In honor of our exploration of theories behind UAP and UFOs on Lunatics Radio Hour, here are some of the most famous UFO and UAP encounters. And of course, there are many infamous cases that could be included in this list, this just scratches the surface.
Lubbock Lights
In August and September of 1951, an unusual pattern of lights was seen above Lubbock, Texas. The first sighting occurred on August 25th when three Texas Tech professors observed 20-30 lights that were brighter, but larger than stars. They also claimed to see a second set of lights pass by. The professors included a geologist, a chemical engineer and a petroleum engineer. But they were not the only people to observe the lights, and this wasn’t the only sighting.
On August 30th 1951 a Texas Tech student Carl Hart Jr, took photographs of a similar light pattern, this one shaped as a V. As the story of the Lubbock Lights spread across the nation, so did these photographs. The professors who had initially reported the lights claimed that what they had observed were lights in a “U” shape, not a “V” shape like the photograph. The 5 photos were studied at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Edward J. Ruppelt, the head of Project Blue Book, said this of the pictures: “the photos were never proven to be a hoax, but neither were they proven to be genuine."
Ruppelt ended up investigating the sighting as part of Project Blue Book and traveled to Texas to conduct interviews. Ruppelt concluded that the sightings were actually due to a type of bird, called a plover. As the plovers flew in formation, he suspected that new street lights in town were causing a strange reflection off of the birds. Though this theory was not broadly accepted by those who had experienced the phenomena. Many thought that the birds were too small to be the cause, that the lights they had witnessed were remarkably large.
In the end, Ruppelt himself revoked the bird theory. He issued a vague statement that revealed while he did know the simple explanation, unfortunately he was not allowed to disclose it to the public: "They weren't birds, they weren't refracted light, but they weren't spaceships [...] [they were] positively identified as a very commonplace and easily explainable natural phenomenon [...] It is very unfortunate that I can't divulge exactly the way the answer was found because it is an interesting story of how a scientist set up complete instrumentation to track down the lights and how he spent several months testing theory after theory until he finally hit upon the answer. Telling the story would lead to his identity and, in exchange for his story, I promised the man complete anonymity. But he fully convinced me that he had the answer, and after having heard hundreds of explanations of UFO's, I don't convince easily."
The Hudson Valley UFO Wave
From 1983 through 1984 there was a wave of UAP sightings across New York State and western Connecitcut. Sometimes also referred to as the Westchester Boomerang. Those who witnessed the lights would describe them as taking up the same amount of space as an American football field, and moving in either a circular shape or a V pattern. The lights were also noted to be able to shoot up straight and be able to hover in place. Some folks claimed the lights were silent, while others reported a slight buzzing noise.
Unlike many others, these sightings do have a conclusive ending. A police officer followed the lights, which led him to Stormville Airport in New York. A group of pilots flew a fleet of Cessna 152s, with lights that could change colors, together in formations. The police reported that the pilots were delighted with their hoax. But despite this, The Hudson Valley UFO Wave remains a subject of UFO lore and speculation. Some reject the confessions of the pilots.
Roswell
One of the most infamous and highly debated UAP incidents, those who believe in the Roswell incident believe that in 1947 the Air Force collected debris from a crashed UFO, that they claimed to have been a weather balloon. At the time, the military reported that it had recovered a “flying disc” but redacted that statement within 24 hours.
In 1978, Jesse Marcel, a retired Air Force officer claimed that the object recovered was indeed extra-terrestrial, and that the military created the weather balloon story as a cover up. And the incident became highly debated, contested and expanded. Notably some variations include the premise that an alien corpse was actually recovered at the scene.
In the 1990s, the government revealed that the object was part of Project Mogul. A program developing and testing technology that was meant to detect Soviet nuclear tests.
The Roswell incident has been adapted many, many times in different science fiction formats. X-Files returns to Roswell many times over the series, it’s also featured on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Independence Day, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Futurama, American Dad and many, many more.
The Phoenix Lights
On March 13th 1997, many people across Arizona and Nevada reported seeing lights of an unknown origin in the night sky. Between the hours of 7:30 and 10:30pm locally, hundreds of reports of various lights were made. Some claimed to see what they described as something shaped like a “carpenter's square.”
According to the authorities, The Phoenix Lights incident can be explained by two separate occurrences. One, a pilot training program called Operation Snowbird, which included dropping illuminated flairs. And an A-10 Thunderbolt II craft flying at high altitudes around the region.
Betty and Barney Hill
One of the most famous cases of an alien encounter belongs to Betty and Barney Hill, in 1961. Betty and Barney Hill claim that on their drive back from vacation in Canada they saw a light zooming around the sky close to their home in New Hampshire. At first Betty thought it was a falling star, but it was moving upwards in the sky and growing in size and brightness. The Hills stopped their car and took a look through binoculars.
They soon encountered the UFO up close and personal. They claimed the ship they saw descended very quickly towards their car. The couple claimed the craft they saw was upwards of 80 feet and moved in odd patterns across the sky. They also said the UFO was silent. Next, the ship moved over the car and was hovering 80-100 feet over them. Barney stopped the car. The Hills used the binoculars and claimed to see 8-11 humanoids looking out of the windows on the craft. They likened the ship to a large pancake.
Next the Hills heard strange beeping and buzzing noises which caused the car to vibrate. They felt a tingling sensation in their bodies. The Hills claim that they experienced an ‘altered state of consciousness’ that left them feeling hazy. More noises brought them back to clear focus and they realized they had traveled nearly 35 miles south without any memories of it.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, the aftermath of this incident is fascinating. Both from the perspective of The Hills, and from the conspiracy spin-off that this sighting ignited.
For more on alien theory, listen to episode 149 of the Lunatics Radio Hour podcast.
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