UFO Basics A – Z

Adamski, George – George, who ran a café near the Mount Palomar Observatory, was the most famous of the contacteesof the early fifties. In his book Flying Saucers Have Landed, he claimed to have met aliens from Venus. This was before scientists learned that Venus has a surface temperature of around 900 degrees. He later claimed to have been taken on board a flying saucer for a tour of the solar system.

AFOSI – The Air Force Office of Special Investigations. A sort of Air Force version of the FBI. It is said to have been involved in UFO investigations many times.

Airships or The Great Airship – In 1896 & 1897, there was a wave of sightings across the United States of propeller-driven aircraft similar to dirigibles. The reports are regarded as a series of newspaper hoaxes and “Liar’s Club” tales.

Alien – A being from another planet. An extraterrestrial. There are many types mentioned, including grays – small humanoids with large heads and large eyes, reptoids – reptilian creatures, and nordics – blond, blue eyed humanoids. Oddly, the types of aliens reported vary from country to country. European reports favor dwarves, and South American reports often mention hairy dwarves, while Americans usually see grays or nordics, with occasional reptoids.

Alien Abduction – Some people, including writer Whitley Strieber, have had experiences in which they were taken from their beds or cars by aliens who took them into their craft for medical tests and other things. Sometimes the people involved remember these experiences, but sometimes they only recall them after being hypnotized. There is much disagreement as to whether these experiences are real or whether they are some type of dreamlike phenomenon.

The Allagash Abductions – Four men were abducted in 1976 while fishing on the Allagash waterway in Maine. Also a book by Raymond Fowler.

Allende Carlos (AKA Carl Allen) – Merchant Marine sailor on the S. S. Andrew Furuseth who later wrote letters to Morris K. Jessup, author of The Case for the UFO. In those letters, he claimed to have been a witness to the Philadelphia Experiment.

Alternative 3 – TV program and book about a group of the “elite” leaving earth for colonies on the Moon and Mars.

Ancient Astronauts – Some people, such as Erich von Daniken, claim that archaeological evidence proves that Earth was visited by aliens in the past. Some also claim to find evidence of such visitation in the religions and mythology of various cultures. Zecharia Sitchin is one of these. Mainstream archaeologists generally find these ideas to be amusing cocktail party chatter.

Angel Hair – long, thin wispy fibers that have been seen to fall from the sky after some UFO sightings. It has been very difficult to collect samples for analysis because angel hair disintegrates quickly. One theory about angel hair is that is actually the web of certain types of spiders that travel about on the wind, using webbing like a parachute or hang glider. (No Joke!)

Annunaki – Ancient astronauts posited by Zecheriah Sitchin based on his interpretation of ancient Sumerian texts.

APRO – Aerial Phenomena Research Organization – A UFO group founded in 1952 by Coral and Jim Lorenzen. For most of its existence, it was based in Tucson, Arizona. Jim passed away in1986, and Coral in 1988 and APRO passed with them.

Area 51 – “Area 51” is a super-secret Air Force Base located on the Nevada Test Range. It has several other names, including Groom Lake. The name “Area 51” came from the fact that the site was labeled as “Area 51” on old Atomic Energy Commission maps. The name “Groom Lake” comes from the fact that the base’s runway, the longest runway in the world, is located in a dry lake bed named Groom Lake. This secret base is used for testing top-secret black budget aircraft. It has been rumored that there are captured alien craft being tested there also.

Arnold, Kenneth – While flying over the Cascade Mountains in Washington State on June 24, 1947, businessman/pilot Kenneth Arnold observed nine heel-shaped craft that he described as moving like a “saucer skipping over water”. Thus was born the term flying saucer.

Astronaut UFO Sightings – Since the advent of the U.S. space program, there have been rumors that our astronauts have seen UFOs while in space.

The Aviary – Collective name for a loosely-knit group of “contacts” in the government and military who were involved with UFOs and who were given bird code names by William L. Moore.

