evidence of UFO’s in any historical archives in the world – that we the public know of. Could it be that it’s all a conspiracy and the real evidence is destroyed or hidden from the public?
We’ve all seen strange objects in the sky: odd lights, strange flashes, or other UFO related phenomenon. Any time something unknown is sighted, we automatically call it a UFO. The UFO stories are fun to tell and hear, but what the world needs is actual proof of their existence. Hopefully, if (or when) the day comes when they visit, they will be friendly!
The Universe Is Huge and Probably Full of other Planets
Our galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, contains billions of stars. Too, our galaxy is only one of billions upon billions of other galaxies in the universe. Our Sun is a single average star within our galaxy. It has been said that it takes a star very similar to our Sun to support life – that is, if the planets are located in the proper orbit around the star.
40% of the stars in our galaxy, as well as the other galaxies, are identical to our star – the Sun. Out of the billions of stars in our galaxy, and with 40% of those stars being nearly identical to our Sun, the possibility is pretty good that at least a few of this 40% of stars actually do support some form of life.
Today we have the technology to detect planets outside our solar system. They are known as Exoplanets, and are found around other stars in our galaxy. As of today, 500 of these planets have been detected around 421 stars. These planets are identified by measuring the “lightcurve” of the star. When the planet passes between the Earth and the star, the light from the star will slightly dim, allowing scientists to measure and record the slight dimness of the starlight. Each revolution of the planet is documented and can be predicted.
Another method of detecting Exoplanets is to measure the “wobble” of the star. As the planet orbits the star, the gravity from the planet (commonly a planet larger than Jupiter) will cause the star to slightly wobble. This wobble can also be detected and recorded by sophisticated equipment.
With this said, we know that other planets exist around other stars (similar to our Sun), but as of now, none of these planets are similar to our life-supporting planet. But that does not mean that the other planets do not support life.
Watching the Night Skies – Meteor & Fireball Cameras
Large areas of the night sky are constantly monitored by meteor and fireball watchers. They have video and still-frame camera’s that are activated by any light or movement that occurs at any time during the night – specifically meteors. Personally, I have been operating one of these cameras for four years and have yet to record any paranormal activity – although I’m still waiting.
The Air Force also has radar and other equipment that monitor’s the skies day and night. But the pubic is not capable of accessing the data recorded with this high-tech equipment. Maybe that is to our advantage.
The Possibility of Life in the Universe
If you can imagine the billions upon billions of stars (similar to our Sun) that reside in the billions upon billions of galaxies in the universe, it is highly likely that some form of alien life is out there, somewhere. But they are so far away; we don’t have the technology to detect them. Is it possible that they can detect us? There’s really no positive way to find out.
One program, Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is constantly monitoring the skies for any signs of signals that may have been sent from other stars. SETI has actually detected “candidates” from other stars. The candidates were signals detected that seemed to be non-artificial, but these signals have still not been determined as real signals from extraterrestrial beings.
For those of you who might enjoy performing your own search for extraterrestrial signals, SETI offers actual research for the public known as SETI@Home. This program utilizes Internet-connected computers to decipher data that they have recorded from stars. Software provided by SETI is downloaded to your personal computer, which will automatically download packets of data from SETI’s servers and process the data. Once it finishes, it will automatically upload the data back to SETI and download another packet to your computer. In a way, this is one way that the general public can provide help in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Okay, I’ll tell my UFO story
Back around 24 years ago, I had my own personal experience with a “UFO”. It was several hours after dark and I was out doing something that I still enjoy doing today – stargazing. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, there was a bright object hovering about 50 meters away from me in the field behind our home. I never saw where it came from.
The object was about the size of an average automobile and made no sound. It was close enough to the ground that the light from the object was shining on the pasture grass below it and I watched it for about five seconds. As a young teenager, I only knew to run inside our house in fear.
A few hours later, I heard a rumbling noise outside like helicopters. As the sound from the helicopters got louder, I went out on our porch and there was two helicopters hovering over our property and shining spot-lights all over the ground and through the woods on the outside of our 50-acres of property. To this day, I still don’t know what it was – but I do know that it was real. And the helicopters gave me proof that I wasn’t the only person to see it.
It’s very likely that some form of alien life exists, but it’s also very likely that we will never know where it is or what sort of lifeforms are out there.
Are UFO's and Aliens Friendly? A Comparison of Aliens and Humans.
Reference:
The Internet Movie Base, Mars Attacks!, E.T., site referenced Jan. 2, 2011
PlanetQuest: Exoplanet Exploration, NASA, site referenced Jan. 2, 2011
Red Barn Observatory, Lightcurves, site referenced Jan. 2, 2011
SETI Institute, site referenced Jan. 2, 2011
Steve Farmer - Steve Farmer Jr. is an individual of many interests and hobbies. When not spending time with his wife and four children, he is an employee ...
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