Natural Identified Flying Objects

Even those who believe UFO's are extraterrestrial spaceships visiting Earth acknowledge that the wide majority of UFO reports are cases of mistaken identity where someone fails to recognize a natural or man-made object. Even trained observers, like pilots, can be fooled if the sighting takes place under unusual conditions, or if they are viewing objects they aren't familiar with. The natural object most commonly mistaken for a UFO is the planet Venus.

It may be hard to believe an object which has been in the sky since man first walked on Earth could fool anyone, but in hundreds of UFO cases that have been filed and investigated Venus has been determined to be the culprit. Venus is the second planet from our Sun and is roughly the size of our own Earth. Because it is closer to the sun than Earth (which is the next planet out, number three) Venus is usually seen in the early evening or predawn hours near the horizon. It is the brightest natural object in the sky short of the sun and moon. Because it spends much of its time near the horizon, Venus is often blocked from the view of casual observers of the sky. When they do see it, they may be startled by its brilliance, especially in rural areas where the air is clear and the sky free of light pollution from street lamps. Like the other planets, Venus moves through the sky from star constellation to star constellation over the course of months. On a single night, though, Venus moves slowly with the rest of the stars in the sky as the Earth turns. However, there are special conditions that will make this planet appear to move more rapidly.

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