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This page contains a single entry from the NGC Blog posted on March 18, 2007. Many more can be found on the main page or by looking through the archives.

The Real Roswell

March 18, 2007

Seth Shostak - Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

Roswell has become America’s favorite shorthand for “extraterrestrials.” The series of events that transpired there in the summer of 1947 is hands-down the most popular evidence cited by folks who think that Earth is awash with visitors from space. This is despite the fact that proof that anything more than human-made debris slammed into the cattle pastures outside of Roswell is either questionable or – according to many accounts – stacked up and labeled at some secret government installation.

My job is to look for extraterrestrials, not by searching the military compounds at Area 51 or something similar, but rather by using large antennas and telescopes to detect signals beamed our way by very distant beings. Frankly, I don’t see any good reason to believe that aliens crash-landed in New Mexico, despite the fact that I gauge it very likely that the galaxy is crawling with life. Reasonable people will disagree with me, but then I would ask them the following: what have we learned from Roswell? Sixty years after this so-called interstellar fender-bender, is there a single bit of new knowledge or technical or social development that this crash has wrought? Sixty years after Columbus discovered the New World, there were colonies up and down the coasts of the Americas, potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco had become staples in Europe, and Native Americans had been toured around the continent. Should we expect less from a visit by beings from the stars? I don’t think so. Interstellar travel is difficult, and energetically costly. It is not, however, impossible. But if we truly were being visited, that knowledge would be shared far and wide, and not remain for the best part of a century the exclusive province of some clandestine agency in a single country.

Roswel%20Dramatization%20.jpg
Dramatization of activites at Area 51

Do you believe that we aren't alone in the universe?
Preview
a clip of The Real Roswell and tell us what you think.
Remember you can watch The Real Roswell on March 21, at 8pm et/pt

Comments (32)

Seth, Jr.:

I seriously want your job

david MacDonald:

You know that people who belive in UFO should be in a hosipital getting help

mike3:

It's the military. If they wanted to make a weapon or something from it, would they disclose that? There's a reason secret weapons are called "secret", you know.

Jack Robinson:

I really appreciate that the National Geographic Channel has finally given a balanced presentation of the ideas about the Roswell incident. It's clear to me that the scientists and skeptics are correct: the Roswell debris was NOT from a UFO--NOT part of a spaceship from another world.

nick:

I dont think they would hide it for 61 one years!!!!

Jeff:

The Real Roswell documentary is dead on in facts. This is not just ideas or opinions, but what DID occur. In the late 40's technology was being developed and needed to be kept under wraps for true national security reasons. The supposed alien debris was from project Mogul, not from outer space. The abstract or 'pop' art of the tape used on the reflectors is 100% accurate as well. To add to the story, the reason the 'alien visiters' have big heads and dark sunken eyes, is that there was an accident {in what may have been part of the man high projects or some other type of project (I think Kittinger didn't jump from 100,000 ft till '49)} but a captain had his head trapped under a gondola.
This caused his head to swell to twice its size, causing his eyes to swell shut. Thus the stereotype looking alien.....

We may not be literally alone in that there probably is some type of life form or another somewhere in the universe, but we have been broadcasting for about 100 yr.. and have not had any return broadcast of any type. The distance radio waves travel per year is much more distance to travel than the human body could endure, let alone for 10, 20, 50,100 light-years distance. Even to go to Mars is a monumental task.

We should be more appreciative of out humble planet, and family, friends, neighbors, and all others who inhabit this unique oasis we inhabit.. We are alone!

Jeff

John:

The Iraq guns for Hire piece you showed the other day was really good. It came on time considering the fact i just bought a copy of Blackwater, an account of the entire enterprise. I would be very much interested in watching another episode of this. also, where do i do to make suggestions for shows, ideas, etc. I watch NGC every night and through out most of the day. Thank God for Tivo

I REALLY DON'T THINK THAT THEY HAVE HIDDEN IT FOR 60+ YEARS-BUT I DO FEEL THAT THEY HAVE OR AT LEAST TRIED INTRODUCING THE UNKNOWN TO US SEVERAL TIMES..I KNOW FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCES THAT WE INFACT ARE NOT ALONE--WEATHER OR NOT IT'S E.T. OR SOME GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENT GENICALLY ENGENERED HUMAN-SOMETHING IS HERE AND I BELIEVE WE DISERVE TO KNOW-IF NOT ALL-AT LEAST SOME OF WHAT TO EXPECT BECAUSE ONE DAY, JUST LIKE OUR ANIMALS,WE WILL DIE OFF COMPLEATLY SO WHAT THEN WILL ALL THIS BE FOR? OUR FUTURES DEPEND NOT ONLY ON US BUT ON OUR GOVERNMENT TO KEEP US INFORMED..

