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NY Times: ‘Wow, What Is That?’ Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html https

NY Times: ‘Wow, What Is That?’ Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings...

dkersten 7y ago
As Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, even pilots aren't astronomers or astrophysicists and often don't know what they're seeing when they look at the sky.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
  I don't follow this line of reasoning. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't astronomy the scientific study of celestial objects; and astrophysics is the branch of astronomy concerned with the physical nature of those celestial objects. Why would either of those be the right consultants for UFOs, which are decidedly not celestial objects.
  - wbl 7y ago
    Astronomy includes knowing when you aren't doing it and instead seeing an artifact of your instruments or weather.
    - jbattle 7y ago
      > Astronomy includes knowing when you aren't doing it and instead seeing an artifact of your instruments or weather One would hope fighter pilots have some faculty in said skills!
      - dkersten 7y ago
        Sure, but the universe has a lot of very strange natural phenomena and astrophysicist spend a lot of time studying these and therefore can recognise when something is likely natural (or at least have the background knowledge to check before assuming its aliens -- as they say, its never aliens, until it is) where a fighter pilot might be more attuned to seeing things in the sky than the average person, they still don't have the same exposure and experience seeing, studying and working with strange sky and space phenomena. I'd rather an astrophysicist's opinion on aliens than a fighter pilot's, but I'd rather a fighter pilot's opinion than my local plumber.
  - dkersten 7y ago
    Because they are used to looking at the sky and looking at weird, odd or abnormal phenomena in the sky. They are therefore better equipped to know whether something strange in the sky is just one of the many strange natural phenomena or if its something that might be of alien origin.
  - tripzilch 7y ago
    I agree, should probably have been meteorologists. Most astronomers and astrophysicians aren't that much more educated on weird atmospheric phenomena, either.
- deleted 7y ago
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- partialrecall 7y ago
  As I understand it, in at least some of these instances the pilots were looking down at the ground when they claim to have seen objects beneath them. /nitpick

dkersten 7y ago

As Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, even pilots aren't astronomers or astrophysicists and often don't know what they're seeing when they look at the sky.

TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
I don't follow this line of reasoning. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't astronomy the scientific study of celestial objects; and astrophysics is the branch of astronomy concerned with the physical nature of those celestial objects. Why would either of those be the right consultants for UFOs, which are decidedly not celestial objects.
- wbl 7y ago
  Astronomy includes knowing when you aren't doing it and instead seeing an artifact of your instruments or weather.
  - jbattle 7y ago
    > Astronomy includes knowing when you aren't doing it and instead seeing an artifact of your instruments or weather One would hope fighter pilots have some faculty in said skills!
    - dkersten 7y ago
      Sure, but the universe has a lot of very strange natural phenomena and astrophysicist spend a lot of time studying these and therefore can recognise when something is likely natural (or at least have the background knowledge to check before assuming its aliens -- as they say, its never aliens, until it is) where a fighter pilot might be more attuned to seeing things in the sky than the average person, they still don't have the same exposure and experience seeing, studying and working with strange sky and space phenomena. I'd rather an astrophysicist's opinion on aliens than a fighter pilot's, but I'd rather a fighter pilot's opinion than my local plumber.
- dkersten 7y ago
  Because they are used to looking at the sky and looking at weird, odd or abnormal phenomena in the sky. They are therefore better equipped to know whether something strange in the sky is just one of the many strange natural phenomena or if its something that might be of alien origin.
- tripzilch 7y ago
  I agree, should probably have been meteorologists. Most astronomers and astrophysicians aren't that much more educated on weird atmospheric phenomena, either.
deleted 7y ago
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partialrecall 7y ago
As I understand it, in at least some of these instances the pilots were looking down at the ground when they claim to have seen objects beneath them. /nitpick