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160 place with a spirit of objectivity and a willingness to evaluate rival hypotheses. Sturrock pointed to the example of the SEPRA group at the French national space agency as a model of a modest but effective organization for collecting and analyzing information about UFO sightings. SEPRA (once called GETAN) had studied such reports for more than 20 years. Of 3000 reports, only about 100 required detailed investigations, and only a handful of these had not been satisfactorily explained as natural phenomena. Sturrock’s group commented that the most important change that could be made by scientists is to become curious. In view of the emergence of clear patterns in UFO reports and in view of great public interest, it is remarkable that the scientific community has exhibited so little curiosity in the past. Sturrock offered reasons: There are no public funds to support research into UFO sightings; There may be an assumption that there are no data worth examining; there may be a belief that the Condon report effectively settled the question; the topic may be perceived as “not respectable.” Like Hynek, Sturrock found that discussions of the UFO issue have remained narrowly polarized between advocates and adversaries of a single theory—contact with an alien civilization originating in another solar system. This fixation on extraterrestrials has narrowed and impoverished the debate, precluding other possible theories. Sturrock concluded that unless there is some event that galvanizes the scientific community into action or some new initiative that permits a modest but effective level of scientific research, the UFO problem is likely to remain an enigma— perhaps for another 50 years.” The history of science is littered with examples of scientists missing or ignoring phenomena that they were not looking for or did not expect. Consider sprites. For many years, eyewitnesses had reported seeing giant flashes of light above distant thunderstorms. Scientists ignored these reports until one of their younger colleagues detected such flashes with an auroral camera in the late 1980s. This discovery sparked research activity that turned up a surprising collection of optical emissions over thunderstorms, including “sprites,” “blue jets,” and “elves.” Sprites are not small; some may reach from an altitude of 90 kilometers (over 50 miles) down to cloud tops, as well as extending 40 kilometers (25 miles) horizontally.” Yet, generations of scientists missed them because they were not looking. Referring to the discovery of pulsars, Sturrock asked what would have happened if a lone astronomer had detected pulsed radio signals in 1967 The UFO Controversy A Cautionary Note