UFO STUDY a Handbook for Enthusiasts SECOND EDITION (2007: Version 2.151)
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UFO STUDY A Handbook for Enthusiasts SECOND EDITION (2007: version 2.151). Jenny Randles. Updated by Robert Moore Part 1: UFO Investigation. UFO STUDY A Handbook for Enthusiasts Part 1 - UFO Investigation List Of Contents: CHAPTER TITLE PAGE Introduction to the second edition 3 . 1: Why Ufology? 4 – 8. 2: What is Ufology? 9 – 16. 3: Classifying the UFO 17 – 19. 4: The UFO Report 20 – 23. 5: The Source of UFO Reports 24 – 31. 6: Basic Investigation 32 – 36. 7: The UFO Witness 37 – 46. 8: Field Studies 47 – 53. 9: Turning UFOs into IFOs 54 –80. 10: The Photographic Case 81 – 91. 11: Investigating Special Cases 92 – 111. 12: Some Example Case Studies 112 –124. APPENDICES: Appendix A: UFO Interview Checklist 125-126. Appendix B: UFO Investigation Checklist 127. Appendix C: Personal Sources Checklist 128. Appendix D: A UFO investigation “toolkit ” 129-130. Appendix E: Laying out a survey grid 131. Appendix F: Code of Practice for UFO Investigators 132 – 136. Appendix G: Selected Bibliography 137. 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION. This manuscript represents Part One of an updated and expanded version of Jenny Randles’ classic work UFO Study (originally published in 1981); this particular work including the text relevant to UFO investigation. When first presented this book presented a unique attempt to provide a concise guide to many required skills and techniques. It was especially noteworthy in being written from a largely British perspective, in a form accessible to a general audience. This important work has unfortunately been too long out of print; hence, the decision was made to issue this amended PDF edition of UFO Study (split into two sections to facilitate downloading). In both parts much of the original text has been retained, but updated and expanded to fully reflect the realities - and also the opportunities - of 21 st century ufology. It is hoped the act of making this work freely available will aid the proliferation of “best practice” within British UFO investigation. Since the first edition of this work was written there have been a number of significant developments within the subject. UFOIN, an active body in 1981 and featured widely here, eventually merged into BUFORA a few years later. Two decades later various social changes (most notably the proliferation of the Internet – which indirectly made information on UFOs more widely available) resulted in BUFORA having to effectively downsize itself in order to weather this situation. In 2007 many local groups persist, but - for reasons too complicated to go into here - the various co-operative initiatives that effectively defined British Ufology during the 1970’s and 1980’s are no longer in vogue. UFO reports (at the time of writing) are also now more rarefied than in 1981, although significant events still nonetheless occur. Successive technological innovations have also resulted in the widespread use of powerful multi-media computers and similar digital- based devices over the past three decades. While this has revolutionised the field of interpersonal communications (as most notably represented by the Internet) it has also resulted in the proliferation of sophisticated graphic software capable of fabricating highly realistic UFO images. Lastly, some would also argue the UFO phenomenon itself has also notably changed over the past three decades – the subject being presently dominated by sightings of “flying triangles” and “alien abduction” claims. Nonetheless, the knowledge base encapsulated within UFO Study remains as valid and relevant in 2007 as it was in 1981! Robert Moore. November 2007 (V 2.151). Acknowledgements: 1st edition (1981): I should like to thank the following for their assistance in the preparation of this book: Charles Bowen & Dr Ivan Grattan-Guinness (FSR), Peter Rogerson & John Rimmer (MAGONIA) ; Bernard Delair (CONTACT UK); Tony Pace (BUFORA); Dr J. Allen Hynek, Allan Hendry & Fred Merritt (CUFOS - USA); Dr Pierre Guerrin & Dr Claude Poher (GEPAN - France); J.V. Ballester-Olmos; Dr Jacques Vallee; Aime Michel; Peter Southerst (Kodak), plus all the investigators from NUFON and UFOIN, including: Stephen Banks, Graham & Mark Birdsall, Janet & Colin Bord, Andy Collins, Terry Cox, John Hind, Ted Horton, Derek James, Barry King, John Ledbetter, Bob Morrell, Granville Oldroyd, Graham Phillips, Ken Phillips, David Rees, Brian Straight, Nigel Watson, John Watson and Bob Webb. Special thanks must go to Les Hall and Martin Keatman for their valuable assistance, and to Rosalind and Peter Warrington and Paul Whetnall for their constant advice and encouragement. 