J. Allen Hynek (1910 - 1986)

J. Allen Hynek was an astronomer with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts when he became responsible for tracking the Earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik. Later, he became better known for advocating the idea; that extra-terrestrial spacecraft are regularly visiting Earth.

He was not always a believer and was initially a skeptic. The USAF put him in charge of their Project Bluebook through the 1950s and 1960s. Project Bluebook was created to investigate reports of UFO sightings. He was able to explain most of the claims, but there were some cases which he could not explain and this lead him to become less of a skeptic and more of a believer.

In 1973, Hynek founded the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) in Chicago, Illinois in an effort to conduct more research into alleged sightings, and conduct research that the government was no longer interested in pursuing. Hynek stopped believing we were visited by alien spacecraft. Instead, Hynek believed, the sightings were craft, which are from some alternate reality or universe.

Hynek is the person who created the concepts of Close Encounters of the First (CE1), Second (CE2) and Third Kind (CE3). According to Hynek, a CE1 encounter involves visually observing an unidentified object that is presumably an alien craft. A CE2 encounter requires the presence of physical evidence of aliens and/or pieces of their craft, a CE3 encounter would involve a sighting and an encounter with the actual aliens.

Additionally, Hynek was Professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University and Professor Emeritus and Director of the Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center at Northwestern University, Visiting Lecturer, Harvard University, 1956-60. Hynek was a civilian scientific consultant to the USAF for ca. 20 years. From 1953 to 1959 Hynek wrote the column "Scanning the Skies" for the Columbus Dispatch, and Dr. Hynek was a regular contributor to Science Digest.