Aztec, New Mexico – site of a supposed UFO crash in 1948

Ball Lightning – A little understood and very rare form of lightning. Some scientists doubt its existence because all of the evidence is anecdotal. The descriptions most often given are that it is spherical, short-lived, usually only a few centimeters in diameter, and is seen accompanying ordinary lightning. It has been used by some to explain UFO sightings, although it fits very few sighting descriptions.

Belgian UFO Sightings – Eupen & Wavre, Belgium were the site of a series of mysterious UFO sightings in 1989 – 1990.

Bennewitz, Paul – An Albuquerque, New Mexico physicist and electronics firm owner. He was also a member of the APRO UFO group, and in 1979 he began monitoring strange lights over the Manzano Test Range Facility. Originator of the Dulce base story.

Bentwaters-Woodbridge – Forest near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was the site of a well-known UFO event on 27 December 1980. Also known as the Rendlesham Forest UFO event.

Bermuda Triangle – A triangle-shaped area of ocean formed roughly by the island of Bermuda, the island of Puerto Rico, and the eastern coast of Florida. UFOs are often seen in the area. There is a popular myth that ships and planes vanish mysteriously in the area. However, statistics do not bear this out, and an analysis of the claimed incidents shows that many of them did not even occur within the triangle. In addition, close examination of the records show that most of the other incidents have non-mysterious explanations.

Black Aircraft – Experimental top secret aircraft whose development is paid for out of the black budget. The U-2 spy plane, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the Stealth Fighter all began as “Black Aircraft.” Many of these aircraft are tested at Area 51.

Black Budget – A “slush fund” of federal budget money that can be spent without specific justification to Congress. This is possible because it is deemed necessary for defense research in order to maintain National Security. Blue Book, Project – The third, and longest lasting, Air Force UFO investigation. It’s main objective was to explain [away] UFO reports.

Boianai, Papua, New Guinea – Anglican missionary Father William Booth Gill reported UFOs over Boianai, Papua, New Guinea in 1959.

Brazel, William “Mac” – Sheep rancher who first discovered the Roswell debris on the Foster Ranch in 1947.

Cash – Landrum Incident – In 1980, near Huffman, Texas, Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, and Betty’s grandson Colby had a close encounter with a UFO that was apparently being escorted by military helicopters. The three, particularly Betty Cash, then had a series of health problems that they felt were related to their encounter.

Cattle Mutilations – Ranchers find cattle dead, with soft body parts such as eyes, lips, udders, and sex organs surgically removed. Whodunnit? Sometimes UFOs are seen concurrently with the mutilations, and sometimes black helicopters are seen in the area.

Close Encounters: See Hynek UFO Classification System.

Condon Report – In 1966, the US Air Force commissioned the University of Colorado to make a scientific study of UFOs. Headed by Dr. Edward Condon, in 1969 the group published The Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects which debunked the UFO phenomena. The Condon Report was used as an excuse to close down Project Blue Book, which many say was its only purpose anyhow.

Chiles, Clarence – Eastern Airlines pilot who sighted a UFO near Montgomery, Alabama, on July 24, 1948.

China – A wave of UFO sightings occurred in China at the end of 1999.

Cigar – Some UFOs have been reported to be cigar-shaped.

Contactee – A person who claims that aliens have visited him personally.

Cooper, Milton William “Bill” – Radio personality and writer of Behold a Pale Horse. Noted for various conspiracy theories.

Corso, Colonel Philip J. – Retired U.S. Army, author of The Day After Roswell. Claimed in the book to have been given technology from the crashed Roswell UFO for the purpose of leaking the technology surreptitiously to American industry and the military.

Coyne, Captain Lawrence J. – Coyne & others aboard a National Guard helicopter had a close brush with a UFO in 1973 near Manfield, Ohio.