Odie:

C'mon guys, dont just kill the aliens off like that. This case is like buying a lottery ticket and never checking the numbers and therefore never having the wave of possibility collapsed. More likely military origins on the Roswell case.. but again...

Greg:

I believe that it is great to keep an open mind to extra terrestrial activity and ufo activity as well.

Regardless of many people believing aliens dont really exist, many people still tend to believe in them. Despite the fact the government had evidence to prove alien life, they have not revealed the unknown. just think about it, is it really possible for Earth to be the only planet to be blessed with life in our solar system? Why would anyone start to make the Roswell story just for a hoax. where do all these video taped UFO's come from? Even though the Roswell incident is true the video taped UFO's dont appear just and appear to be a fraud by people. There fore, UFO's and Aliens do exist.

Joe Juser:

From: Dennis Balthaser
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:43:26 -0600
Fwd Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 11:46:29 -0400
Subject: Biased Documentaries By The Media


Searching For The Truth

(Always Telling the Truth Means Never Having to Remember Anything)


Biased Documentaries By The Media

02-15-07

Over the years I have enjoyed having the opportunity to share my
UFO research with the public through various venues, such as
being involved with many film documentary productions, various
TV and radio interviews, writing editorials and doing lectures.

Doing lectures, writing editorials and live radio interviews
rank as some of my favorites, because the information being
presented can be presented in a manner that doesn't require
editing in most cases, since it's what I like to call "off the
cuff" and live. Radio interviews in particular fall in to this
category. Agreed there may be some lively discussion from those
that don't agree with my comments during a live radio broadcast
but the results of those discussions can usually be quickly
resolved. Editorials sometimes initiate responses in both
agreement and disagreement, but usually are also resolvable
through communication and correspondence. The best part about
doing lectures for me has always been the question and answer
session following the lecture, wherein I can judge my lecture by
the questions that are asked and the dialog that takes place
between the audience and myself. Television interviews
particularly if for a news service, can go either way. If it's a
live television broadcast, editing will not be needed and the
information as presented is "out there" subject to review later
if desired.

Television documentaries being filmed for airing at a later date
do not fall into the above categories and have become a real
problem over the years due to the editing that takes place after
the filming is complete, with no in-put for the final version
from those that have been interviewed. This is happening much
too frequently. I guess one could assume that any coverage is
good, but that is not the case in many documentaries I've been
involved with. Perhaps I don't know enough about TV show ratings
and bottom line profits to fully understand why this is
happening all too often. There appears to be an agenda and
motive to deliberately produce shows that are biased, on the
edge of propaganda and misinformation, for a reason other than
disclosing the truth or at least showing respect for those of us
that have dedicated our lives and financial resources to finding
that truth. Debunkers and critics are an essential part of this
research to help us all find the answers, unfortunately the
debunkers very seldom come up with new information and many
times are given credit in these documentaries for having all the
answers. The people responsible for editing documentaries as
well as the film crews themselves, many times have no knowledge
of the information their preparing for consumption by the
general public. They haven't done their homework and lead you to
believe that they're after the facts and the truth only to find
out the story line and conclusion when a show is aired is far
from either. The multi-million dollar networks want our years of
research for free, consuming many hours of our time to
misrepresent us in their final product. That has to stop. I can
honestly say that of the several hundred interviews I have done
over the years, only a handful were factual and presented the
information in a balanced way that the public deserves.

The ABC-TV special with Peter Jennings in 2005 was a good
example. The show was heavily promoted as being the truth, which
it was for the first few minutes and then went "south" like many
other shows and documentaries have, with assumptions and claims
that were totally false, allowing too much air time for the
debunkers which didn't permit the information to be shown in a
fair and balanced manner.

Sometimes you expect these type results from certain national
media networks, because you know their track record from
previous documentaries they produced. There are other networks
that you expect a more balanced view from, and those can
disappoint you also as the National Geographic channel did
recently in a show about "The Real Roswell", which first aired
in January 2007.

Last summer I filmed with them here in Roswell for about 6 hours
and not once during that time was I told by the film crew that
the National Geographic special would obviously have an agenda
that would be extremely biased by the time the one hour show
ended after the editing was completed. I was also contacted
several times by email and telephone requesting additional
factual information about the Roswell Incident while the
documentary was being prepared. I had a lot of airtime on the
show and those that responded to me after viewing the show
indicated that I came across honestly and sincerely in my
comments that were used. I was thankful for that, but very
disappointed with the overall show and factual information
unfairly presented.

