UFOLOGY: HISTORY, WHAT IT STUDIES, CASES AND FAMOUS UFOLOGISTS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The ufology is a pseudoscience that is responsible for studying the activity associated with the UFO phenomenon. The word is an anglicism that comes from UFO, unidentified flying object or "unidentified flying object" in Spanish.

Ufology focuses on the collection, study, analysis and interpretation of sightings of alleged spaceships and encounters with alleged beings from other planets.

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Photographs, videos, and first-person testimonials are your main sources of information. The anomalous aerospace phenomena are those that concentrate most of the field of study of ufology.

The term UFO was coined during the first decades of the 20th century by the United States Air Force. It was used to describe any type of phenomenon that could not be associated with ships or family weapons.

During the Cold War years and thanks to nuclear tensions with the former Soviet Union, UFO sightings became popular. UFOlogy attributes it to the visit of beings from other galaxies, but official Air Force studies only affirm that the objects sighted do not belong to an origin that can be identified.

Sightings by civilians are often reported en masse, when several groups of people claim to have witnessed the same phenomenon. As a general rule, this information is usually impossible to verify by more accurate methods.

Until now it is common that the testimonies do not coincide with the analysis of air radars reports. UFOlogy holds that this is due to the ships flying outside of the radar zones, at altitudes that are too high (above 12,000 meters) or too low (less than 400 meters).

Types of extraterrestrial contact

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For ufology there are currently nine ways of making contact with non-terrestrial beings. Although the most accepted, or at least not so controversial, are only the first four.

Close encounter of the first type: sighting of lights or strange objects, such as flying saucers or unknown or very advanced-looking craft (UFOs).

Close Encounter of the Second Kind: Following the UFO sighting, physical evidence of the landing of the craft is found (nearby heat or radiation, damage to vegetation, objects or animals).

Close encounter of the third type: sighting non-human beings, inside or outside of a UFO-type ship, entering or leaving it.

Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind: Entering a UFO craft, either by abduction or of one's own free will.

Close encounter of the fifth kind: telepathic contact.

Close encounter of the sixth type: death of a human being or terrestrial animal, associated with the UFO sighting.

Close Encounter of the Seventh Kind - Creation of a Human-Alien Hybrid.

Close encounter of the eighth type: permanent and often telepathic contact with non-human beings, in order to be prepared for abduction.

Close encounter of the ninth type: abduction for the purpose of removal of human tissues or organs.

Types of aliens

Those who argue the existence of these encounters as specialists in this branch of study, also assure that there are extraterrestrial species. Thanks to oral testimonies of alleged abductees, videos and photographs, the followers of ufology maintain that there are different alien "races":

Ashtars

It is a kind of physical characteristics identical to humans. Of great stature and blond hair, they would have contacted George Van Tassel in 1952. This American citizen became from that moment on the leader of the so-called "contactees movement."

Drops

An extraterrestrial race of a humanoid type that would have arrived on our planet more than 10 thousand years ago, settling in Tibet. The theory of the existence of beings is supported by written testimonies, but there is no empirical evidence to prove it.

Little green or "green" men

They are the most famous in popular culture. They are considered humanoid, short (no more than one meter and fifty centimeters) and may or may not have antennae on their heads. According to those who claim to have been contacted, they would be hostile in nature.

Nordic

They are also known as "space brothers", being famous among those contacted for their beauty and benevolence. Ufology explains that they measure between one meter and ninety centimeters and two meters. They are "beings of light", highly evolved and peaceful, descendants of the Pleiadians.

Pleiadians

These beings have the same characteristics as the Nordics, but they come from the Pleiades star cluster, located within the constellation of Taurus.

Reptilians

It is a humanoid mutation that combines traits of reptiles (lizards, crocodiles) and that have the ability to modify their physical form. The presence of reptilians or reptilians in popular culture is linked more than anything to conspiracy theories.

However, the reports of sightings or testimonies of contact with these beings are practically nil in the field of ufology.

