In strictest terms, a UFO is just that - an apparent unidentified flying object, origin unknown. The best scientifically accepted definition of a UFO is probably that provided by the late astronomer J. Allen Hynek, who said that the UFO is simply "the reported perception of an object or light seen in the sky or upon the land the appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminescent behavior of which do not suggest a logical, conventional explanation and which is not only mystifying to the original percipients but remains unidentified after close scrutiny of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making a common sense identification, if one is possible." (The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry by J. Allen Hynek, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1972, p. 10.)
What is MUFON?
Founded in 1969, the Mutual UFO Network, Inc. (MUFON) is a nonprofit corporation dedicated, through its volunteers, to resolving the scientific enigma known collectively as unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
How does MUFON conduct an investigation?
We receive UFO reports via contacts with local authorities and news media as well as at MUFON headquarters where an email team is on hand to respond. When alerted, the state or provincial director assigns one or more field investigators in the vicinity. On-site investigations usually entail personal interviews with the witnesses; completion of appropriate sighting forms, written accounts and drawings to depict the scene; and assessment of the immediate environment. Collateral contacts with neighbors, police, air traffic control staff and others often shed light on a possible misperception or uncover more witnesses. Investigators prepare a case report for review by their state/provincial director and MUFON's director of investigations. Any materials needing technical analysis (e.g., photos or soil samples) are sent to experts in those fields. Ultimately, all essential factors are entered into a computerized database for comparative analysis. We thus gain insights into the nature of aerial phenomena.
Are there major conferences?
Every summer since 1970, MUFON has hosted the International UFO Symposium. Authors, scientists, and other experts from around the world offer their latest research findings in sessions open to the public over a three-day weekend.
While it is true that rumor, speculation and tabloid sensationalism surround the UFO subject, it is with the collection, analysis and verification, as far as possible, of sober reports like the above that MUFON and other responsible UFO organizations are most concerned. The phenomenon can and should be approched dispassionately and scientifically from a variety of angles, perceptual, psychological and sociological, to name but a few. If objects from another planet are indeed visiting ours, what form of propulsion system and other technologies are employed? What kinds of biological lifeforms might be onboard? What God or gods will they worship? And how will UFO occupants - now or in the future, immediate or remote - perceive humans: as mental, emotional and spiritual equals or as vastly subpar inferiors? Should the skeptics prove right, in a "worst-case" scenario, and UFOs turn out out to be nothing more than a convoluted space age myth of our own making, surely our perceptions of the UFO phenomenon will tell us much about the contents and inner working, the built-in "plumbing" of the human mind and perhaps consciousness itself? In either event - including other scenarios and potential explanations as yet unformulated - many unanswered questions remain. It can hardly be against human nature, or the scientific method in principle, to ask and to seek answers to those questions. We welcome your assistance!
Dennis Stacy, Former Editor, MUFON UFO Journal
