UFOs

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are mysterious objects seen in the sky, usually at night. Those who claim to have observed UFOs have said that they were seen landing, hovering near the ground, or flying away into the sky. In addition to reports of visual observations, UFOs have been photographed or recorded on radar.

In the 1940s and 1950s, UFOs were often referred to as “flying saucers” because to some people they seemed to be shaped like a saucer or a disk. The term UFO was created by the U.S. Air Force in 1953 because UFOs were also observed in other shapes. In addition, UFOs were observed as aerodynamic vehicles engaging in flight dynamics that were unlike those of known aircrafts or missiles.

UFO studies by the United States have included the Robertson Panel, Project Blue Book (previously Project Sign and Project Grudge), and Project Twinkle. The Robertson Panel (1953) was a scientific investigation that was conducted in response to a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) review of the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book.

The U.S. Air Force conducted a series of investigations in the 1940s and 1950s that were compiled as Project Blue Book from earlier investigations. These were Project Sign (official investigation of UFOs ca. 1948) and Project Grudge, conducted mostly in 1949. After investigating thousands of UFO reports, the results were published in the Condon Report in 1969. Project Blue Book ended in January 1970 because the U.S. Air Force concluded that nothing substantial could be found to support claims that UFOs were anything other than visual anomalies.

In addition to investigations conducted by the United States, other countries have sought to explain UFOs. The countries that have investigated UFOs include: Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, West Germany, and the former Soviet Union. The Swedes conducted an investigation of “ghost rockets” between 1946 and 1947. Canadians researched UFOs in Project Magnet between 1952 and 1953, but the project has never been made public. The Brazilian Air Force conducted Operation Saucer in 1977. The French government has had an ongoing program since 1977, and Uruguay opened an ongoing search for UFOs in 1989.