Crop Circles – In the 1970s, large, circles of flattened grain began to appear in British fields. The circles gradually became more complex, forming something like pictograms. Many researchers tried to explain them by theories including magnetic fields, plasma vortices, twisters, alien visitors leaving messages, and love crazed hedgehogs. In 1991, two guys named Doug Bower and Dave Chorley of Southampton in Britain announced that they had been making crop circles for 15 years. They had hatched the idea over a pint or two in their local pub. No matter. The circles continue to appear, and have spread all over the world.

CUFOS – Center for UFO Studies – Group founded by Astronomer J. Allen Hynek in 1973.

Debunker – Debunkers are more extreme than skeptics. Debunkers generally refuse to even entertain the possibility that any UFO could be anything unusual. Debunkers are sometimes so fanatic about finding a non-extraterrestrial explanation for a UFO sighting that they violate scientific principles to do so.

Delphos, Kansas – Site where the Johnson family had a close encounter in 1971.

Devil’s Triangle – Another name for the Bermuda Triangle.

Disinformation – An intelligence tactic used to protect top-secret information by diluting or covering the truth with false information.

Dogon – Tribe in Mali, Africa, who inexplicably seem to have knowledge of the invisible companion of the star Sirius, which cannot be seen without a telescope.

Doty, Sergeant Richard C. – Air Force Ofice of Special Investigations – Served in Laos & Vietnam. Later transferred to AFOSI & was assigned to Kirtland AFB. Investigated Weitzel UFO sighting & Paul Bennewitz. Later served in West Germany. After retiring from USAF, became a New Mexico Highway Patrolman. A friend and/or associate of William L. Moore.

Dreamland – Another name for Area 51. It’s the term used by the Nellis AFB control tower to refer to the base.

Dulce – While investigating cattle mutilations on the Jicarillo Indian Reservation outside Dulce, New Mexico, Paul Bennewitz saw mysterious objects rising from Mt. Archuleta. He deduced, or was disinformed into believing, that there must be an alien base inside the mountain. Others have added to the story since, and the Dulce base has become legendary.

Earthquake Lights – Lights which sometimes appear just before or during an earthquake.

Estimate of the Situation – In 1948, Project Sign personnel thought it time to make a formal Estimate of the Situation giving the results of their investigation of UFOs so far. This was sent to Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenburg, who rejected the report’s conclusion that UFOs were extraterrestrial in origin. He ordered the report destroyed.

Exeter – City in New Hampshire that was the site of a wave of UFO sightings beginning in September, 1965. Book:Incident at Exeter by John G. Fuller.

Face on Mars – A mysterious plateau in the Cydonia area of Mars that looks like a face in some photos. Some say it must have been created by intelligent life. NASA says it’s a natural formation combined with a trick of light.

Falcon Lake – lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada, where, in 1967 prospector Stephen Michalak had a close encounter with a UFO that left him with burns across his chest.

fata morgana – A type of mirage that seems to be a castle or a city floating on the ocean.

Fermi Paradox – A question first asked by physicist Enrico Fermi – “If there are intelligent extraterrestrials out there, why haven’t they contacted us?”.

Feuerball – Supposedly a flying craft developed by the Nazis during World War Two.

Firmage, Joe – Former CEO of USWeb, who quit to form the International Space Sciences Organization and to write The Truth, about UFOs and space travel, among other things.

Flatwoods, West Virginia – Site of a burning object crash and sightings of a mysterious creature in 1952.

Flight 19 – Ill-ftaed group of five avenger aircraft on a training mission from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle in 1945.

Flying Saucer – This is a name for certain types of UFOs. It originated when Kenneth Arnold described the objects that he saw as looking like a “saucer skipping across water.”

Foo Fighters – During World War II, both sides reported strange lights and objects flying alongside their planes. Each side at first believed they were some kind of a new secret weapon belonging to the other side. No explanation was ever found. The name foo fighter comes from a WWII cartoon character named “Smoky Stover” who said Where there’s foo, there’s fire!.

Ford, John – President of the Long Island UFO Network. Arrested in 1996 for conspiring to poison local officials with radium.

Fort, Charles – (1874 – 1932) The first UFOlogist & investigator of unusual phenomena. Author of several books including The Book of the Damned and Lo!.

