Solar Obliteration is a technique mentioned on an episode of Sightings for capturing video images of UFO's. You can also find "The Technique" outlined, complete with pictures, at the web site of the individual who created it and appeared on the Sightings episode. It is so simple I thought it would be a great activity for science students to test pseudoscience claims by using the technique. 

The Challenge 

All you need to do is follow the procedure below for setting up and collecting Solar Obliteration images with your video camera, come up with a hypothesis as to what they are, test your hypothesis, and then e-mail me your explanation along with your test results. I'll give the student/teacher, or class/teacher with the best explanation a suitable prize. 

Now, some people have claimed that UFO's captured with the Solar Obliteration technique are real alien vehicles, others are a bit more skeptical. One thing is for sure, they are UFO's in that they are Unidentified Flying Objects. Whatever you believe them to be you need to design an experiment that tests your belief using the scientific method.

You will be surprised how many of these UFOs you see when using the Solar Obliteration technique. Seeing just one of these UFOs is not real impressive. But when you shoot many minutes of video, you find these things zooming all over the place! 

I'm told that the reason the UFOs fly so close to the sun is so that you can't see them. Some people claim to have used image analysis tools to magnify and enhance the objects and, as a result, can resolve space craft. I used my copy of Photoshop and can only get a nice white pixel, a bit less impressive. But then again, I'm a meek and mild science teacher using primitive equipment. (And I think the solution to the UFO problem is a bit more down to earth...)

1. On a clear or partly cloudy day position a video camera (an 8mm camera is best) so that a building, or a piece of cardboard, blocks out most of the sun except for the corona. Video tape for about five minutes. You should play around with different configurations. (As in any study, record the specifics of your set-up so that it can be repeated.)
2. Examine the video tape and look for UFO's moving very fast through the picture. You have to look closely as most likely you will see a white dot or light moving rapidly through the field of view. Once you get the feel for finding them you will be amazed at how many you can find. 
3. Formulate a hypothesis as to what you think the UFO's are and design a test for your hypothesis. 
4. Conduct your test, write up your results with your best explanation, and send them to me. (Note: Each entry must be sponsored by a teacher, you may enter only once and entries will only be accepted from K-12th grade students or K-12 classes. Sorry all you MIT grad students! Please include your name, teacher's name, grade level, and school.) 

I would suggest trying to film at various times of day to see if there are more or less UFO's at different times. Try different ways to block out the sun to see if one way is better than the other. You might also try to capture the images and use image analysis software (like NIH Image) to play around with the image to see if that helps you resolve what the UFO's are. 

Visit the home site of the creator of "The Technique" for a more detailed procedure and pictures.