What to do if you see a UFO depends on many different factors. Over the years I have seen many unusual aerial phenomena, some of which are beyond all doubt unidentified flying objects (UFOs). I have described my encounters with UFOs to groups, talked about them with people at conventions where people gathered to discuss “flying saucers” and the “greys” phenomenon. I have been met with a reactions ranging from, skepticism, disinterest, and open awe. The main problem as I see it, in getting attention and garnering belief in your experience, is being able to offer any physical evidence or the lack thereof. Physical evidence could be an artifact, a photograph, a video recording, an audio recording, or a verifiable sighting, i.e., other people claiming to have witnessed the same sighting or to have had the same encounter.
Capturing an unidentified flying object on a camera in the daytime is easier than at night, but still problematical. A cell phone is highly inadequate. A good 5 megapixel digital camera with a telephoto lens is better. If the object is still, it is probably far away, and with the different angles of the sun’s rays, there are apt to be reflections and interference with the image. If it is moving the regular digital camera probably cannot capture a good image. It takes an expensive professional digital camera. If you happen to be a professional photographer you might carry a camera able to capture nighttime aerial phenomena. I have tried to photograph fireworks at night using the slowest film and I only got a black square with some faint colors. That was with the older film type camera. The new digital cameras work differently and the ones with special photographing abilities are very expensive. That is why photographs and video recordings of UFOs are so rare. The average photographer is not carrying around an expensive camera just waiting to spot a UFO. The sightings are so fleeting and rare that they are not usually seen by the people who are looking for them. It’s usually a spontaneous sighting that happens to someone who was not looking for it.
I will describe two incidents which happened a few days apart. In the first one, I looked up and simultaneously heard people cry out as I saw a horridly beautiful flaming ball overhead, plummet downwards towards us, or so it seemed. It was nighttime and when the sky is black as at night, depth illusion makes it impossible to estimate distances and heights accurately. The flaming ball was the most fantastic red-orange object I had ever seen. Round, slightly ragged on the edges, it was brilliant red, almost a blood red color, yet also a brilliant orange-really a unique combination of reds and oranges like I had never seen before or since.
In this instance there were other witnesses. I was not with them as I was standing at an ATM machine waiting for my money to come out, but I heard people cry out and knew others close by had seen it. I decided to report it to the local newspaper and telephoned them. The next day I read in the paper that a flaming ball as I had described and reported had been seen over Colorado and traveling over Arizona and New Mexico. According to the newspaper, authorities said it was a meteor. Interestingly, Nevada, where I was when I reported it, was left out. There is a major air force base and nuclear testing range nearby and I believe certain types of news reports are blacked out of the media.
It was just a few days later another strange aerial display occurred. I had been noticing how active the nighttime sky had been in the intervening days since the “meteor” sighting. Coincidentally, I again happened to be standing at the ATM machine. I looked to the east, and in the distance saw some white meteorites. They are not uncommon so I would not ordinarily have been excited about it, except for the increased activity in the sky. And then suddenly a beautiful blue ball, like a falling star, dropped down toward Earth, trailing a long blue tail behind it. I do not know if meteorites come in those colors but this time I made up my mind to call Nellis Air Force Base rather than the newspaper. Someone answered, “Command Post” and I reported what I had seen, that there had been a lot of lights and an unusual large blue one. He replied, “I’ve been getting quite a few calls and now yours. I’m calling my commanding officer!” Of course this never made the papers, either.
In the above mentioned incidents, there was no recorded data or records on my part. As far as I know, neither was there any evidence visual or physical evidence recorded by anyone else. But, importantly, there were other witnesses than I. Other people had called in to report sighting the flaming “meteor” and the blue ball of light. Apparently other people had phoned the air force base, and my call triggered the response to relay the sighting to the commanding officer. Perhaps it was the way I described it, the tone of my voice, or there had been others and mine now added that extra number to make it more important, worthy of more attention.
Unless you can get a good photograph or video recording, it is difficult to get people to pay much attention to you. But if you contact the media or an authoritative organization, such as a governmental or educational body, via e-mail or telephone, your description of the UFO is compounded by other reports. Over years reports are compiled as data is added and updated. Often calls are dismissed, but if enough come in, and there are witnesses or any supporting information, eventually they will be given attention. If you see unidentified aerial phenomena that strike you as unusual or out of the ordinary, do not be afraid to report it to a media source or a local or governmental authority. Expert researchers need reliable, accurate, updated information as they work to solve the mysteries of the skies.
