INTRODUCTION TO THE NCAS EDITION

Paul Jaffe
President, National Capital Area Skeptics
1998-99


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The Colorado Project

The Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects was performed at the University of Colorado between 1966 and 1968, with physics Professor Edward U. Condon as its scientific director. It is frequently referred to as the "Condon Report" or the "Colorado Project Report". To this day, the work carried out under Dr. Condon's direction represents the largest single scientific project ever undertaken in relation to the UFO problem. In the opinion of a sizeable majority of mainstream scientists, its principal conclusion has stood the test of time:

Careful consideration of the record as it is available to us leads us to conclude that further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby.

It has been argued that this lack of contribution to science is due to the fact that very little scientific effort has been put on the subject. We do not agree. We feel that the reason that there has been very little scientific study of the subject is that those scientists who are most directly concerned, astronomers, atmospheric physicists, chemists, and psychologists, having had ample opportunity to look into the matter, have individually decided that UFO phenomena do not offer a fruitful field in which to look for major scientific discoveries. (From section I of the report)

Anyone familiar with the popular media and the Internet is likely aware that a very substantial fraction of the general public would disagree with this conclusion. Unfortunately, the virtual disappearance of the Condon report from general circulation makes it practically impossible for the public to evaluate the evidence that supports it, or to weigh the Colorado work against the claims of its critics.

To remedy this situation, the National Capital Area Skeptics is pleased to present, with the permission of the Regents of the University of Colorado, the NCAS Internet edition of Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects. Our volunteer group, under the tireless direction of Jim Giglio, has worked for more than a year to bring this document to the web. We are confident that the effort will prove worthwhile, and that the document will prove useful in the rational evaluation of many aspects of the UFO issue.

Paul Jaffe
January 1999

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