Dictionary of Paranormal Terms - U

UFO
Acronym for Unidentified Flying Object.

Unidentified Flying Object
Term used to refer to any airborne craft or object that cannot be readily identified. The first modern UFO sighting was that of pilot Kenneth Arnold in 1947. Since then there have been thousands of reports of UFOs from people all over the world. Some believe that UFOs contain extraterrestrial visitors, while others consider them to be secret aircraft that are being tested by the military. Most UFO sightings turn out to be of ordinary everyday things such as balloons, planes, helicopters and even birds, but there are always a small percentage that seem to defy explanation. The most common UFO descriptions include bright moving lights, disc shaped objects, long, cigar shaped objects and the controversial Rods phenomenon.

Uranus
Seventh planet from the Sun, and one of the four gas giants in our solar system. It was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel. Its atmosphere consists primarily of Hydrogen and Helium, and appears bluish with a greenish tinge. The volume of the planet is some 67 times greater than that of the Earth, and a mass that is 14.7 times greater. In 1977 it was discovered that like Saturn, Uranus has a ring system, which stretches 51,300km from the planet's centre. There are also 17 moons in orbit around Uranus, the two largest of which, Oberon and Titania, where discovered by Herschel in 1787.