Ufology is aneologism derived fromUFO (a term coined byEdward J. Ruppelt),[4] and is derived from appending the acronym UFO with the suffix-logy (from theAncient Greek-λογία (-logia)). Early uses of ufology include an article inFantastic Universe (1957)[5] and a 1958 presentation for the UFO "research organization" The Planetary Center.[6]
Publicity of UFOs increased after World War II, coinciding with the escalation of theCold War and strategic concerns related to the development and detection (e.g., theGround Observer Corps) of advancedSoviet aircraft.[7][10][11] Official, government-sponsored activities in the United States related to ufology ended in the late 1960s following theCondon Committee report and the termination ofProject Blue Book.[12] Government-sponsored, UFO-related activities in other countries, including theUnited Kingdom,[13][14] Canada,[15] Denmark,[16] Italy,[17] and Sweden[18] also ended. An exception to this trend is France, which maintains theGEIPAN[19] program, formerly known as GEPAN (1977–1988) and SEPRA (1988–2004), operated by the French Space AgencyCNES.
On 14 September 2023, NASA reported the appointment, for the first time, of a Director ofU.A.P. (known earlier as U.F.O.), identified asMark McInerney, to scientifically and transparently study such occurrences.[20]
Some writers have identified social factors that contribute to the status of ufology as a pseudoscience,[31][32][33] with one study suggesting that "any science doubt surrounding unidentified flying objects and aliens was not primarily due to the ignorance of ufologists about science, but rather a product of the respective research practices of and relations between ufology, the sciences, and government investigative bodies".[32] One study suggests that "the rudimentary standard ofscience communication attending to the extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) hypothesis for UFOs inhibits public understanding of science, dissuades academic inquiry within the physical and social sciences, and undermines progressive space policy initiatives".[34]
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In 2021, astronomerAvi Loeb launchedThe Galileo Project[35] which intends to collect and report scientific evidence of extraterrestrials or extraterrestrial technology on or near Earth via telescopic observations.[36][37][38][39]
In Germany, theUniversity of Würzburg is developing intelligent sensors that can help detect and analyze aerial objects in hopes of applying such technology to UAP.[40][41][42][43]
A 2021Gallup poll found that belief among Americans in some UFOs being extraterrestrial spacecraft grew between 2019 and 2021 from 33% to 41%. Gallup cited increased coverage in mainstream news and scrutiny from government authorities as a factor in changing attitudes towards UFOs.[44]
In 2022, NASA announced a nine-month study starting in the fall to help establish a road map for investigating UAP—or for reconnaissance of the publicly available data it might use for such research.[45][46][47]
In 2023, the RAND Corporation published a study reviewing 101,151 public reports of UAP sightings in the United States from 1998 to 2022.[48] The models used to conduct the analysis showed that reports of UAP sightings were less likely within 30 km of weather stations, 60 km of civilian airports, and in more–densely populated areas, while rural areas tended to have a higher rate of UAP reports. The most consistent and statistically significant finding was that reports of UAP sightings were more likely to occur within 30 km of military operations areas, where routine military training occurs.
Although some ufologists (e.g.,Peter A. Sturrock) have proposed explicit methodological activities for the investigation of UFOs,[49] scientific UFO research is challenged by the facts that the phenomena are spatially and temporally unpredictable, are not reproducible, and lack tangible physicality.[50][51] That most UFO sightings have mundane explanations[52] limits interpretive power of "interesting," extraordinary UFO-related events, with the astronomerCarl Sagan writing: "The reliable cases are uninteresting and the interesting cases are unreliable. Unfortunately there are no cases that are both reliable and interesting."[53]
SkepticRobert Sheaffer has accused ufology of having a "credulity explosion,"[72] writing that "the kind of stories generating excitement and attention in any given year would have been rejected by mainstream ufologists a few years earlier for being too outlandish."[72] The physicistJames E. McDonald also identified "cultism" and "extreme...subgroups" as negatively impacting ufology.[73]
During theCold War, ufology was synthesized with the ideas of aTrotskyist movement in South America known asPosadism. Posadism's main theorist,Juan Posadas, believed the human race must "appeal to the beings on other planets...to intervene and collaborate with Earth's inhabitants in suppressing poverty;" i.e., Posadas wished to collaborate with extraterrestrials to create asocialist system on Earth.[74] The adoption of this belief among Posadists, who had previously been a significant political force in South America, has been noted as a contributing factor in their decline.[75]
A large number of private organizations dedicated to the study, discussion, and publicity of ufology and other UFO-related topics exist worldwide, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Switzerland. Along with such "pro-UFO" groups are skeptic organizations that emphasize the pseudoscientific nature of ufology.
During the annualWorld UFO Day (2 July), ufologists and associated organizations raise public awareness of ufology to "tell the truth about earthly visits from outer space aliens."[85][86] The day's events include group gatherings to search for and observe UFOs.[87][88]
^Denzler, Brenda (2003).The lure of the edge: scientific passions, religious beliefs, and the pursuit of UFOs. University of California Press. pp. 6–7.ISBN0-520-23905-9.
^GEIPAN stands forGroupe d'Études et d'Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés ("unidentified aerospace phenomenon research and information group").
^National Science Foundation (2002)."ch. 7".Science and Engineering Indicators. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.ISBN978-0-7567-2369-9. Archived fromthe original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved6 April 2018.Belief in pseudoscience is relatively widespread... A sizable minority of the public believes in UFOs and that aliens have landed on Earth.
^abEghigian, Greg (2015-12-06). "Making UFOs make sense: Ufology, science, and the history of their mutual mistrust".Public Understanding of Science.26 (5):612–626.doi:10.1177/0963662515617706.PMID26644010.S2CID37769406.
^Cooper, Rachel (2009). "Chapter 1: Is psychiatric research scientific?". In Broome, Matthew; Bortolotti, Lisa (eds.).Psychiatry as Cognitive Neuroscience: Philosophical Perspectives.Oxford University Press. p. 19.ISBN978-0-19-923803-3.
^Howe, Linda Moulton (1989).Alien Harvest: Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms. Linda Moulton Howe Productions.ISBN0-9620570-1-0.
^Salla, Michael (2004).Exopolitics: Political Implications of Extraterrestrial Presence. Dandelion Books.ISBN1-893302-56-3.
^Greer, Steven M. (2001).Disclosure : Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History. Crossing Point.ISBN0-9673238-1-9.
^abSheaffer, Robert. "A Skeptical Perspective on UFO Abductions". In: Pritchard, Andrea & Pritchard, David E. & Mack, John E. & Kasey, Pam & Yapp, Claudia.Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference. Cambridge: North Cambridge Press. pp. 382–388.
^Steven, John Sandor (2006).Permanent Revolution on the Altiplano: Bolivian Trotskyism. Ann Arbor, Michigan: ProQuest Information and Learning Company, p. 314.
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