Case Credibility Rating System
★★★★★ Very Low
★★★★★ Low
★★★★★ Moderate
★★★★★ High
★★★★★ Exceptional
Primarily anecdotal, anonymous or unverifiable witnesses, story surfaced long afterward, little/no contemporary documentation, serious inconsistencies, or evidence of fabrication.
Identifiable witness or source, but evidence is weak. Limited corroboration, secondhand reporting, questionable documentation, or plausible conventional explanations significantly weaken the case.
Credible identifiable witnesses and reasonable documentation. Some independent corroboration may exist, but important uncertainties remain or conventional explanations cannot be confidently excluded.
Multiple credible or independent witnesses, strong contemporary documentation, and/or supporting photographic, radar, physical, military, police, or scientific evidence. Conventional explanations have been investigated but remain inadequate or disputed.
Exceptionally well-documented case involving multiple independent sources and several mutually supporting forms of evidence. Records have strong provenance, major details are independently corroborated, and extensive investigation has failed to produce a convincing conventional explanation.
Close Encounters of the 1st Kind
A Close Encounter of the First Kind (CE1) is a UFO report where a witness sees an unidentified flying object, typically appearing less than 500 feet (150 meters) away. These sightings are characterized by significant detail or an "appreciable angular extension" (appearing large) but do not leave physical evidence or involve interaction with occupants.
Key Aspects of the First Kind (C1):
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Visual Sighting: The defining feature is seeing the object, not just hearing about it or seeing radar traces.
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Proximity: The object is close enough to be seen with detail, often defined within 500 feet (roughly 150 meters).
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Duration: Often, these events show the craft in some detail, including lights or specific shapes.
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No Evidence: It differs from the "second kind," as the object does not leave physical evidence like burn marks or electromagnetic interference.
This classification was created by astronomer Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a technical advisor on UFO studies, to categorize experiences by increasing closeness.