 |
Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 40: Jul-Aug 1985 |
|
| 
|
Quakes And Ufos
"A strong temporal correlation was found between the numbers of reports of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and nearby seismic activity within the Uinta Basin for the year 1967. The numbers of UFO reports per month during this classic UFO flap were correlated 0.80 with the sum of the earthquake magnitudes per month for events within 150 km of the report area. Numbers of UFO reports were not correlated significantly with earthquake activity at distances greater than 150 km but less than 250 km away. The strongest correlation occurred between UFO reports and nearby seismic activity within the same month but not for previous or consequent months. Close scrutiny of daily shifts of epicenters and reports of UFOs indicated that they occurred when the locus of successive epicenters shifted across the area. These analyses were interpreted as support for the existence of strain fields whose movements generate natural phenomena that are reported as UFOs."
(Persinger, M.S., and Derr, J.S.; "Geophysical Variables and Behavior: XXIII. Relations between UFO Reports within the Uinta Basin and Local Seismicity," Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60:143, 1985.)
Comment. The "natural phenomena" mentioned above are probably close kin or identical to earthquake lights. An earli-er paper by Persinger alone in the same journal (60:59, 1985) links transient and very localized geophysical forces to such psychic phenomena as haunts and poltergeist activity. These two papers are the latest in a long series, mostly authored by Persinger, in this psychological journal.
 | Calculated correlations between seismic activity and UFO observations in the Uinta Basin. |