Fowler, Raymond – Abduction researcher & author of the Andreasson Affair and The Allagash Abductions, among others.

Friedman, Stanton – Physicist, formerly worked for Westinghouse. Author of Crash at Corona (With Don Berliner), and Top Secret/Majic. One of the primary investigators of the Roswell Incident and the MJ-12 documents.

Ghost Rockets – Many unidentified aerial objects were reported over Scandinavia in 1946 – 1947. They looked like missiles with a flame exhaust at one end flying at various speeds. They were thought to be Russian missile tests, but this was never verified.

Gill, Father William Booth – Anglican missionary who reported UFOs over Boianai, Papua, New Guinea in 1959.

Ghost Lights – See Spooklights.

Green Fireballs – Objects seen in the skies of New Mexico, mainly in 1948 -1949. They had the appearance of brilliant green balls of light. Project Twinkle was set up to study them. They were never explained, but the best theory seems to be that they were some type of meteorite.

Groom Lake – See Area 51.

Grudge, Project – In 1949, Project Sign was replaced by Project Grudge, the second Air Force UFO investigation. Its name reflected its attitude. It mainly sought to debunk UFO sightings.

Hill, Betty and Barney – Married couple who were purportedly abducted from their car by aliens in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 1961. He was a postal worker and she was a social worker. Called the first “modern” abductees.

Hopkins, Budd – Abduction researcher and author. His books include Missing Time, Intruders, and Witnessed!.

Hudson Valley – Area of New York state that was the site of a series of UFO sightings beginning in 1983.

Hynek UFO sightings Classification System:

Hynek, J. Allen – Astronomer, Professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University (1935 – 1953); Advisor to Project Grudge(1948) – 1952; Advisor to Project Bluebook (1952 – 1969); Associate Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratory at Harvard (1956 – 1960);Professor of Astronomy at Northwestern University (1960 – 1978) In 1973, he founded CUFOS, the Center for UFO studies.

Illinois, Lebanon and Millstadt – A large UFO was seen by several police officers in this area on the night of January 5, 2000.

Irwin, Private Gerry – Nike missile technician from Fort Bliss, who had an odd experience after seeing an object land in a field in 1959. He later deserted and vanished.

Jacobs, David M. – Abduction researcher and author. His books include The Threat and Secret Life.

JAL1628 – Japan Airlines 747 that was followed by a UFO over Alaska in 1986.

Jessup, Morris K. – Astronomer and author of UFO books, notably The Case for The UFO. Committed suicide in 1959. Also see The Philadelphia Experiment

Kecksburg, Pennsylvania – Site of a mysterious crash of an object in 1966.

Kelly – Hopkinsville, Kentucky – Site where the Sutton family was beseiged by “goblins” in 1955.

Keyhoe, Major Donald E. – U.S. Marine Corps. An aide to Charles Lindbergh. Began writing about UFOs for True magazine in 1949. Author: The Flying Saucers are Real, published in 1950. Later director of NICAP from 1957 to 1969.

kugelblitz – Supposedly a flying craft developed by the Nazis during World War Two.

Lago de Cote – a lake in Costa Rica over which a government mapping camera on board an aircraft took an unexplained photo of an apparent UFO in 1971.

Lagrange Points – Points in the orbit of a body around another body where their gravities are in equilibrium.

Lazar, Robert “Bob” – UFO personality. Claimed to be a physicist who was hired by Edward Teller to reverse-engineer a UFO at Papoose Lake, near Area 51.

Lear, John – Ex-CIA pilot. Son of Edward Lear, of Lear Jet fame. UFO personality & conspiracy theorist.

LIUFON – The Long Island UFO Network.

Loedding, Alfred – member of Project Sign. Designer of unusual aircraft.

Long-Distance Echoes – A radio phenomenon in which transmissions are reflected back to Earth by some unknown mechanism.

Loring AFB, Maine – U.S. Air Force Base. Site of some unusual UFO events on 27 October 1975.

