The Close Encounter ratings are a system created by astronomer and UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek to classify UFO sightings based on the proximity and nature of the encounter.
Close Encounter of the First Kind (CE1):
- Sightings of a UFO within 500 feet.
- No physical interaction or evidence is left behind.
- Witnesses simply observe the object.
Close Encounter of the Second Kind (CE2):
- Sightings of a UFO within 500 feet where physical effects are observed.
- Effects can include heat or radiation, interference with electrical devices, physical traces like impressions in the ground or scorched vegetation, or animals reacting.
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (CE3):
- Sightings of a UFO within 500 feet where occupants or entities are observed.
- Witnesses report seeing humanoid or alien beings associated with the UFO.
Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind (CE4):
(Not part of Hynek’s original classification but later added by researchers)
- Abduction cases where witnesses report being taken aboard a UFO or having direct contact with its occupants.
Close Encounter of the Fifth Kind (CE5):
(Not part of Hynek’s original classification and introduced by later researchers)
- Voluntary, conscious, and proactive human-initiated communication or contact with UFOs or extraterrestrial beings.
Close Encounter of the Sixth Kind (CE6):
(Not part of Hynek’s original classification and introduced by later researchers – This classification is controversial and not widely accepted within mainstream UFO research.)
- Encounters where a human or other life form is reportedly killed or seriously injured by a UFO or its occupants.
- Incidents where there is evidence or claims of death, injury, or other severe physical effects attributed directly to a UFO or alien contact.
Close Encounter of the Seventh Kind (CE7):
(Not part of Hynek’s original classification and introduced by later researchers – This classification is controversial and not widely accepted within mainstream UFO research.)
- Creation of a hybrid human-alien being, either through direct intervention, abduction scenarios, or via reproductive manipulation.
- Hybridization of extraterrestrials and humans combined genetic material to create a new life form.