Oct
23
When Is a UFO Not a UFO?, Part 1
“They can fly rings around the moon, but we’re years ahead of them on the highway.” — old man re UFOs, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
There is more than one way to answer the titular question here.
One response is, “When it’s called by another name.” During World War II, Allied aircraft pilots referred to sightings of glowing fireballs as “foo fighters”. When American aviator Kenneth Arnold witnessed nine unusual and fast-moving objects flying together near Mount Rainier, WA on June 24, 1947, he used the term “flying saucers”, though it was more of a reference to their motion than their shape. The following month saw the Roswell Incident in New Mexico, the initial press release for which described debris recovered from a downed “flying disc” (later retracted and replaced with “weather balloon”). The press picked up on it and began using “flying disc” and “flying saucer” in their reporting, which made the terms very popular with the curious and fascinated public.
Many attribute the term “unidentified flying object” (UFO) to Edward Ruppelt, a USAF officer and the director of Project Grudge from late 1951 until it became Project Blue Book in March 1952; he remained with Blue Book until late 1953. The earliest appearance (as per the OED) of the term, both long- and short-form, in newspapers was by USMC aviator Donald E. Keyhoe in Oct. 1953. It also appears in Keyhoe’s 1953 book, Flying Saucers from Outer Space. (Keyhoe was considered the leading ufologist in the 1950s and early to mid-1960s.) It is also possible that others were using the term before that, and it certainly wasn’t the “official” designation. For some odd reason, some investigators used “UFOB” instead of “UFO” for awhile.
In the late-1960s, Coral Lorenzen, co-founder with her husband of the independent Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) began using her preferred term of “unidentified aerial object” (UAO). (See back issues of The A.P.R.O. Bulletin.) But, it didn’t catch on and she soon reverted back to the popular “UFO”. In 1980, a scientist by the name of Philip A. Stahl published a paper in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada proposing the term “Transient Optical Phenomena of the Atmosphere” (TOPA), but he was basically ignored. In recent years, the controversial To the Stars Academy began popularizing “Anomalous Aerial Vehicle” (AAV) to identify supposed alien spacecraft. Other terms used by military and civilians include “anomalous phenomena”, “unidentified aerial system” (UAS), and “unidentified anomalous vehicles” (UAVs). Regardless, “unidentified flying object” and “UFO” have been the label(s) of choice for the public for decades. That may change, though.
The latest term to gain traction is “unidentified aerial phenomenon”, or UAP. I am uncertain of its origins, but apparently it has been around for a few years and gaining popularity both among civilian enthusiasts and in government/military circles. You may remember that the Pentagon’s program (within the Office of Naval Intelligence) for investigating UFO sightings — at least, the one that operated roughly June 2020 (or earlier) to Nov. 2021 — was the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF). That was succeeded by the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG), which was in turn renamed and expanded with larger scope (July 2022) as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). According to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks,
“The AARO will serve as the authoritative office of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) and UAP-related activities for the DoD.”
The new term is supposed to remove some of the stigma that “UFO” has garnered over the years, as the DoD promises to take reports more seriously. They want more data that comes from more reported sightings, which many people in the military especially were reluctant to admit to in the past. It is also pointed out that the elimination of words like “object” or “vehicle” does away with unwarranted specificity. However, the word “aerial” could still be a problem.
This brings us to another possible answer to our titular question. Namely, if the object isn’t flying, it can’t really be classified as an “Unidentified Flying Object”. Or, in the recently trending nomenclature, if it isn’t operating in Earth’s atmosphere, it can’t be an aerial phenomenon. But, as mentioned, “UFO” has historically been used as a blanket term that included even mysterious objects not flying through the air. Heck, even the old “flying saucer” became a generic term that could encompass everything from cigar-shaped “spaceships” to strange blinking lights. (Though, it is said that “UFO” was coined to avoid the misleading specificity of “saucers” and “disks”.)
A UAP/UFO could be stationary, e.g., they are sometimes seen to simply hover in the sky. They could also be moving through space or under the sea or from one medium to another. The powers-that-be recognize this, as a recent report by Mark Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, states:
“At a time when cross-domain transmedium threats to United States national security are expanding exponentially, the Committee is disappointed with the slow pace of DoD-led efforts to establish the office to address those threats. Identification, classification, and scientific study of unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena is an inherently challenging cross-agency, cross-domain problem requiring an integrated or joint Intelligence Community and DoD approach.” (italics added by me)
Now, you may be thinking that the above two answers are really just matters of semantics. The thing still is what it is. Or, to quote the Bard, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And you would be correct. However, since this post is getting sort of long already, plus I am pressed for time, you will have to wait for my third response in Part 2, due out in a couple weeks (or, link to it if already published)….
P.S. I would have done Part 2 next week, but I already reserved that day for a Halloween or Reformation Day post.
