The Hynek Classification System

Witnesses to UFOs report many different shapes and sizes. From discs to cigars to triangles and almost anything you could imagine. Despite the varied shapes and sizes, researchers have tried to organize these sightings into neat little boxes. In reality, this can’t be done. However, there have been two systems developed which are as close as we can get to categorizing sighting reports. One is the Jacques Vallee system, which is quite extensive. The other is the Dr. J. Allen Hynek system, which is by far the most widely used, and from which the term, “close encounters” was coined. According to Dr. Hynek: This is the traditional method of describing an event as a distant or close encounter of the first, second, or third […] Read More

1985: Close Encounter with Dr. J. Allen Hynek

By Dennis Stacy An Interview With The Dean 1985 Re-Edited for CUFON by Dale Goudie 1991 For over two decades, from 1948 to 1969, Dr. J. Allen Hynek was a consultant in astronomy to the United States Air Force. The subject of his advice, however, was not the fledgling space program or even the moon and stars above, but Unidentified Flying Objects. In 1973 he founded the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) and had served as Director and editor of its journal, “International UFO Reporter.” STACY: Dr. Hynek, as a scientist, you go back as far with the UFO phenomenon as probably anyone alive today. Exactly how did that relationship begin? HYNEK: That’s an easy story to tell. In the spring of 1948, I […] Read More