¿Qué hay detrás de los OVNIS? Solo la ciencia puede darnos la respuesta.
A few hours ago an article was published in National Geographic Spain about UAP (This article was originally published in The Conversation. Read the original):
“What is behind the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena? Only science can give us the answer
NASA has indicated on several occasions that it is necessary to investigate these phenomena with transparency, avoiding the stigma associated with them from a pseudoscientific point of view.
There are many topics in science for which we still lack an explanation of their origin and nature. One of them, which worries, moves and excites the population and scientists -I would say almost in equal measure-, is to unravel what is behind the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). That is, the ancient UFOs.
During the last few months there has been a real revolution on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, better known internationally as UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), accompanied by a media, scientific and political maelstrom of high intensity.
A great deal of misinformation has also been generated, which requires a precise definition of the current situation. Only science can give us the answers we need, or at least bring us closer to them in a rigorous manner.
INSTITUTIONAL STATEMENTS AND INITIATIVES
Two important events have led to several actions on this issue:
The testimony under oath in the U.S. Congress of three witnesses: ex-pilot Ryan Graves, retired Navy Commander David Fravor and former intelligence officer and former director of analysis of these cases, who has been linked to the U.S. Department of Defense, David Grusch.
In their statements they claimed to have knowledge of such sightings. One of the participants claimed, surprisingly, that the US Government has a program to recover remains of objects of possible “non-human” origin and that even “biological remains” have been found. In no case did they provide any evidence and the claims are based solely on the personal and professional credibility of the witnesses, and on what they said under oath.
Institutional initiatives, mainly the opening of specific websites and respective reports at NASA and the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), belonging to the Pentagon’s Defense.
NASA COMES INTO PLAY
At the end of 2022, NASA assembled an independent, multidisciplinary research team on these phenomena. It is made up of 16 experts in different subjects (astronaut, oceanographer, planetary scientist, professors, astronomers, astrophysicists, science journalist, computer expert, etc).
This team issued a report that has generated several responses. Some value it as important and motivating, because of its relevance as a starting point for future research. Others find it disappointing and lacking in context, as it does not present any decisive news on the subject.
Following the report, a director for the specific investigation of these phenomena, Mark McInerney, was appointed. He is an expert in atmospheric science and has been NASA’s liaison person with the Department of Defense on activities related to these phenomena for the agency.
FIVE CATEGORIES TO DEFINE THESE PHENOMENA
The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence classified UAP into five categories. In its most exotic hypothesis, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena fall specifically into the “other” category. The rest of the categories already have a clear and unequivocal explanation attributable to:
Objects and manifestations in the atmosphere, such as balloons, unmanned recreational vehicles, birds, plastic bags, etc. Natural atmospheric phenomena, such as ice crystals, humidity, and thermal fluctuations that may be recorded by some radar and infrared systems. Industrial development programs of different entities. Systems of potential foreign adversaries, such as technologies deployed by China, Russia or other nations or non-governmental entities. The fifth category, defined as “other”, encompasses a relatively small number of events: those that are unexplained. This category is the main focus of his current research and interest in finding an answer as to their origin and nature.
THE “OTHERS”
What are these Unidentified Aerial Phenomena? Are they something natural, unknown until now? Could they be advanced technologies, perhaps military, from other countries? Is the answer in something much more exotic and enigmatic? Could they be related to a non-human intelligence?
These questions, and this way of approaching them, are used and even appear in official US documents, in which an Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act is requested.
An interesting article published in LESSWRONG discusses and explains some of the implications and considerations contained in these texts. We will have to see how these legal aspects evolve over time, which, more than in the framework of science, fall within the framework of politics and security.
THEY ARE REAL
Everything that has happened in recent months could be written in several books, and even in the script of a movie. Personally, I am left with several facts that summarize the current situation of the subject:
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena are real, and their evidence is not only observational, performed by expert pilots, but their existence and maneuvers have been recorded in radars and different types of sensors. Their patterns and phenomenology in terms of morphologies, dynamics, etc., have been repeated, with accredited documents, already public and declassified, for decades. Their study is substantial, not only from a scientific point of view, but also because of the possible risk they could pose to air safety. It is important to investigate them seriously and with transparency, avoiding the stigma associated with them from a pseudoscientific point of view, in order to approach them scientifically with the utmost rigor. Something that NASA has indicated on several occasions. The NASA committee report indicates that no evidence of extraterrestrial origin has been found. It then goes on to state that it is not known what they are. In Bill Nelson’s own words: “NASA’s independent study team found no evidence that UAPs have an extraterrestrial origin. But we don’t know what these UAPs are.” It is also pointed out that much more and better data are needed to carry out scientific analysis and procedures, with instruments that require homogeneous and standardized calibration at a global level. The collaboration of the public is also requested to provide data that can be analyzed by experts.
THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
An article on these cases, published in 2022 in the now defunct SciLog of Investigación y Ciencia and recovered on the website of the Spanish Network of Planetology and Astrobiology (REDESPA), addressed, from the point of view of astrobiology, what their study could represent, highlighting all that has been published to date in the main scientific databases.
To date, there are already scientific publications about these phenomena in congresses, such as the European Geoscience Union (EGU), and in journals of impact from different perspectives and research areas, both in Nature and Language & Communication, addressing how these phenomena are perceived in the field of social sciences and humanities.
They also appear in the Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation and SSRN, from instrumentation and detection methodologies, even with the participation of Spanish astrobiologists.
Fortunately, the development of recent initiatives and the interesting scientific studies that are being published help to avoid, without complexes, the stigma that has characterized these phenomena. If science relegates their research, we are indirectly contributing to this subject being approached from the pseudosciences.
A REALITY OPEN TO SCIENCE
As I recently suggested in an interview, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena are a reality open to science and the development of their research will surely lead to the design of a scientific roadmap.
In this way, as it happened in the beginnings of astrobiology, or in the case of many other interesting scientific issues for which there is a lack of evidence, it will be possible to address their possible implications, approaching the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena with the maximum conceptual and methodological rigor.
Jesús Martínez-Frías, Scientific Researcher. Expert in Meteorites, Planetary Geology and Astrobiology. Member of the science teams of the NASA-MSL (Curiosity) and NASA-Mars2020 (Perseverance) missions, Institute of Geosciences (IGEO – CSIC – UCM).”
submitted by /u/Mordrenix
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