![]() (Image credit: DoD/US Navy) Omnipresent question "I think there are those people who will not be satisfied until it's that answer they want it to be," said Eghigian.Īn alleged unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP), as captured by the sensors of a U.S. Fueling that detective-like fervor was dismissal of eyewitness reports and the ridicule heaped on observers by skeptics, and that only made devotees question what they were being told. The mystery of UFOs, the professor advised, gave birth to sleuths and groups who took it upon themselves to explain the phenomenon. In his sessions, Eghigian noted that after flying saucers were first reported in 1947, observers and commentators were puzzled. "It has opened up that possibility, that kind of explanation," he said.īe it flying saucers, UFOs or UAP terminology, as for what moniker should be suitably used, Eghigian comes up dry. By calling it a phenomenon you have broadened it some, allowing it to be really up in the air and loosey-goosey."īy labeling it a phenomenon, Eghigian said that plays well in paranormal community circles. 'UAP' to me also doesn't solve the problem. ![]() "When it all started in the 1940s it was 'flying saucers' and then 'UFOs' … and both are deeply flawed as a concept. "The language is actually really fascinating," said Eghigian. (Image credit: Bettmann/Getty Images) Loosey-goosey languageįor starters, are UFOs and UAPs cut from the same cloth of the unexplained? ![]() "We have not heard that kind of thing before in the past."Įghigian flags the fact that there's a lot of classified information not available for public eying due to intelligence and military constraints.Ī government employee photographed a UFO that hovered for 15 minutes near Holloman Air Development Center in New Mexico, on Dec.16, 1957. Real objects are being seen and are being captured by instruments," Eghigian said. Over the past few years, they have come forward and basically said these are real sightings, not computer glitches, not misidentification. "But why it is gaining a little more legitimacy than usual is the fact the military and intelligence community is onboard. ![]() There have been other moments in history, Eghigian said, where people in authoritative positions, be they in government or academia, have taken the UFO topic seriously enough to publicly say the subject needs a more thoughtful look. "I have seen a lot over the years and on one hand, it's not all that new." Moments in history "This time around, there is no question that there's something different," Eghigian told. Why now and what's the rationale for delving into decades of UFO chatter and folklore, along with assessing the newly-termed Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP)? The lessons were not undertaken by Penn State, but were hosted by Atlas Obscura Online Courses that are designed and taught by expert instructors. Greg Eghigian is a professor of history at Pennsylvania State University and led the classroom-like experience that wrapped up late October. Eghigian has researched and written about the history of supernatural and paranormal phenomena and is writing a book about the history of UFO sightings and claims of alien contact throughout the world. Greg Eghigian is a historian who studies how societies answer the questions and problems associated with modern life through the lenses of science, technology, and medicine.
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