As examples, at one point in the show they referred to General
Roger Ramey, the head of 8th Air Force in Ft Worth as the base
commander at Roswell Army Airfield in 1947, when in fact the
base commander was Col Blanchard. The Mogul balloon theory,
particularly Flight 4, which researcher David Rudiak has proven
could not have possibly landed on the ranch was the final word
for the documentary, totally ignoring the fact that Russia did
no nuclear testing until 1949 (2 years after the Roswell
Incident), which was what the Mogul balloon was supposed to
detect from high altitude. Major Jesse Marcel's recollection of
the event was linked to Sci-Fi books and movies, not based on
his work as the top Intelligence Officer in the military in
1947. Finally most of the witnesses' testimony shown was taken
completely out of context.

The National Geographic channel in the preparation of this
documentary did obviously very little homework. Some of the
witnesses like Walter Haut, Frank Joyce, George Newling, Major
Marcel and his son Jesse Marcel Jr., deserved better than
National Geographic afforded them. The same is true for
researchers Stanton Friedman, Don Schmitt and myself who gave
freely and openly to what we thought would be a non-biased
documentary about Roswell, only to be disappointed again.

The debunkers on the show added nothing new and in fact in the
case of Michael Shermer, his responses are now predictable,
since it's always the same ---that it's all a myth. Perhaps he's
the myth with help from the National Geographic channel and
other UFO documentary producers. The narrator in fact ended the
show with the statement that, "Science now sees Roswell as
little more than myth making".

Of course no Roswell documentary would be complete without the
comments from Dr. Seth Shostak of SETI, who continues to live in
the stone age hoping to get a "radio signal" from out there, and
B.D Glidenberg, both of whom I would question as to their
credentials on actually doing research on the subject of UFOs.

I suggest in the future, documentary film producers omit the
words like the "Real" Roswell or the "Truth" about Roswell,
unless they intend to present it as real or true.

National Geographic - your credibility is at stake and you have
a lot of room for improvement. You owe it to your audience to be
fair and unbiased.

Dennis G. Balthaser

halu:

the information posted on websites is FALSE info. this is not a lie. I believe the goverment is hiding the real information on the roswell file. their hiding what we want to know.

Whatever, folks.

But I recently saw a videotape... of Buzz Aldrin emphatically stating that Apollo 11 was followed on its 1969 flight to lunar landing.

If you don't believe the guys that actually went there... there is nothing that you ever will believe.

People that believe that earth-humans are not the ultimate... should be put in hospitals??

'Stick a fork in him... He's done!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlkV1ybBnHI

N/A:

Hello:
Ok I am only going to say this once, I am Not trying to gain attention and I do not need medication, however I have had some experiences in my life a few when I was ten years and younger and once more when I was about twenty years old and I never had an experience since. I am thirty three years old and have a wonderful family, however what happened to me in my life is not some cerebral malfunction. I am only posting this in the hope that my information may help someone interested in researching aliens unlock a few mysteries.
Ok here goes the readers digest version. About 7 years of age I awoke at night in my dads old house just outside a small hamlet in Ontario Canada , I saw man like creature all i black step forward out of the darkness into the moonlight shinning through the window. It stood at the foot of my bed for several seconds before I assume that I blacked out.


Second major experience I was about ten and living in a small town with my mom and brothers. Last one summer night I felt like I was being watched from the open window in my room and the window was just above the kitchen roof that sloped down to about 7 feet from the ground. I got out of bed and went to close the window and I saw a pale man with Big almost cat like eyes and no hair and small ears. Soon I stood in a chamber with one of the strange men on each side of me and looking up at several of them looking down from a round coliseum style viewing area. They could project words into my mind. At one point I told them that god would punish them and one began to look angry and I heard the words “I AM YOUR GOD”.

The last experience was again at my dads house years latter simply put, I was awakened by one none threatening creature and lead by the hand out the back door. At one point I looked and seen my dad sleeping in the living room with a creature again in a black suite holding smoothing onto his head. I asked, “Why don’t you take him” Reply, “He is not supposed to go, you are ours.”

All I can tell you is there are aliens and I don’t care if you believe me or not. I have seen enough in my life to know when someone is telling the truth about alien abduction and I will admit 99.99% are full of it! So if you know anyone looking for a alien abduction B.S detector let me know LOL

avery:

i agree completely with jack robinsons thery they wouldnt tell if its such a secret

avery:

i agree completely with jack robinsons thery they wouldnt tell if its such a secret

avery:

i agree completely with jack robinsons thery they wouldnt tell if its such a secret

beilertsen1:

Why do people assume these things are from distant planets. I believe they are from right here, but in our future. TIME MACHINES! That is why they try not to interact with us too much. They might be afraid to change the future.

