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NASA talks to people about UFOs for the first time. What you need to know

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DailyBiteJun 01, 2023 | 13:11

NASA talks to people about UFOs for the first time. What you need to know

The 16-member body said that they need better data to unearth the mystery about the UFOs. (Photo: Getty Images)

UFOs or Unidentified flying objects have always fascinated humans. Even though we don't know much about them, these flying saucers or objects have allegedly been sighted many times in different parts of the world. And what's intriguing about them is that their sightings makes us believe that there is intelligent life beyond Earth.

A year after launching a study into unexplained sightings, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of US held its first public meeting on UFOs on Wednesday (May 31).

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Even though NASA said that there is no convincing evidence for extraterrestrial life associated with UFOs, the televised four-hour hearing led to a some important revelations as there were hundreds of questions from the public.

 

Better data needed

The 16-member body, which had experts from the fields of physics to astrobiology, while insisting that it's not hiding anything said that they need better data to unearth the mystery about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

"If I were to summarize in one line what I feel we've learned, it's that we need high quality data," said panel chair David Spergel during opening remarks. He also said that the current data collection efforts about UAPs are unsystematic and fragmented across various agencies, often using instruments uncalibrated for scientific data collection, reported Reuters.

Over 800 'incidents' investigated

A panel member said that they have examined around 800 mysterious reports of UFOs collected over decades, but only a small fraction are truly unexplained."We have 50 to 100-ish new reports each month," said Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), part of the US Defence Department, reported BBC.

The NASA study is separate from a the Pentagon-based investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena documented in recent years by the military and intelligence officials.

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Optical illusions and microwaves

Scott Kelly, a former astronaut and navy fighter pilot said that optical illusions can explain some of these sightings. He recalled a Tomcat flight off Virginia Beach years ago during which his radar intercept officer in the back seat was convinced they'd flown past a UFO, reported AP. "It turns out it was Bart Simpson, a balloon," Kelly said. "And in my experience, the sensors kind of have the same issues as the people's eyeballs."

Spergel also mentioned an incident where a burst of radio waves were picked up by researchers in Australia. "They had really strange structure. People couldn't figure out what was going on. Then they start to notice a lot of them bunched together around lunch time," he said. It turned out that the sensitive instruments used by researchers were picking up signals from a microwave used to heat up their lunches, reported BBC.

 

What are UFOs or UAPs?

UFOs or UAPs refer to objects or phenomena observed in the sky that cannot be readily identified or explained. These terms are used to describe sightings of objects or lights that appear to be flying or moving in a manner that is unusual or unfamiliar to the observer.

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UFO sightings have been associated with the possibility of extraterrestrial life or spacecraft from other planets, but UFO does not necessarily imply the existence of aliens or intelligent life beyond earth. It simply means that the observed object or phenomenon remains unidentified.

While some of these sightings may have natural or conventional explanations, others remain outside the realm of current scientific understanding.

Last updated: June 01, 2023 | 13:11
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