2nd edition (2007): The authors are especially grateful to the following for their help and comments on the new edition (much of which have been incorporated into this work): Isaac Koi, Joe McGonagle and David Sankey. Text copyright © Jenny Randles 1981, Jenny Randles and Robert Moore, 2007. The authors give permission for UFO STUDY to be freely cited in regard1: to any non-commerical study of UFOs ( provided due credit is given ) but forbid reproduction of any part for commerical purposes without the authors’ prior permission. 3 1: WHY UFOLOGY? You are interested in UFOs. Presumably this simple fact must be true, otherwise you would not be reading this. Of course, you are by no means alone in this interest. The subject has captured the imagination of millions from almost every part of the world. UFOLOGY is the name that we give to the study of UFOs, in one form or another. There are numerous UFOLOGISTS active in Britain today, with many thousands scattered throughout the globe. Some are scientists; physicists, mathematicians, psychologists and others - each looking at the particular aspect of the subject that especially fascinates them. The majority, however, are ordinary people - men and women with an amazing range of occupations. There are postmen and policemen; there are plumbers and airline pilots; there have even been several lords! Anyone is qualified to study UFOs. These are the people who are helping to push forward the frontiers of our knowledge. They are the pioneers for ufology is still in its infancy. In the study of UFOs the man in the street stands level with the Ph.D. Everyone remains an amateur in an unknown field and, although there are those whose understanding inevitably surpasses that of others, there are really no experts. Nobody knows for sure, as yet, what UFOs are. So this is the subject into which you are feeling your way. You may have been interested for many years and need a guideline to develop your studies. Whoever you are, and whatever your viewpoints, you could - in time - provide a real breakthrough. You could be the one who, like Archimedes, will jump up and run around shouting “eureka” (although not, I hope, like him, in the nude!). This is the great excitement of UFO study, because although we make slow and steady progress nobody knows where the next insight will come from. Before we start to look at some reasons why you might wish to study UFOs it would be wise to set down just what it is we are talking about. No doubt you have a fair idea of what you would call a UFO, based upon what you have read about in various media, or seen on television. Yet we are endeavoring to make ufology a scientific pursuit, and to do this we need definitions. So let us think in terms of a UFO as: A stimulus, visual or otherwise, that provides the percipient with information about an unidentified phenomenon that appears to him to be in, or originate from, the atmosphere or beyond. You might think that this is a long-winded way of stating the obvious, but in fact this definition is fairly specific and precise and concerns what I feel you should regard as a UFO. 4 A visual stimulus is, literally, “something seen” - but this term does not imply that a real, physical object was there. All that it does mean is that the brain cells responsible registered the presence of a stimulus on the optical circuits. This, then, can cover dreams and hallucinations, and whilst I am not claiming that all - or at this stage even any - UFO sightings are so related, our definition needs to cover such a possibility. The percipient is simply the person who perceives the phenomenon. Terminology is, as you will see, important in the UFO world. You will find a more detailed consideration of some of these problems later in this work. This proposed definition of a UFO gives us a clearer idea of the range of the problem. One witness may not be able to identify an event that to another is perfectly explicable. Again, the percipient might interpret the object he sees (on the ground or in the sky) as originating from beyond the atmosphere without fully objective reasons for such a conclusion. Also, of course, we have seen that our definition includes dream-like events. It is apparent therefore, that there is no clear-cut division between what ufologists are called upon to deal with and what they are not. There are a variety of combinations - all of which could be regarded, for our present purposes, as a UFO. I think it should already be clear that ufology is not an easy subject with which to come to terms. However, it is a challenge that is open to anyone. Some common sense and perseverance are required in order to understand the many related problems that intertwine to create ufology. Whilst you can gain some understanding by reading books and magazines - and we provide a list of significant UFO books on page 137 - the only way really to get to grips with the mystery is to confront it head on. One must become involved and gain experience, learning from successes and mistakes.