It’s the myth that will not die! Although I’ve ‘busted’ it on numerous occasions, Phil ‘The Bad Astronomer’ Plait has once again claimed on his blog that astronomers “rarely, if ever, report UFOs”:
I have, from time to time, made a point that astronomers rarely if ever report UFOs. If UFOs really were buzzing us as much as the media and UFO proponents would have us believe, then astronomers would overwhelmingly report the majority of them: we spend far more time outside looking up than pretty much any other group of people.
I’m going to be flat out lazy here and simply answer the above with the relevant section from Chris Rutkowski’s A World of UFOs (Amazon US and UK), which directly addresses the question of whether astronomers see UFOs (which I have a feeling may have been written ‘specially on account of Phil). Chris is one of the most respected UFO researchers out there, and has a background in astronomy himself (not to mention he blogs here on TDG):
In 1980, a study of the results of a survey of 8,526 amateur astronomers who were members of the Astronomical League, the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO), and the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) was published. (Another large group of amateurs, the American Association of Variable Star Observers, refused to participate in the survey at all, believing UFOs not to be worthy of study.) The study’s author, Gert Herb, realized that these true skywatchers would have the best chance of seeing a UFO. The result was significant: out of the 1,805 amateur astronomers who responded to the survey, almost 24 percent answered “yes” to the question, “Have you ever observed an object which you could not identify, despite your best efforts to do so?” Even taking the entire sample, including those who did not respond to the questionnaire, this is still more than 5 percent of the total.
Herb went even further; he had asked respondents about their observing experience, qualifications, and background, and identified 261 senior observers who possessed higher-than-average abilities and knowledge, and who were most familiar with the night sky. Of these, 74 individuals had seen objects “which resisted most exhaustive efforts of observation.” Of these objects, most were point or slightly extended sources, although 24 were observed “at short enough distance as to leave no doubt in the observer’s mind that something strange was reported.” Sixty-six were observed through a telescope, and 40 were seen with binoculars. There is no question, then, that astronomers do see UFOs, although, as with pilots, there is a reluctance to report sightings.
So. Astronomers see UFOs. Yeah, I know the BA said “report”, but only this time around…his previous statements (which he refers to) are about astronomers seeing UFOs (and I’d consider responding to a survey as ‘reporting’ anyhow). The more devilish detail though is what exactly constitutes a ‘UFO’. And for that matter, who these ‘UFO proponents’ are. Simply pulling out any particular nutters to try and make a point is filling a barrel and populating it with copious numbers of fish. Anyone can do it, so let’s leave the ambigious messages to the side. Here’s the very simple truth of the matter:
It has been established that astronomers see UFOs. Serious UFO researchers are *not* saying that these UFOs are “alien spacecraft” (Phil’s words). But, until identified, the cause/source of a UFO is a mystery (by definition). Which is why they are worth investigating further.
Phil finishes his blog post by exhorting readers to remember that “seeing isn’t believing. Understanding is!” So here’s a challenge to the Bad Astronomer – start reporting on excellent UFO research that is trying to understand the phenomenon, rather than knocking down straw men (with an incorrect assumption about astronomers and UFOs) in order to try and score points. Here’s a few that I’ve posted in recent years:
