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A UFO is an Unidentified Flying Object (неопознанный летающий объект) which has been identified as a possible or actual alien spacecraft. Such objects include meteors, disintegrating satellites, flocks of birds, aircraft, lights, weather balloons, and just about anything moving within the visible band of electromagnetism.
There are as many photographs of UFOs and they are of equal quality: blurs and forgeries. Other physical evidence, such as alleged debris from alien crashes, or burn marks on the ground from alien landings, or implants in bodies of alien abductees, have turned out to be quite terrestrial, including forgeries. The main reasons for believing in UFOs are the testimony of many people, the inability to distinguish science fiction from science, the willingness to trust men telling fantastic stories, the ability to distrust all contrary sources as being part of a conspiracy to withhold the truth, and a desire for contact with the world above. Belief in aliens in UFOs is akin to belief in supernatural beings.
UFOlogy is the mythology of the space age. Rather than angels... we now have... extraterrestrials (инопланетяне). It seeks to give man deeper roots and bearings in the universe. It is an expression of our hunger for mystery... our hope for transcendental meaning. The ancient gods have been transformed into space voyagers.
It seems reasonable to believe that the only reason we cannot explain these sightings by conventional means is because we do not have all the evidence – not because these sightings are probably due to alien visitations. If we had all the evidence, we would probably be able to explain the sightings by some conventional means.
It is assumed by UFOlogists that the government, especially the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency - Центральное разведывательное управление, ЦРУ), is lying and covering up alien landings and communication. However, there is no evidence for this other than a general distrust of the government and the fact that many government officials have lied, distorted the truth and been mistaken when reporting to the general public.
Most unidentified flying objects are eventually identified as hoaxes (обман, ложная тревога, "утка") or astronomical events, aircraft, satellites, weather balloons, or other natural phenomena. In studies done by the Air Force, less than 2 % of UFO sightings remain unidentifiable. It is more probable that with more information those 2 % would be identified as meteors, aircraft, etc., than that they are alien spacecraft.
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