On Tuesday, April 9, HuffPost Live featured a segment titled “Searching for ET.”
HuffPost Live‘s Jacob Soboroff moderated this discussion that featured SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute senior astronomer Seth Shostak, MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) journal editor Roger Marsh, and Huffington Post journalist Lee Speigel. The panel discussed SETI’s efforts to detect intelligent extraterrestrials by listening for radio signals in space. The group also touched on other astrobiology efforts such as NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler space telescope and its search for habitable worlds.
But Roger Marsh pointed out that there are “a lot of people studying ufology today that think that the intelligence is already right here on this planet.” Speaking about the SETI Institute’s efforts, Marsh stated, “They’re looking out into space to see what they can find. I think that’s great research. I think there’s a lot of different things we should be studying. But my organization hasn’t left the planet. We’re right here on the surface looking at the evidence that’s right here.”
When discussing UFO sightings, Lee Speigel was careful to point out that many people jump to the conclusion that UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft. He explained, “The word ‘UFO’ doesn’t mean ‘alien.'” Marsh also commented, “We don’t know if they’re aliens.” He discussed the 600+ sightings of unidentified objects reported to MUFON every month. He stated that, of those hundreds of monthly sightings, “Only about five or ten of those are really, really good reports.”
