Outer Space

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade October 2001

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How for does outer space actually go? Will we ever know really how far it extends? Space is characterized by the property of extension or the ability to stretch out or extend in any direction. The region beyond the earth's atmosphere or beyond the solar system is defined as outer space. Altitudes above 80 km (50mi) is the height at which outer space is considered to begin-before falling back to earth. Are there other civilizations out there with greater knowledge then the human race? Humans are the most advanced out of any organism on earth, but what if we are only fish in outer space. It is believed that there are thousands of solar systems that are unseen and unexplored.

Human mental ability could be nothing compared to alien ability. There are reports of spaceships coming and going at the blink of an eye. However at least 90 percent of UFO sightings can be identified as conventional objects.

The objects most often mistaken for UFOs are bright planets and stars, aircraft, birds, balloons, kites, aerial flares, peculiar clouds, meteors, and satellites. This still leaves a 10 percent that is unidentified. Scientists say that the remaining sightings most likely can be attributed to other mistaken sightings or to inaccurate reporting, hoaxes, or delusions, but to disprove all claims made about UFOs is impossible. In 1987, Belleville, Wisconsin, several UFO sightings were reported by many individuals in scattered locations. All the individuals claimed they witnessed a UFO in the sky. The Illinois Air Traffic Control also verified an unidentified object at the same time and location. The question still remains, "what was the object in the sky?" Scientists do not know much about outer space or extraterrestrial life (aliens) or any existence originating or located outside earth or its atmosphere. However in 1947 an alleged crash and recovery of an extraterrestrial vehicle and its alien occupants near Roswell, New Mexico was reported by hundreds of people. In 1994 the United States Air Force reported and concluded that the unidentified object was a weather balloon and the crash was debris from an army air force balloon. The aliens were explained as anthropomorphic test dummies that were carried aloft by U.S. air force high altitude balloons for scientific research.

Someday in the future maybe there will be a better perspective on outer space and aliens, if there is such a thing. At the present time human technology is the most advance technology known. In the future hopefully human technology will be advanced enough to travel to other solar systems and maybe explore other civilizations and life forms.