The US government has recently begun to take UFOs more seriously, even though they may not be true. I guess so?
Skeptics may think that alien life can only be found in movie forums, but when it comes to understanding UFOs, real-life experts have set their sights on the sky, including in San Antonio. Since 1969, people across the country united by the UFO Mutual Aid Network (MUFON) have devoted time to debunk and confirm reported UFO sightings.
Although the organization tends to fly under the radar, I became aware of this unique group when I attended the first annual UFO Festival in San Antonio in August at the Wonderland Mall of the Americas. Although I was not obligated to create my own tin foil hat festival at the time, it was really interesting to hear some alien insights.
Ken Jordan, director of MUFON's Texas branch and head of the San Antonio branch, would be happy to help. Jordan is one of the local experts studying the evidence of UFOs whizzing through the airspace of San Antonio.
Aliens in Baker's car in San Bernardino County, California, U.S.
"In the past 20 years, we have received 311 reports specifically from San Antonio, compared to more than 8,000 in Texas," Jordan told me while combing through a detailed MUFON database. “About 90% of our investigations are ordinary or can be explained as natural or man-made events, but we cannot explain the rest.”
The most common deception targets are Chinese lanterns, drones, and inflatable LED balloons. Natural planetary phenomena and eye tricks can also cause some people to call MUFON in panic.
But not everything is so easily rejected.
"Of the 10% that we can't explain, I would say half of them are UFOs that we think of," Jordan said.
As a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and a lifelong San Antonio native, Jordan believes that these UFOs represent advanced alien life. However, he did not always feel this way.
"I'm very skeptical about the whole thing. I really don't know what the UFO deal is. I didn't completely sell it," Jordan said. Nevertheless, through his beliefs, he said that he has always been open to the notion that humans are not alone in the universe.
After retiring from the army in 2006, Jordan returned to China to work for several years, devoting himself to building the combat system of the future. In a project in Napa Valley, California, when the topic of UFO came up, a group of service staff gathered after get off work at a wine tasting. After a man drank a little alcohol, he shared some confidential information that aroused Jordan's interest. Jordan said that some people think this person is a lazy person, but what he said impressed him.
Soon after, he received an email from MUFON, inviting him to attend the meeting. Out of curiosity, he soon found himself listening to the club meeting at the local Denny's.
"I just want to come over and take a look. I don't know if they are serious researchers, just a bunch of lunatics," Jordan said.
After a meeting, he believed that the organization was legal and started steadily participating in the investigation of the "UFO issue" in 2013. He officially retired from active military service in 2014.
There are currently about 50 MUFON members studying UFO reports that occurred in San Antonio, and there are about 280 members in Texas. Research methods usually include a thorough review, with well-trained members examining things such as weather patterns during specific sightings, and cross-reference descriptions with previous reports, the local police department, and the Federal Aviation Administration. If necessary, the team will also consult with MUFON's amateur astronomer Gregory Cisko.
Reports usually come from a variety of sources, from alien observers in your garden to ordinary people who choose to remain anonymous. Sometimes, according to Jordan, they even receive calls from military personnel. The most recent verifiable case of Mufon in San Antonio occurred a few days ago on October 29, 2021.
According to MUFON's documents, around 2 pm, a couple drove around I-10 and DeZevala Road to drink coffee, witnessing and recording what appeared to be a dish-like object fading in and out of view. After reviewing the report, MUFON closed the case by assigning a rare real UFO name to the object.
In Texas, MUFON described various UFO phenotypes that have been observed, ranging in shape from saucers and tic-tac-toe to triangles and doughnuts.
Since former military personnel disclosed the possibility of UFOs in 2017, Jordan believes that the public has begun to accept this idea. Earlier this year, the U.S. government officially confirmed the phenomenon of unidentified flying, which aroused the interest of more people. UFOs that were previously popular on the fringe have officially become a popular topic.
Whether the air objects in the MUFON "unknown" barrel are intelligent extraterrestrial life, terrestrial military technology products, or other things that have no official or public identification and disclosure at all. We may never know the answers to these questions.
For those who are interested in exploring more UFOs, Jordan shared some wise suggestions: "Start researching and reading articles there, but one thing I always remind anyone is that no matter what you read, what you hear , Check your source."
Camille Sauers grew up in San Antonio and studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Send ghost stories, nature and music tips to camille.sauers@mysa.com. Twitter: @camillesaccount