Section A · Astronomy and science outreach (Colombia)

Germán Puerta Restrepo

Astronomer and science communicator · former director of the Bogotá Planetarium · author of numerous astronomy books

Biography

Economist from the University of the Andes and an expert amateur astronomer, a Colombian science communicator. He was scientific director of the Bogotá Planetarium for years, creator of the Villa de Leyva Astronomy Festival and author of sky maps and numerous astronomy books (among them 'Marte' and 'Los animales del cielo'); he received the Latin American RedPop award. On the UFO phenomenon he represents the skeptical, scientific counterweight of Colombian casework: he recalls that the vast majority of sightings have conventional explanations —aircraft, drones, satellites, the Space Station, optical phenomena— and that astronomy is the first filter to separate real anomaly from confusion.

Why they're here · 2 pieces

  1. 1998

    Dirección científica del Planetario de Bogotá

    Astronomy outreach and a scientific framework to assess sightings in Colombia

  2. 2010

    Libros de astronomía y mapas del cielo

    Outreach work providing the astronomical context for 'sightings'

Sources

Associated cases (1)

Colombia.

Bogotá · T-33 over El Dorado· 1964

In 1964, near Bogotá's El Dorado airport, several crews reported a round, deep-yellow object over the control tower. An Avianca pilot had earlier warned that 'another aircraft' crossed his path at his same altitude, even though the tower had no other traffic in the area. The Colombian Air Force authorized a T-33 fighter to chase the object; it followed it at about 31,000 feet for a brief span until running out of fuel. It is the classic aviation/interception case of Colombian casework.

B28%

Synthesized bio from the UAP disclosure ecosystem — categorized by epistemological section (A-F).