Definition:Any anomolous lights seen in the distant night sky whose descriptions rule out the possibilities of aircraft lights, stars, meteors and the like. This catagory has the largest share of UFO sightings and the lowest “strangeness” events; they yield little information because of the poor viewing conditions of darkness and a non specific distance.

Nocturnal Light / NL

Definition:Discoidal objects seen in the distant daytime sky. “Discoidal” is a broad term here - Dr Hynek permits Cigars, spheres, eggs, ovals, and point sources as well as “flying saucers”. Only a small fraction of all reported activity occurs during the daylight hours; yet, depending on the critical standards imposed, and the data smaple examined, there can be as many genuine DD sightings as NLs.

Definition:A UFO that is seen by a witness and on radar simultaneously, with good agreement between the accounts. Radar alone is too subject to false images from ground scatter, temperature inversions and other problems to be depended on alone. These cases imply instrumented “proof” of a UFO’s presence as well as a quantitive hancle on its flight characteristics. These are relatively rare occurances.

Example:Two stars revolved around eachother, separated by one and one half moon diameters; the orbit was counterclockwise once every two seconds. The revolving abruptly stopped, and the lights remained briefly motionless. They started moving away from eachother; the southbound light halted, but the northbound light continued, faster than aircraft, yet slower than a meteor. Seen at 9:45 PM, May 14, 1970, in Bangor, Maine, for two to three minutes by two witnesses. Reported by an MIT graduate student to the National Center for Atmospheric research.

Example:Two control operators with the combines experience of twenty - three years watched a light travel at over 150mph over an extern runway and begin a sharp descent down to three - hundred feet. The tower operators tried unsuccessfully to communicate with the object by radio. Looking at it through binoculars, one operator described it as looking like “a car standing on end” with a light on the bottom. Slowing to 50 mph, the object veered over abrilliantly lit restriced area. These manouvers were also observed on radar as one operator was able to track its trajectory long after it was out of sight. The lieutennant colonel ho prepared the report said that the observers were esteemed and competant, and in his opinion they saw an object that defied identification. Seen at 10:45PM, November 4, 1957, at Kirkland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Example:Domed disc, five to six times the suns diameter in the sky, silvery grey, no glare reflected from sun, which was behind the observer. The disc flew on a level, straight course, approximately on quarter mile away; it turned upward and accelerated rapidly in the last two to three seconds, revealing a dark central area underneath. Seen at 4:10PM, October 11, 1974, at Cloudcroft, New Mexico, by a professional astronomer. Reported to the American Astronomical Society’s UFO survey.

Daylight Disc / DDRadar Visual / RV

Definition:A UFO in close proximity (within 500 feet) to the witness. With the introduction of the so called close encounters we arrive at some of the most compelling reports, those sightings that are so close to the witness that the possibility of misperception is minimized. In these accounts the UFO is seen in the immidiate frame of referance of the observer.

Close Encounters of the first kind / CE1

Definition: A close encounter of the first kind that influences the environment in some fashion, leaving physical evidence of its presence or creating electromagnetic interferance. Like radar visuals, this catagory is commonly regarded as holding more “proof” of the presence of a UFO than mere testimony alone. One researcher has prepared a bibliography of 561 cases reported to have left physical traces behind.

Close Encounters of the second kind / CE2

Close Encounters of the third kind / CE3

Definition:A close encounter of the first or second kind, with occupants, or entities assosciated with it. This type of encounter most fires public interest and controversy. Over 1,200 aleged incidents of this type have been catalogued from all available sources by UFO researchers.

Example:A member of a back woods family returned to his home to decribe a UFO that he saw descend into the gully near the family’s farmhouse. Within an hour, the seven men, women and children were watching, and firing upon a number of small creatures with large round, bald heads, big eyes, spindly bodies and long arms. The bullets seemed inneffectual against them and the family rushed to the police department. All seven member of the family related the same details and have held adamantly to them. Seen the evening of August 21, 1955, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, by seven witnesses, for four hours. Listed in the Air Force Project Blue files as “unidentified”.

Example: Sheriff Weir Clem and Officer Fowler recieved a phone call from a Farmhand who asserted that he saw a two hundred foot-long elliptical UFO fly over his truck, causing the lights and the engine to go out. After the object left the area, the truck regained power. This was only the first on ten independant reports within a ten mile radius of the town , all reported in less than three hours. Seven on the accounts told of automotive failures that lasted until the UFO departed. By 1:30AM the Sheriff found the UFO across the road last reported “two hundred feet long”, “Oval shaped” and “like a brilliant red sunset”. Seen from 11PM, on November 2, 1957, at Levelland, Texas, by twelve witnesses for tow and a half hours. Reported to the Air Force’s Project Blue Book.

Example:A school principle driving home noticed a glow approaching him over a cliff. As it rose over the top, it became clear that it was an object shaped like a world war 1 helmet which he estimated to be over 300 feet in diameter. It remained motionless almost directly overhead momentarily and then headed toward the local airport. The witness was very impressed with the intese white light it was emitting. Joining his friends in a following car, the group watched the UFO hover over power lines for about ten minutes. Witnesses at the airport on an incoming flight also reported the object. Seen at 9PM, on April, 1967, at Jefferson City, Misouri for ten to fifteen minutes by multiple witnesses. Reported to the project Blue Book.