Hey Seth Shostak/SETI:

The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence Begins At Home!

courtesy Massimo Teodorani, UFODATA

Here's a link to a great article on the launch of UFODATA from author/UFO skeptic Leslie Kean on The Huffington Post:

(Very) Local SETI: The Launch of a New UFO Science

The Newly Announced UFODATA Project: Rigorous, Scientific UFO/UAP/AAP Detection and Tracking

(Finally! If we can figure out what, exactly, comprises genuine UFO/UAP/AAP Phenomena...

Then, we can figure out / rule out where it might come from!)

The UFODATA Project was founded by a group of scientists in order "... to create a systematic, rigorous science of UFO phenomena.

Such a science is needed because of misplaced certainties on both sides of the UFO debate:

“Believers” who are convinced that UFOs are extraterrestrials, and “Skeptics” who are equally convinced that UFOs do not even exist.

Our own view is that humanity knows very little about the true nature of unexplained UFO reports, and that the only way to resolve this lack of understanding is through serious scientific study.

This is now possible for the first time in the history of UFO research as a result of an unprecedented convergence of high resolution digital camera technologies, off-the shelf scientific instrumentation, powerful low-cost computing platforms, and ubiquitous high-speed internet access."

(*Psssst! UFODATA is looking for qualified volunteers! Experienced scientists, engineers, researchers, legal, data analysis, fundraising, etc. interested in pursuing the science of anomalous aerial phenomena may apply here.)

UFODATA Project