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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A UFO spotted by a U.S. Navy jet.

Up in the air! US government's UFO report stirs range of reactions

By Leonard David published

The release of the U.S. government's highly anticipated UFO report has whipped up a blend of reactions, from UFO groups to individuals in military, academic and scientific circles.

Footage of a UFO captured by a U.S. Navy jet.

UFO sightings remain mysterious, US government report says

By Mike Wall last updated

The U.S. government needs some more time to get to the bottom of the UFO mystery.

ufo sighting

How to calculate the odds that an alien spaceship has been spotted

By Anders Sandberg published

The US military has released previously classified photos and films related to unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings, which mostly show something blurry moving strangely.

An artist's depiction of the sun and Earth as seen from another star system.

Aliens could have spotted Earth cross the sun from more than 1,700 star systems

By Charles Q. Choi published

E.T. could also potentially have detected life on Earth, scientists say.

This still is from a U.S. Navy jet's video of a UFO sighting.

Skies alive with UFOs? Government report on mysterious sightings due soon

By Leonard David last updated

The U.S. government is set to release a UFO report soon, perhaps sometime this week. What will it say?

Mushroom-like structures on Mars.

Mushrooms on Mars? 5 unproven claims that alien life exists

By Gareth Dorrian published

A recent study claims to have found evidence for mushroom-like life forms on the surface of Mars.

The eclipsed sun rises over the U.S. Capitol Building on June 10, 2021, in an image from NASA photographer Bill Ingalls.

This week on the Space.com forums: Parallel universes, the moon, UFOs and a solar quiz!

By Mohamed Mohammed published

This week, the community gets chatty in response to some of this week’s coverage and we take on a solar quiz!

On July 16, 1952, Coast Guard seaman Shell Alpert took this photo of four roughly elliptical blobs of light in formation through the window of his photographic laboratory near Salem, Massachusetts. The U.S. Air Force's UFO task force, Project Blue Book, investigated the image and deemed it "unexplained."

'No evidence' UFOs are alien spacecraft, but they're not American, Pentagon says

By Mindy Weisberger published

In a new report, Pentagon officials claim they lack evidence that UFOs are from worlds other than Earth.

This still is from a U.S. Navy jet's video of a UFO sighting.

Report: NASA investigating UFO sightings, agency chief says

By Mike Wall published

NASA chief Bill Nelson told CNN that he has asked agency researchers to look into the spate of UFO sightings that U.S. Navy pilots have reported over the past two decades.

A map of tropical water vapor from NASA. Research on water vapor and other climate features suggests that satellite measurements might have underestimated past warming.

This week on the Space.com forums: Ancient climate, plastic rocket fuel and alien life!

By Mohamed Mohammed published

This week, the community is intrigued by Earth's ancient climate. We also see one community member post some thought-provoking questions!

A government employee photographed a UFO that hovered for 15 minutes near Holloman Air Development Center in New Mexico, on Dec.16, 1957.

Pentagon's long-awaited UFO report to Congress due this month

By Mindy Weisberger published

U.S. lawmakers called for an official assessment of UFO sightings in December, and the six-month deadline is up.

The auction of this so-called evidence of extraterrestrials has an opening bid of $1 million or 450 Ethereum (a network for the cryptocurrency Ether).

1947 'alien autopsy' film frame is up for auction as an NFT

By Mindy Weisberger published

A film frame allegedly showing the autopsy of an extraterrestrial that crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico has an opening bid of $1 million.

The footage was allegedly filmed in the Combat Information Center of the USS Omaha on July 15, 2019.

Spherical UFO plunges into the ocean in US Navy footage

By Mindy Weisberger published

A clip of a mysterious spherical object hovers over the horizon, in footage released by a filmmaker who produces UFO documentaries.

microphone in lecture hall

Black holes, aliens, multiverse & Mars: Space TED talks you need to watch

By Libby Plummer, All About Space magazine published

Be even more inspired by the universe and TED Talks with our top picks of ideas worth spreading.

Missing Image for

This week on the Space.com forums: A huge giveaway, an AMA and first contact!

By Mohamed Mohammed published

We kick off our latest giveaway this week and it's a special one! We've also got some of the best questions in this week's AMA with Dr. Joe Pesce. Finally, we do some alien roleplaying!

This still is from a U.S. Navy jet's video of a UFO sighting.

UFO answers coming soon? US government to report on mysterious sightings

By Mike Wall last updated

We could soon start getting answers to some vexing UFO questions.

The U.S. Navy recently declassified several videos of alleged UFO sightings.

What does the Pentagon's new UFO task force mean? Experts weigh in.

By Leonard David last updated

The Pentagon just announced the creation of a task force to analyze and understand the "nature and origins" of UFOs. Here's what the much-hyped news means.

The Library of the Great Silence will feature artifacts of transition, like this handaxe.

'Library of the Great Silence' invites E.T. to share long-term survival strategies

By Mike Wall published

Intelligent aliens will soon have a space here on Earth where they can share how they made it through their technological adolescence.

In this classic Apollo 14 image, taken just before the lunar module landed at Fra Mauro, Earth peeks over the edge of the moon.

Alien hunters should search for artifacts on the moon, study suggests

By Charles Q. Choi last updated

The famous equation used to search for alien civilizations has now inspired a new formula to hunt for alien artifacts within our solar system.

In “Speculations” (2006), experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats sold the rights to develop property in the extra dimensions predicted by string theory. Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter worked with him on the project.

20 years of otherworldly thought experiments: A Q&A with artist Jonathon Keats

By Mike Wall published

For 20 years, Jonathon Keats has been asking us to recalibrate our assumptions about the universe and our place in it through a series of thought experiments. A new book dives deep into his work.