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Space - What Is A "Close Encounter Of The Third Kind"?
What is a "close encounter of the third kind"?
Unidentified flying object (UFO) expert J. Allen Hynek (1910-1986) developed the following scale to describe encounters with extraterrestrial beings or vessels:
Close Encounter of the First Kind— sighting of a UFO at close range with no other physical evidence.
Close Encounter of the Second Kind—sighting of a UFO at close range, but with some kind of proof, such as a photograph, or an artifact from a UFO.
Close Encounter of the Third Kind— sighting of an actual extraterrestrial being.
Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind— abduction by an extraterrestrial spacecraft.
Source: Rovin, Jeff. Laws of Order, p. 219.
A current SETI project is under way at the Harvard-Smithsonian radio telescope 30 miles (48 kilometers) outside of Boston, Massachusetts. The project is called BETA, the Billion-channel...
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