Mack, John – Harvard psychiatrist and abduction researcher. Author of Abduction – Human Encounters with Aliens.

Majestic-12 – Supposedly a group of twelve high-ranking scientists, military leaders, and government officials that was formed by executive order of President Harry Truman to investigate the UFO phenomenon. MJ-12 was first brought to public attention with the 1987 release of the MJ-12 documents. These documents purported to be copies of top-secret documents given by an anonymous “insider” to film producer Jaime Shandera.

Mansfield, Ohio – Town where Lawrence J. Coyne & others aboard a National Guard helicopter had a close brush with a UFO in 1973.

Marcel, Major Jesse – Intelligence officer at Roswell Army Air Base who investigated the Roswell crash in July, 1947.

Marfa – a town west Texas that is a famed spooklight site. The lights are seen in the nearby mountains and are known as the Marfa Lights.

Malmstrom AFB, Montana – U.S. Air Force base in Montana. Site of unusual UFO events in 1966, 1967, and 1975.

Mantell, Captain Thomas – Pilot who Crashed near Fort Knox, Kentucky while chasing a UFO.

Maury Island – Island in Puget Sound near Tacoma, Washington where two men claimed to have seen UFOs in June, 1947. Regarded as a hoax.

McDonald, James E. – Professor of meteorology at the University of Arizona. Staunch supporter of a formal scientific investigation of UFOs. Called for congressional investigation of UFOs. Author: Science in Default: Twenty-two Years of Inadequate UFO Investigations. Committed suicide in 1971.

Men in Black – The Men In Black, or MIB, are a supposed group of individuals who dress in black suits and drive black cars. They are said to threaten people who have UFO encounters in order to deter them from talking about the incident.

Mexico City, 1991 – During the solar eclipse on July 11, 1991, camcorder enthusiasts in Mexico captured inexplicable images of a UFO on videotape.

Michilak, Stephen – Prospector who had a close encounter with a UFO in 1967 at Falcon Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada, that left him with burns across his chest.

Missing Time – Those who see UFOs sometimes discover that there are periods of time that they cannot account for. Regression hypnosis sometimes reveals that they were abducted by aliens during these periods of missing time.

Mogul, Project – a top-secret 1947 project that used high-altitude balloons to attempt to detect Soviet nuclear tests.

Moriches Bay, Long Island – Site where the U.S. allegedly shot down and recovered a UFO in 1989. Also site of the TWA Flight 800 disaster in 1996.

Mothership – Some observers have reported large UFOs out of which smaller craft seem to come. Sort of like a UFO “aircraft carrier.”

Moncla, Lieutenant Felix – Air Force F-89 pilot who, along with his navigator Lieutenant R. R. Wilson, disappeared while chasing a UFO over Lake Superior in 1953.

Montauk Project – Purported government time-travel experiment that took place at Montauk Air Station on Long Island. Related to The Philadelphia Experiment.

Moore, William L. – Former schoolteacher. Member of NICAP and APRO. Writer, with Charles Berlitz, of The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisibility and The Roswell Incident. Was involved in the Paul Bennewtiz affair and is a friend and/or associate of Richard S. Doty, Stanton Friedman, and Jaime Shandera. One of the principal investigators of the original

MJ-12 documents. Had a group of contacts within the government and the military whom he gave bird code names and whom he referred to as the Aviary.

Moore, William L. – co-author, with Charles Berlitz, of The Philadelphia Experiment and The Roswell Incident.

MUFON – The Mutual UFO Network. The largest UFO organization in the world.

Mothman – A mysterious winged creature who appeared around Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966 – 1967.

NICAP – National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenona. UFO Group that was the most powerful in it’s heyday. For much of its existence it was led by Major Donald Keyhoe.

Nephilim – Another name for the Annunaki, ancient astronauts posited by Zecheriah Sitchin based on his interpretation of ancient Sumerian texts.

