"The sky is alive"

Dear readers,

The UFO phenomenon generates a large number of ideas as to the origin, or causes, of the phenomenon. The September 2012 issue (FT291 pp 30-34) of the English "Fortean Times" magazine poses the question "...are many UFOs actually atmospheric creatures?" The article is written by Scott Deschaine who is listed as "...head of Customic Comic Services and Discovery Comics..."

The hypothesis:

Deschaine asks "...what if a wide range of creatures moves through the sky for part of their lives?" (p.30.)

The evidence:

The author lists a number of observations to support his hypothesis. Among them are:

1. "In 1988, a young astronomy buff saw a weird object pulsing through the London sky. She alerted police, who also saw the flying object and described it as a "jellyfish." (p.30. Source cited as Graham and Mark Birdsall: "A British Perspective 1988," The UFO Report" ed Timothy Good. Avon Books. New York. 1989 p.8.)

2. Ilinois. 1963. Glowing object seen for about an hour. (Source cited as Francis Ridge: "The Wayne City car Chase" (CEII-E-M), National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phernomena. 5 Aug 2011. www.nicap.org/austin.htm.)

3. 1891. Indiana. "...a bellowing, pulsing, wheezing monster in the sky above their town. Its glowing red "eye" floated, as it seemed to struggle. All who watched it felt it was alive." (Source cited as Gaddis, V H. "Mysterious Fires and Lights." David McKay Company Inc. NY. 1967. pp32-33.)

Parallels:

Deschaine lists "ten parallels between UFOs and marine invertebrates." These include:

* UFOs are often described as shaped like saucers and rockets or cigars. "Saucer-shaped jellyfish and rocket shaped squid area some of the most successful marine invertebrates." (p.32.)

* "Many UFO witnesses report translucent or fuzzy edges around a saucer shape. Marine invertebrates are composed mainly of the medium in which they live. Perhaps aerial inverterbrates are mainly gas and water vapour." (p.32.)

* "Many descend in a 'falling leaf' motion typical of jellyfish." (p.32.)

Th author draws comparisons between people's reactions to a "...range of symptoms when exposed to inverterbrate toxins" (p.38.) and those described by UFO witnesses - including eye irritation; reddening and swelling of skin, and paralysis.

Falls:

Forteans have long recorded falls of "Organic gelatinous material" from the skies, suggesting supportive evidence to the author.

Summary:

"The atmosphere is an incredibly varied habitat. Evidence of aerial life seems to be found in likely resource-rich habitats in the sky, at almost every level." (p.33.)