UFO: What Do We Know About Aliens

Scientists have pondered the existence of extra-terrestrial life or Aliens for thousands of years. We are still searching for evidence of alien life, but the results have been marginal.

 

Are we alone in the universe? Or are there intelligent beings like us looking at the sky asking the same question? Are their civilizations more advanced than ours? Are there beings who have achieved interstellar communication? These questions remain unanswered.

A conceptual art of UFO in the shape of two inverted saucers

I first learned about aliens from a school book that talked about UFOs. My book showed pictures of it like a flying disc or flying saucer. As a kid, I found it difficult to comprehend the enormity of the universe. In my 8-year-old mind, aliens were just a fantasy. Being an adult now, I think this might be a reality, or is it?

The Curious Case of UFOs

Throughout the world, unidentified flying objects have been a popular topic. People have been reporting seeing unknown flying bodies across the sky for centuries. Many people have gone so far as to say that aliens have abducted them. The famous Barney and Betty Hill case in 1961 was one of them. Roswell's 1947 UFO crash, which turned out to be a weather balloon, is considered by many conspiracy theorists to be a cover-up. Unfortunately, there have been many investigations conducted in the past that have been inconclusive.

 

Front page of Roswell Daily Record headlining the capture of a “flying saucer”

Source: Roswell Daily Record, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recently, Congress in the USA demanded an investigation into this matter. Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP, a military jargon) have been reported by U.S. military vehicles soaring without causing any boom in the sky. The purpose of this study was to dispel sceptics and determine whether we know enough about these objects. To know whether these objects can pose problems to our planet.

 

An unclassified report entitled "Preliminary Report: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" was released on 25 June by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The report is a summary of a larger classified document submitted to congress. The report was drafted by the UAP Task Force, established for investigating this matter.

 

The task force has been able to explain one of the 144 reports it has received between 2004 and 2021, namely a deflated balloon. All the rest remain enigmatic. U.S. pilots had menacing “near misses” in 11 cases. There were 18 reports with “unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics" - displaying advanced capabilities not yet developed by humans. According to reports, UAP “appeared to remain stationary in winds, manoeuvre abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion.” Some military aircraft processed radio frequencies associated with UAP sightings.

 

A lack of "high-quality reporting" and a lack of defining information prevents the report from drawing any firm conclusions. Although the report is inconclusive, it nonetheless makes some important points. The report concludes that none of these objects are connected to secret U.S. weapons programs or developed by foreign rivals (pointing at Russia and China). UAPs are believed to be physical objects as most of them were caught via “radar, infrared, electro-optical, weapon seekers, and visual observation.” There is also a possibility of many kinds of UAP.

 

The report claims that unusual UAP, showing insane flying abilities could also “be the result of sensor errors, spoofing, or observer misperception.”

 

Preliminary investigation in the report gives five categories of possible explanations:

1.     Natural atmospheric phenomena

2.     Airborne clutter

3.     U.S.-developed “classified” technology

4.     Technology developed by other countries

5.     Other (unexplainable)

The Videos Are Real

In addition, the Pentagon also formally recognized 3 videos published by The New York Times in 2017. They are titled "FLIR", "GIMBAL", and "GOFAST". Navy fighter jets recorded the latter two from the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, off the East Coast near Florida.

 

According to Mick West, a renowned conspiracy debunker, the images seen in the UAP videos could be the result of mis-calibrated instruments or camera distortion. West said, “UAPs are unidentified because of limited data, that’s what makes the cases difficult to explain. Of course, we can’t rule out aliens in cases with limited data, that’s literally impossible.” He supports further research to be conducted on this subject.

 

Ravi Kumar Kopparapu, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, has a similar notion. Kopparapu told Space.com, “We need more resources. It should be scientifically studied. Stigma should be removed. Some of these are real objects, some could be clutter and some could be unexplained.”

Some Pieces Are Missing

A former Pentagon official responded to Mick West's scepticism in The New Yorker recently. The official said that “(West) does not have the whole story. There’s data he will never see—there’s much more that I would in a classified environment.”

 

The outspoken former President Donald Trump said in an interview, “I won’t talk about what I know about it, but it’s very interesting.” He also said he wouldn’t disclose what he knows about aliens even to his family.

 

James Corden's show featured former President Barack Obama in May. Obama chose his words carefully, saying” When it comes to aliens, there are some things I can’t tell you on air.” He continued, “When I came into the office, I asked…. Is there a lab somewhere where we are keeping the alien specimens and spaceships? And you know, they did a little bit of research and the answer was no.”

 

When current Pres. Joe Biden was asked about Obama's comments, he laughed off the question, saying, "I would ask him again."

 

The Quest Continues

 

This report can only provide one conclusion: There is little or no information available that can be used to make any conclusions. On the bright side, UFOs are becoming a hot topic among scientists and the military. Every step forward will bring humanity closer to finding the truth.

 

Presidents and security officials will barely be of any help as they are bound by the oath. The only things they are allowed to disclose to the public are fed to them by defence agencies. People will not get access to more information until significant documents like these are stamped classified.

 

Our best bet is to watch for some suspicious activity in the sky. It's possible you'll be driving along the road one day and you'll bump into a spaceship. But if you find a gift box beside your bed when you wake up, don’t go out shouting that aliens came to your house. Maybe it's Santa Claus.

 

Science demands truth in its purest form. Speculations don’t always have veracity.