“Old Hag” – A form of sleep paralysis in which an individual senses a presence in his bedroom, even on the bed or on top of him. Palmer, Raymond – Editor of Amazing Stories magazine in the 1940’s & later of Fate Magazine. Some credit him with originating the extraterrestrial hypothesis for the origin of UFOs.

Papoose Lake – Another dry lake near Groom Lake or Area 51. Papoose Lake is where Bob Lazar claims that alien craft are being tested. Also known as S-4

Papua, New Guinea – Anglican missionary Father William Booth Gill reported UFOs over Boianai, Papua, New Guinea in 1959.

Pascagoula, Mississippi – Site of the abduction of Calvin Parker and Charles Hickson on October 11, 1973.

The Philadelphia Experiment – Purported 1943 experiment by the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Yards in which the U.S.S. Eldridge was made invisible, with dire consequences for her crew.

Phoenix Lights – A huge UFO flap occurred in and around Phoenix, Arizona, on the night of March 13, 1997.

Portage County, Ohio – Site where police chased a UFO for forty-odd miles in 1966.

Randle, Kevin – Author of many UFO books, including The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell with Donald Schmitt.

Rare Earth Hypothesis – Hypothesis that, since the combination of factors that contributed to the evolution of intelligence on Earth are rare in the cosmos, then so must intelligence life be rare in the cosmos.

Red Bluff, California – Site where California Highway Patrolmen saw a UFO in 1960.

Rendlesham Forest – Forest near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was the site of a well-known UFO event on 27 December 1980. Also known as the Bentwaters-Woodbridge UFO event.

Regression Hypnosis – The practice of trying to recover lost memories by hypnotizing a subject and taking them back in their minds to the time in question. The problems with it are that the hypnotist can unwittingly plant “memories” in the subject’s mind, and hypnotized subjects sometimes invent (confabulate) memories in order to comply with a hypnotist’s requests.

Robertson Panel – A 1952 CIA-sponsored panel that recommended a policy of debunking UFOs be pursued.

Roswell Incident – In July, 1947, a rancher named Mac Brazel found some odd, silvery debris on the ranch at which he worked. He took some of it into the county sheriff’s office and the sheriff turned it over to the local Army Air Base. The Air Base sent Major Jesse Marcel, the base intelligence officer, out to investigate, and he collected a lot of debris, which he took back to the base. Mac Brazel was held for several days for questioning, and the Roswell Air Base information officer released a story to the press that said a “flying disc” had been captured. Major Marcel and the debris were flown to Carswell Air Base in Texas, where General Roger Ramey held a press conference at which he announced that the debris was only a weather balloon. Years later, before he died, Jesse Marcel claimed that the debris was not a weather balloon, but that it was something “not of this Earth.” Several popular books were written that claimed that an alien craft had been recovered at Roswell and that the incident was covered up by the military. Finally, in 1995, the Air Force issued a statement that the debris was that of a top secret Project Mogul balloon train and radar reflectors. The debate still rages.

Sedona – a town in Arizona that has acquired a reputation for being a UFO “hotspot”.

SETI – Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. The search for life on other worlds by using radio telescopes to listen for possible radio signals from space.

Shandera, Jaime – Producer of TV documentaries. Friend and associate of William L. Moore and Stanton Friedman. He was the individual to whom the roll of film containing the MJ-12 documents was delivered.

Shag Harbour – a harbor and town on the east coast of Nova Scotia where, in 1967, an unknown “something” fell from the sky into the harbour.

Shaitan Mazar – “Grave of the Devil”. Location in Krygyzstan, in the former Soviet Union, where a UFO supposedly crashed. See also Return to Shaitan Mazar

Shaver, Richard – Letter writer to Amazing Stories magazine. Claimed in letters to that magazine that events on Earth were being influenced by a race of evil underground dwelling creatures called deros. The letters were expanded and published by editor Raymond Palmer as I Remember Lemuria and later became known as The Shaver Mystery. Shaver was once a mental patient and claimed he heard voices coming from his welding machine

Sign, Project – The first official USAF investigation which started in January, 1948. Also known as Project Saucer. Probably the only honest Air Force effort to find out what UFOs were. The project ended in February 1949 when the goals of the Air Force regarding UFO investigations changed.

