flying saucers

 What are flying saucers? Are unidentified flying objects (UFOs) alien spaceships? What proof exists that UFOs are real and the extraterrestrial hypothesis is valid? "Flying saucers" refer to sightings of strange flying objects. When these objects are observed in our skies, they are often reported as round or disc-shaped with glowing lights around them that appear to be rotating in circular patterns. Sometimes they zoom about in erratic motions, flat trajectory courses, or zigzag maneuvers at supersonic speeds before vanishing into the distant sky.

Some UFOs have been observed emitting beams of light towards earth, where the observed effects included shutting off car engine function, dimming headlights, extinguishing street lamps, interference with radios and TVs, paralysis of car occupants, and the temporary disappearance of house lights.

UFOs (or flying saucers) were observed and reported after World War 2 by military pilots, civilians, police officers, and other official sources: in the USA, in the UK, in Canada, in Australia, in New Zealand, in European countries, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A small percentage of witnessed UFOs (about 5%) remain unidentified after an investigation by competent authorities such as the US Air Force's Project Blue Book, Britain's Ministry of Defense Flying Saucer Working Party Chile’s Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (CEFAA), or Brazilian National Institute of Aeronautics (INFA).

In 1962, a joint US Air Force and CIA declassified message estimated that by 1955 more than 1 in 20 Americans had seen a UFO. In a survey conducted in 2005, the figure was found to be about 1 in 10.

Another study, done in France in 2007 with over 17,000 participants from around the world, revealed similar results: 11% of people questioned had seen a UFO at least once, while 5% claimed to have been witnesses to alien abduction.

What are the chances flying saucers are alien ships? The answer depends on the reliability of reports made by thousands of people who claim to have witnessed extraterrestrial visitors. This in turn implies that a number of criteria must be met before UFOs can be considered factual. The evidence must be of a nature where it is beyond reasonable doubt that the witnesses had no reason to invent their story, and on its own merits, it should be sufficient to convince a reasonable person.