N/A:

I know that any individual claming to have seen or talked with an alien; is quickly dismissed as being crazy or some other unflattering term. However I had the time to watch the real Roswell recently and I must say it makes more sense that it would have been a weather/sky balloon from earth and that being said I would like to comment on the time travel post. I will not say that I have had real conversations will aliens/humans from the future “?”, although I will say I had very detailed dream of speaking with strange creatures. In my dreams, the creatures seemed to have emotions like us and more to the point of time travel, they seemed to know a lot about me personally and I often wondered about the time travel aspect my self, but I never noticed any information that really suggested or down played time travel and if it is time travel why not give me a few lotto numbers? ;). Another thing I would like to mention is the remote possibility that they might be an echo from the past like a ghost or something?.. Could it be possible that that are ghosts from a old civilization that was on earth before man? I will not post any more comments on this site unless asked however, I would be interested in reading opinions on the time travel idea and or the ghost idea that I invented? Now I will be off to have a beer with Elvis on the moon. LOL

mohit pathak:

i have never seen aliens or ufos in my life,but this does not mean that they dont exist.the whole universe is infinite.there are billions of galaxies containing trillions of planets.so this is evident that not just one but many planets are occupied by other populations like ours

Anonymous:

I know we are not alone in this universe.The government is seriously hiding some serious info.For all we know the alien is alive and they are doing tests on ,or perhaps even using it to make special drugs.People have said they were abuducted before and even though that sounds crazy,just think about would anyone believe you anyway if you claimed to have be abducted .Some people that knew too much info were questioned or maybe some body thatss knows something about it was paid to keep quiet.We are not alone in this universe ...

Louis Hall:

*sigh* I am NOT an expert on Roswell. But even I know this is the most lop-sided, inaccurate "documentary" on the incident I've ever seen. Shame on National Geographic for not showing all sides of the issue. They've lost a LOT of credibility in my book.

Jaskaran Sembhi:

Dear Sir,

I am Jaskaran Singh and I belive that we are not alone in the universe.
I am a Sikh and my Lord Guru Nanak Dev Ji says that many other human being in the universal,
Many other stars in the universal
Yes sir I belive that we are not alone in THIS UNIVERSE,
Can you tell me the whole story about the Aliens, i not know about it because when it is being procesed I was a child

You won't find too many aliens by looking through telescopes. Nor can you expect them to be slow-witted like us and attempt to cross the vastness of space with some sort of Star Trek ship. I know this will sound awfully crackpot-like, but can't help it. They have been coming here through portals which your telescopes cannot penetrate and which overcome the too-far-too-travel argument. Unfortunately, to validate this, we may have to wait another hundred years before we can capture one of the little guys, dead or alive would be fine. Just don't hand them over to your government. A science institute, not funded by any government, would be much better.

greg brady 'not my real name':

Well everyone we have footage from lunar flights, telescopes, astronauts from the US and other countries and disclosed footage from Ovni. All this is EVIDENCE, regardless if you like it or believe it.. Scientists are proving angles on the following theories... multiverse, mbrane, string theory and dark matter. DNA is being mastered, the human gnome is cracked and we are getting information from all of it. Just think folks, all this progress is
being proven! Einstein did'nt even scratch the surface on what we are studying now. Interstellar travel is theoretically possible and not in the measure of light years but bending space\time.. This is being proven as science fact and lets not forget kids.. It's partially because of studied behaviors of ufo activity.. Ufo's can disappear and reappear as if they've ducked out of our dimension.. Get a clue already, the science is being proven and if monkeys like us can figure it out, others in the universe are doing every day what our simple minds are just getting started with.. How's that for a nutty UFO freak.. debunk this!!!

Adolf:

one time i saw a UFO and pooped my pants

Jim Quirk:

The National Geographic Channel's report on Roswell and UFOs in general is lousy. The channel sides completely with the official government stance story and pawns off as fact that anthropomorphic dummies are the explanation for alien body accounts. I do not watch the National Geographic Channel anymore because it doesn't seriously investigate the Roswell crash like other media, such as The History Channel. I'd like to know who their consultant is on Roswell and UFOs. Is it Weaver, the disinformation specialist from the Air Force?

martin:

for david macdonald

if you think with there being 1 billion planets in our galaxy alone , theres not other life, then you need to be in the hospital because your not very smart.

do the math, i suggest you google the Drake equation !

martin:

my last post was for seth, not dan macdonald

hannah:

this is soooooooo real i believe in aliens!!!!! how could someone make crop circles then? thats all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

J. Swayngim:

Anyone searching for the truth about the UFO phenomenon should view Dr Allen Hynek's video with his conclusions after 40yrs of study. His video can be found on YouTube along with the "alien spacecraft" comment by one of our astronauts in orbit.

A sufficiently advanced being could stand beside you and you would never know it !

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