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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Jupiter's moon Europa, imaged here by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, harbors a huge ocean beneath its icy shell.

Alien-life hunters are eyeing icy ocean moons Europa and Enceladus

By Mike Wall last updated

As the hunt for life on Mars starts getting into full swing, some scientists are already looking beyond the Red Planet, to our solar system's next astrobiological frontier.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this view of the interstellar object Comet 2I/Borisov on Oct. 12, 2019.

SETI search of interstellar Comet Borisov finds no sign of alien 'technosignatures'

By Mike Wall last updated

The Breakthrough Listen SETI project has scanned the interstellar Comet Borisov for "technosignatures" but come up empty so far.

The U.K.'s official government investigation of UFOs can be traced to a group formed in 1950: the Flying Saucer Working Party.

British 'X-Files' of UFO sightings is going public

By Mindy Weisberger published

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense announced that it will soon release formerly classified government files about UFO encounters.

Michael Malarkey as Captain Michael Quinn (left) and Aidan Gillen as Dr. J. Allen Hynek in The History Channel's "Project Blue Book."

Alien investigation series 'Project Blue Book' shows more weird encounters in Season 2

By Elizabeth Howell published

"Project Blue Book," the hit television docudrama about the U.S. military's investigations into aliens more than 50 years ago, is back for Season 2.

alien world artist illustration

To find intelligent alien life, humans may need to start thinking like an extraterrestrial

By Adam Mann published

Anthropologist reveals a potentially big flaw in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

Aidan Gillen returns in the second season of "Project Blue Book," as UFO investigator Dr. J. Allen Hynek.

Were Alien Secrets Hidden in Roswell and Area 51? 'Project Blue Book' UFO Hunters Investigate.

By Mindy Weisberger last updated

A search for the truth behind UFO sightings leads to the discovery of government cover-ups.

Exoplanet with an atmosphere.

Alien life is out there. But our theories are steering us away from it.

By Peter Vickers published

Alien life is out there, but our current theories seem to be steering us away from it, says this scientist.

Close encounters with our future selves?

Are the aliens us? UFOs may be piloted by time-traveling humans, book argues

By Leonard David last updated

The great distances covered by visiting "aliens" may be ones of time rather than space, a recent book argues.

In 2017, a video of the Nimitz UFO encounter was publicly released.

Top-secret UFO files could 'gravely damage' US national security if released, Navy says

By Brandon Specktor published

The US Navy confirmed they have secret, classified documents regarding a 2004 UFO encounter, but releasing them could 'gravely damage' national security.

An up-close look at the "tiger stripes" on Saturn's moon Enceladus, which is thought to harbor a big ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface.

If We Find Life on Europa or Enceladus, It Will Probably Be a '2nd Genesis'

By Mike Wall published

If there are creatures swimming in the buried oceans of the outer solar system, they're probably not related to us, new research suggests.

A man in Canada says he was attacked by a UFO in 1967. (Not this one.)

Thousands of Government UFO Reports Now Available at Canadian University

By Brandon Specktor published

A private UFO enthusiast has donated his collection of 30,000 documents to the University of Manitoba in Canada. The truth is in there.

Artist's illustration on NASA's 2020 Mars rover on the Red Planet.

How NASA's Next Mars Rover Will Hunt for Alien Life

By Mike Wall published

Spotting signs of long-dead life is a tall order for a lonely robot on a faraway world, but NASA's next Mars rover should be up to the challenge, mission team members said.

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

China's Huge, Alien-Hunting Radio Telescope Is Finishing Its Testing Phase

By Leonard David published

China's giant, alien-hunting radio telescope is finishing its testing-and-commissioning phase, which has occurred over the past three years.

The Allen Telescope Array in northern California is dedicated to astronomical observations and a simultaneous search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Will 2020 Be the Year We Find Intelligent Alien Life?

By Leonard David published

Is 2020 the celestial payoff year, in which astronomers finally confirm a "technosignature" coming from an advanced alien civilization?

In 2017, a video of the Nimitz UFO encounter was publicly released.

Navy Officers Say 'Unknown Individuals' Made Them Erase Evidence of 2004 UFO Encounter

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

The signals were erratic and didn't seem to match those given off by known aircraft.

Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa, as imaged by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

NASA Europa Mission Could Potentially Spot Signs of Alien Life

By Mike Wall published

If there's life on Jupiter's ocean moon Europa, an upcoming NASA mission might be able to sniff it out.

Artist's illustration of HD 21749c, the first Earth-size planet found by NASA's Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite, as well as its sibling, HD 21749b, a warm sub-Neptune-sized world. In a new study, a research team led by Björn Benneke, a professor at the Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the Université de Montréal, discovered water vapor and likely even raining clouds in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18 b.

NASA's Planet-Hunting Probe Joins the Search for Intelligent Aliens

By Mike Wall published

Scientists with the TESS mission will work with the Breakthrough Listen project.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals new details about Starship Mk, the company's enormous reusable launch system, and talks aliens in Boca Chica, Texas on September 28, 2019.

Elon Musk Doesn't Know Where the Aliens Are (So, Stop Asking)

By Chelsea Gohd published

At a recent event in Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirms that, to his knowledge, we haven't yet discovered aliens.

Would-be alien-hunters gather to "storm" Area 51 at an entrance to the military facility near Rachel, Nevada, on September 20, 2019.

Area 51 Gate Crashing: Storm of Controversy

By Leonard David last updated

Aliens of all stripes are zeroing in on the secretive Area 51 this weekend.

This artist's illustration depicts a hypothetical dust ring orbiting KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian's Star or Tabby's Star.

'Alien Megastructure' Star May Not Be So Special After All

By Charles Q. Choi published

More mysteriously dimming stars have been spotted.