1. What is this? PH1600: Introductory Astronomy Lecture 25: UFOs and Pseudoscience

2. PH1600: Introductory Astronomy Lecture 25: UFOs and Pseudoscience Study: Chapter 20 in The Cosmos book Next Lecture: None: Please take Online Final Exam School: Michigan Technological University Professor: Robert Nemiroff Book: The Cosmos by Pasachoff & Filippenko Online Course WebCT pages: http://courses.mtu.edu/ This class can be taken online ONLY, class attendance is not required!

3. You are responsible for…  Reading the book One chapter per “quiz period” Anything from that chapter can appear on quizzes or tests, even if I never mention them during my lecture(s) This quiz period covers Chapters 18  APODs posted during the semester APOD review every week during lecture  Completing the Quizzes and Final Chapter 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18 & 19 quizzes already due Chapter 20 Quiz incorporated into Final Exam See WebCT at http://courses.mtu.edu/ for detailshttp://courses.mtu.edu/

4. UFOs  Unidentified Flying Objects  Never yet confirmed to be intelligent aliens from another planet  “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”

5. A Lenticular Cloud Over New Hampshire Credit & Copyright: J. D. Rufo, J. Koermer, Plymouth State College APOD: 2003 April 30

6. A Lenticular Cloud Over Hawai'i Credit & Copyright: Peter Michaud (Gemini Obs.) APOD: 2005 August 21

7. Pseudoscience  Why is pseudoscience popular?  Scientists are unpopular authority figures Unelected Self-proclaimed, unavailable “Not like you and me” It is cool to say “they” are wrong  Urban Legends Eggs stand on end at equinoxes?

8. Egging On the Autumnal Equinox Credit: Phil Plait (Bad Astronomy) APOD: 2003 September 23

9. Examples of Pseudoscience  Astrology  UFO-logy  Moon landing “hoax”  Creationism Intelligent design, etc. Ask: Why don’t most universities teach creationism? Ask: Why does the Pope believe in evolution?  “Face on Mars”  Many recent criticisms of global warming

10. Goals of Pseudoscientists  Create doubt Everything is “only” a theory “My theory is just as good as yours” “Scientists are trying to undermine religion” Practiced sound bites Hard data “is there,” will be presented “later”  Furthers own political agenda

11. Science: Predictability and Reproducibility  A scientific theory Makes testable predictions Based on reproducible results Passes “peer review”  Occam’s Razor A scientific theory should be no more complicated than it needs to be

12. Mars Then and Now Credit & Copyright: Tom Ruen, Eugene Antoniadi, Lowell Hess, Roy A. Gallant, HST, NASA APOD: 2003 November 12

13. A Face On Mars Credit: The Viking Project, NASA APOD: 1998 April 6

14. The Face on Mars Credit: NASA,Viking Project, APOD: 1995 July 22

15. Mars Express Close-Up of the Face on Mars APOD: 2006 September 25

16. Mars Express: Return to Cydonia Credit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR APOD: 2006 September 26

17. A Waterspout off the Florida Keys Credit: Joseph Golden, NOAA APOD: 2005 January 20

18. A Strange Streak Imaged in Australia Credit & Copyright: Wayne Pryde APOD: 2004 December 7

19. An Unusual Event Over South Wales Credit & Copyright: Jon Burnett APOD: 2003 October 1