Simonton, Joe – Wisconsin farmer who claimed to have been given pancakes by UFO occupants in 1961.

Skeptibunker – A term sometimes used by UFO aficionados to lump both skeptics and debunkers together.

Skeptic – Someone who doesn’t believe that UFOs are alien spacecraft because there is not enough evidence. Skeptics are generally more open-minded than debunkers.

Strieber, Whitley – Fiction writer and abductee. Author of several books about his abduction experiences, beginning with Communion.

Sleep Paralysis – A sleep disorder in which an individual awakens to sense a presence in his bedroom, even on the bed or on top of him. The victim is unable to move, hence the name.

Snippy – an appaloosa pony whose real name was Lady. She became famous in 1967 as the first “official” animal mutilation case.

Socorro, New Mexico – Lonnie Zamora, a sergeant for the Socorro Police Department, witnessed a UFO landing on Friday, April 24,1964 in Socorro. His sighting has never been adequately explained.

South Haven Park, Long Island – Site of an alleged UFO crash in 1992.

Spitzbegen – Norwegian Island inside the arctic circle where a purported UFO crash occurred.

Sturrock Panel – a panel of scientists, headed by Stanford’s Peter Sturrock, who studied the available UFO evidence and deemed the study of UFOs to be worthy of formal scientific investigation.

Spooklights – Lights which appear in the skies regularly in the same area. Examples are Marfa, Texas, Joplin, Missouri’s Hornet Light, and North Carolina’s Brown Mountain Light.

Sundog – A “false sun” formed by the sun shining through a cloud of ice crystals.

Superior image – A type of mirage that causes an image to appear above the horizon.

Tectonic Strain Theory – The theory that UFOs are electromagnetic phenomena that are generated by tectonic stresses in the earth’s crust.

Tehran, Iran – Site of a well-documented UFO sighting on 19 September, 1976.

Trindade Island – a Brazilian island where, in 1958, a photographer on borad a Brazilian Navy scientific research ship snapped several photos of a UFO.

Tully, Queensland, Australia – The first “crop circle” appeared in Horseshoe Lagoon near here in 1966. Twinkle, Project – A project to study the green fireballs seen in New Mexico in 1948 & 1949. The project was not adequately funded and never produced any results.

UFO – UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object. It doesn’t necessarily mean an alien craft, although it is often used that way. It just means some object in the sky that is unknown.

UFOlogist – A UFO investigator or researcher.

UFOlogy – The study of UFO phenomena.

University of Colorado UFO Project – See Condon Report

Valentich, Frederick – He and his Cessna 182 disappeared over the Bass Straits between Australia and Tasmania. Just before radio contact was lost, he reported that his plane was being followed by an unidentified aircraft.

Vallee, Jacques – Author of several UFO books including Challenge to Science, Passport to Magonia, and Revelations

Varginha, Brazil – City in Brazil where, in 1996, aliens were supposedly captured or alien bodies recovered.

Villas-Boas, Antonio – Brazilian farmer who claimed to have been taken on board a UFO, where he was seduced by a female alien.

Vimanas – Ancient Hindu writings describe flying craft called vimanas.

Walk-in – An extraterrestrial soul that has been invited to take over a human body by the body’s current inhabitant.

Walton, Travis – supposedly abducted by a UFO from Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in 1975. A movie of the event was called Fire in the Sky

Wanderer – An extraterrestrial soul that has chosen to be born into a human body.

Washington Nationals – In July, 1952, many pilots and radar operators reported UFOs in the Washington D.C. area. Some were attributed to false radar blips caused by a temperature inversion. However, some of the radar sightings were corroborated by visual sightings. These were never explained.

Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan – U.S. Air Force base in Michigan. Site of unusual UFO events in October 1975.