Close encounters, explained

# Close encounters, explained

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Field note 04 · THE FIELD GUIDE

From a nearby sighting to an alleged abduction. Hynek’s original three kinds, the fourth, and the labels that came later.

## How many kinds are there?

Three in the original system; more in later versions. Astronomer J. Allen Hynek presented his classification in The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry, published in 1972. The first, second, and third kinds organize close-range UFO reports by what witnesses describe. The fourth kind was added later to distinguish abduction accounts. Beyond that, authors and groups use competing definitions. There is no single, universally accepted list that ends neatly at four, five, or seven. The Center for UFO Studies, which Hynek founded, is a useful starting point for understanding the original categories.

## First kind (CE1): a close sighting

A witness reports a UFO nearby, close enough to make out details, without a reported interaction with the surroundings or the observer. The Center for UFO Studies gives roughly 500 feet, or 150 meters, as a typical distance. The point is proximity and visible detail, rather than a precise surveyed boundary. Imagine someone describing an unfamiliar object’s shape at close range, with no associated ground marks, equipment disturbance, or occupants. A distant, unresolved light in the sky does not automatically qualify.

## Second kind (CE2): a physical effect

The report adds an apparent effect on the environment, equipment, people, or animals. Examples include impressions in the ground, scorched vegetation, a vehicle that stalls, radio interference, or a witness reporting heat or temporary paralysis. A lasting trace is one possibility, but a temporary effect can also place a report in this category. CUFOS distinguishes several such subtypes. Investigators still have to establish whether an effect occurred and whether it was connected to the sighting: a stalled engine alongside an unusual light does not, by itself, establish a cause.

## Third kind (CE3): an occupant is reported

The defining addition is a reported being in or near the UFO. Seeing an apparent occupant is enough for this category; a conversation, physical contact, or abduction is not required. CUFOS uses the broad term entity, without requiring a particular appearance. The classification records what a witness says they saw and does not establish that the figure was extraterrestrial. A report can also include physical traces, so the categories describe features that may overlap rather than stages every encounter must pass through.

## Fourth kind (CE4): an alleged abduction

In the later extension described by CUFOS, the witness reports being taken against their will into a UFO, or removed from their ordinary surroundings to somewhere else. Accounts may include examinations or other interactions with the reported beings. This category separates abduction narratives from the third kind’s reports of seeing occupants. It was not one of Hynek’s original three. Calling an account CE4 identifies the experience being claimed; independent evidence is still needed to determine what happened.

## Fifth kind (CE5): whose definition?

Steven Greer’s CE-5 initiative uses the label for claimed two-way contact with extraterrestrial intelligence that humans deliberately initiate or cooperate in. His description includes attempts involving light, sound, and thought. That is the initiative’s claim and terminology, not independent confirmation that its methods establish contact. The same number means something else in Jacques Vallée’s separate classification: the CUFOS comparison lists CE5 as an encounter involving injury or death. A fifth-kind label therefore needs an author and a definition attached to it.

## Sixth and seventh kinds: further additions

Some expanded lists use CE6 for alleged bodily harm and CE7 for alleged human-alien hybridization. These are later additions, not further categories from Hynek’s original book, and they do not have universally accepted definitions. Notice the overlap: physical effects already appear in CE2, while Vallée places injury or death under CE5. The numbering reflects different authors’ choices. It is not a settled scientific scale, and assigning a number does not validate the underlying claim.

## The sightings outside the close encounters

Hynek’s broader framework also included nocturnal lights, daylight discs, and radar-visual reports. Those are separate observation categories, not extra numbered kinds. This is why a description of his six-category system can coexist with just three original kinds of close encounter. When reading any case, ask both what was reported and what supports it. An encounter category helps organize an account; it does not grade the evidence or identify the object’s origin.

## Sources & media

- [J. Allen Hynek and the origins of CUFOS](<https://cufos.org/about-us/>) — Center for UFO Studies · Hynek’s 1972 book and the center’s history
- [Classification systems: Hynek and Vallée](<https://cufos.org/types-of-ufos/classification-systems/>) — Center for UFO Studies · Original categories and later extensions
- [Close encounters of the first kind](<https://cufos.org/types-of-ufos/close-encounters-of-the-first-kind/>) — Center for UFO Studies · Proximity and visible detail
- [Close encounters of the second kind](<https://cufos.org/types-of-ufos/close-encounters-of-the-second-kind/>) — Center for UFO Studies · Physical effects and trace reports
- [Close encounters of the third kind](<https://cufos.org/types-of-ufos/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/>) — Center for UFO Studies · Reports of entities near UFOs
- [Abduction reports](<https://cufos.org/types-of-ufos/abductions/>) — Center for UFO Studies · The experiences described in these accounts
- [What is CE5?](<https://drstevengreer.com/expeditions/index.html>) — Steven Greer · A proponent’s own definition and contact claims
- [Close encounter: further extensions](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_encounter#Further_extensions>) — Wikipedia · Secondary overview of sixth- and seventh-kind usage

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