History of ufology

Arnold's testimony to the Air Force. By The original uploader was Dr Fil at English Wikipedia. Late versions were uploaded by Nima Baghaei at en.wikipedia. - Kenneth Arnold, Public Domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2909862)

The first officially recorded UFO sighting occurred on June 24, 1947. The complainant's name was Kenneth Arnold and he was a private pilot flying over the Cascade Mountains in the northern United States.

Arnold intended to find the wreckage of a C-46 plane that the Air Force had reported missing and for which there was a $ 5,000 reward.

After several minutes hovering over the area off Washington state, the pilot was blinded by intense white light and then. It was then followed by a fleet of 9 aircraft that it could not identify.

Arnold tried to immediately connect with the FBI once he made landfall, but was unsuccessful. The pilot ended up reporting his story to the local newspaper to which he explained that the ships were flying in a zigzag fashion and at more than 2,000 kilometers at a speed.

This first incident attracted the attention of national media, the United States Air Force itself, and thousands of onlookers across the country. In fact, another 18 sightings were reported dated June 24, all in the same area where Arnold saw the UFO.

The Kenneth Arnold sighting ushered in the era of ufology and with it the review of files of a similar nature by amateurs. Thanks to this it was learned that there were similar testimonies dating back to the end of the 19th century.

According to the records of a local newspaper in Denison, Texas, on January 22, 1878, farmer John Martin claimed to have seen a "dish-shaped spaceship." This was the first time in history where the term flying saucer was used.

Still further in history go the testimonies of medieval France. In 9th century writings by the Archbishop of Lyon, it is said that some inhabitants of that region saw "ships in the clouds". Others even claimed to have been abducted by those ships.

The most famous case: Roswell

The Roswell incident in the local newspaper. By Roswell Daily Record - Archived copy:, Public Domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27397055)

Just three weeks after the Kenneth Arnold episode, on July 2, 1947, a New Mexico farmer reports to police that he found remains of unknown materials on his farm.

Initially, the government representatives and experts involved in the collection of the material, explained that it was only rubber, wooden rods and aluminum. This would indicate that the crashed object was a weather balloon actually developed to spy on the Soviet Union.

But the followers of ufology assure, thanks to the testimonies of locals, that the globe was actually a ship and also that the aliens who piloted it died on Earth. The police would have hidden or undone all this evidence as soon as they reached the field in Roswell.

Conspiracy theories surrounding this incident continue to this day, with the Roswell episode being the launching event for modern ufology.

Famous ufologists

Charles Fort in 1920. By public domain - public domain, Public Domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1363751)

Charles Fort, born in 1874, is considered the world's first ufologist in history. He was a writer who was mainly dedicated to collecting strange phenomena, without apparent explanation or "paranormal." Teleportation, spontaneous human combustion, and UFO warnings are included in his literary work.

Ufology currently has millions of followers, fans and researchers all over the planet, but there are some clearly remarkable personalities:

- Stanton T. Friedman, nuclear physicist and one of the first to investigate the Roswell incident.

- Tom Delonge, singer and former member of the American punk band Blink 182. Two years after leaving the band, Delonge began investigating the UFO phenomenon. Delonge is a member of the Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2018 he posted videos on that site about an investigation into the sighting of unidentified objects.

- Jean-Pierre Petit, scientist and member of the National Center for Scientific Researchers in France, founded the UFO Science Association.

- Stephen G. Bassett, is officially the first politician and lobbyist associated with the UFO phenomenon. He is currently in charge and is the exclusive director of the Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee, in the United States.

- Timothy Good, a violinist by profession, his passion for ufology led him to give talks and conferences at prestigious universities and even at the Pentagon.

- Fabio Zerpa, prolific Uruguayan author who lived all his life in Argentina. His work on television made him the most recognized referent of the UFO phenomenon in South America.

References

1. Story, RD (2002, July 31). The Mammoth Encyclopedia Of Extraterrestrial Encounters.
2. Oberg, JE (2000). The failure of the 'science' of ufology, El Escéptico Magazine.
3. Cabria, I. (2002). UFOs and human sciences.
4. Clarke, D. (2009). The UFO files.
5. National UFO Reporting Center. (sf). Historical Reports. Recovered from nuforc.org