UFOs and Extraterrestrials

UFOs, or Unidentified Flying Objects, and extraterrestrials are perennial favorites in science fiction, but to date there have been no confirmed encounters on Earth. Still, strange sights in the night sky have been attributed to UFOs or aliens over the decades, most famously in Roswell, New Mexico, where many believers claim an alien craft crashed on a farm in 1947. In 2017, the existence of a secret U.S. government program that tracked "UFO" sightings by military pilots, which shut down in 2012, was brought to light in a New York Times report.

Related Topics: Alien Planets, Incredible Space Tech, Multiverse, Interstellar Travel

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ufo sightings by state

Happy UFO Day! Here Are the States With the Most Sightings

By Leonard David published

Analysts at SatelliteInternet.com used data from the National UFO Reporting Center and the US Census to determine you might have a higher likelihood of spotting a UFO in the US.

An artist's interpretation of the strange cigar shape of 'Oumuamua.

No Aliens Needed: Odd Properties of the 1st Known Interstellar Visitor Can Be Natural

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

'Oumuamua, the first known interstellar visitor, doesn't need an extraterrestrial solution to explain its oddities, according to a new study.

In 2014 and 2015, pilots with the U.S. Navy reported multiple UFO sightings during training maneuvers.

UFOs Remain Elusive Despite Decades of Study

By Leonard David published

In July, the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) celebrates 50 years of investigating and promoting research about unidentified flying objects. Do we know any more now than we did in 1969?

Alien life may be very different from Earth creatures. Perhaps, they spew a toxic gas called phosphine.

On Alien Worlds, Extraterrestrials Could Be Spewing a Toxic, Smelly Gas. That's How We Could Find Them.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

Phosphine, a horrible-smelling gas that's toxic to life on Earth, could signal the existence of alien life-forms elsewhere in the universe.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this stunning view of the galaxy cluster RXC J0142.9+4438 on Aug. 13, 2018, using the observatory's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3.

Breakthrough Listen Releases 1 Million Gigabytes of Data from Its Search for E.T.

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

On Tuesday (June 18), the project announced that it's made the largest data release ever in the search for extraterrestrial life.

In 2014 and 2015, pilots with the U.S. Navy reported multiple UFO sightings during training maneuvers.

UFOs Are Real, But Don't Assume They're Alien Spaceships

By Mike Wall published

UFOs are very real, as we have recently seen — but that doesn't mean E.T. has been violating our airspace.

The top-secret Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, founded in 2007, investigated UFO encounters under the direction of the Pentagon. This footage was captured by a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet in 2004 Nimitz, off the coast of San Diego.

Former Head of Pentagon's Secret UFO Program Has Some (Strange) Stories to Tell

By Mindy Weisberger published

The former leader of the U.S. government's top-secret UFO program has stories to tell, and he is sharing some of them for the first time in a new documentary.

Artist's illustration of advanced aliens.

How Dead Aliens Could Help Save Humanity

By Mike Wall published

Those who don't learn the lessons of an extinct alien civilization's fall may be doomed to repeat it.

Mars, as imaged by NASA's Viking 1 orbiter in the 1970s.

Could There Be Life on Mars Today?

By Mike Wall published

The search for life on Mars shouldn't focus exclusively on the distant past, some researchers say.

Navy Plans to Document UFO Sightings, But Keep Them Confidential

By Laura Geggel published

The U.S. Navy plans to set up an official reporting and investigative system that will monitor reports from its pilots about UFOs.

An artist's conception of the planet HD 219134b, one of the nearest rocky exoplanets to our solar system. This planet, which is about 1.6 times as big as Earth, is blazing hot, with a partially molten surface.

There's Basically 'No Chance' for Earth-Like Planets to Form an Atmosphere Around Hot Young Stars

By Brandon Specktor published

The odds of an atmosphere forming around an Earth-like exoplanet are even slimmer than previously thought, a new study suggests.

Are aliens observing us, like we watch captive zoo animals?

Are Aliens Ignoring Us? Maybe We're Already Their Captives in a 'Galactic Zoo'

By Mindy Weisberger published

Is Earth an exhibit in an alien zoo?

Mars 2020 Rover illustrated on the Red Planet

We're 'Well On Our Way' to Discovering Alien Life, NASA Chief Says

By Mike Wall published

We may not have to wait much longer to get our first glimpse of E.T., NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said.

Roswell, New Mexico

'Roswell' Brings Back Romance, Conspiracies (and Aliens) 20 Years Later

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

Romance and aliens in the desert.

An alien megastructure like a Dyson sphere doesn’t seem to be causing the weird dimming of one of the weirdest stars in our galaxy, Tabby's star.

If Aliens Are Causing Weird Dimming of 'Tabby' Star,' They Aren't Using Lasers to Do It

By Mara Johnson-Groh published

The evidence for aliens around one of the weirdest stars in our galaxy — Boyajian's star — is not looking promising.

After joining Project Blue Book, Dr. J. Allen Hynek (Aiden Gillen) is drawn deeper into the mysterious world of UFOs.

Top-Secret UFO Program Revealed in TV's 'Project Blue Book'

By Mindy Weisberger published

Alien planet art

Alien Hunters, Stop Using the Drake Equation

By Paul Sutter published

For the precocious hunter of off-Earth life, the Drake equation is the ever-ready, go-to toolkit for estimating just how (not) lonely humans are in the Milky Way galaxy. But it's not useful.

Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth defend Earth against aliens in "Men In Black: International," which lands in theaters in summer 2019.

See the First 'Men In Black: International' Trailer!

By Chris Arrant published

UFO on Earth.

Here's the Truth Behind a NASA Document on Aliens Visiting Earth

By Rafi Letzter published

Silvano Colombano said that his view on aliens visiting Earth “is not accurately represented” in a viral Fox News article.

insight mars planetary science

No, Mars InSight Won't Be Searching for Alien Life. Here's What It IS Looking For.

By Mindy Weisberger published

Is there life on Mars? Even if there is, InSight won't tell us.