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An unidentified flying object (UFO), or unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP), is any perceived airborne, submerged or transmedium phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. Upon investigation, most UAPs are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained.
- Talk
Wikipedia uses the most commonly used name, not the most...
- Psychosocial Hypothesis
In ufology, the psychosocial hypothesis, abbreviated PSH,...
- Unidentified Flying Object (Disambiguation)
Unidentified flying object, a perceived aerial phenomenon...
- Phoenix Lights
The Phoenix Lights (sometimes called the "Lights Over...
- Roswell Incident
The Roswell incident is a collection of events and myths...
- List of reported UFO sightings
This is a list of notable reported sightings of unidentified...
- Ufology
Ufology is a neologism derived from UFO (a term apparently...
- Talk
This is a list of notable reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), and related claims of close encounters or abductions.
DateNameLocationDescription1907• EU EU , Ottoman Empire; AlbaniaMihal Grameno a distinguished Albanian ...1908- 06-30• EU EU , Russian Empire; near the ...A fireball crossed the sky above Siberia, ...1909• OC OC , New Zealand; OtagoIn August 1909, moving and whirring ...1917- 08-13, 1917- 09-13, 1917- 10-13• EU EU , Portugal; Fátima, Santarém ...Thousands of people gathered in Fátima ...- Etymology
- Historical Background
- As A Field
- Governmental and Private Ufology Studies
- UFO Organizations and Events
- External Links
Ufology is a neologism derived from UFO (a term apparently coined by Edward J. Ruppelt), and is derived from appending the acronym UFO with the suffix -logy (from the Ancient Greek -λογία (-logia)). Early uses of ufology include an article in Fantastic Universe (1957)and a 1958 presentation for the UFO "research organization" The Planetary Center.
The roots of ufology include the "mystery airships" of the late 1890s, the "foo fighters" reported by Allied airmen during World War II, the "ghost fliers" of Europe and North America during the 1930s, the "ghost rockets" of Scandinavia (mainly Sweden) in 1946, and the Kenneth Arnold "flying saucer" sighting of 1947. Media attention to the Arnold s...
Status as a pseudoscience
Despite investigations sponsored by governments and private entities, ufology is not embraced by academia as a scientific field of study, and is instead generally considered a pseudoscience by skeptics and science educators, being often included on lists of topics characterized as pseudoscience as either a partial or total pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is a term that classifies arguments that are claimed to exemplify the methods and principles of science, but do not adhere to an appropriate sc...
Current interest
In 2021, astronomer Avi Loeb launched The Galileo Projectwhich intends to collect and report scientific evidence of extraterrestrials or extraterrestrial technology on or near Earth via telescopic observations. In Germany, the University of Würzburgis developing intelligent sensors that can help detect and analyze aerial objects in hopes of applying such technology to UAP. A 2021 Galluppoll found that belief among Americans in some UFOs being extraterrestrial spacecraft grew between 2019 and...
Methodological issues
Although some ufologists (e.g., Peter A. Sturrock) have proposed explicit methodological activities for the investigation of UFOs, scientific UFO research is challenged by the facts that the phenomena are spatially and temporally unpredictable, are not reproducible, and lack tangible physicality. That most UFO sightings have mundane explanations limits interpretive power of "interesting," extraordinary UFO-related events, with the astronomer Carl Saganwriting: "The reliable cases are unintere...
Starting in the 1940s, governmental agencies and private groups sponsored investigations, studies, and conferences related to ufology. Typically motivated by visual UFO sightings, the goals of these studies included critical evaluation of the observational evidence, attempts to resolve and identify the observed events, and the development of policy...
A large number of private organizations dedicated to the study, discussion, and publicity of ufology and other UFO-related topics exist worldwide, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Switzerland. Along with such "pro-UFO" groups are skeptic organizations that emphasize the pseudoscientific nature of ufology. During th...
Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are airborne objects—or optical phenomena that seem like airborne objects—that an onlooker is unable to identify. UFOs first became a major subject of public interest after World War II, possibly sparked by the development of rocket technology.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Flying Saucers. The first well-known UFO sighting occurred in 1947, when businessman Kenneth Arnold claimed to see a group of nine high-speed objects near Mount Rainier in Washington while flying his small plane.
- The Roswell UFO Incident. The same year that Arnold saw the flying objects, rancher W.W. “Mac” Brazel came across a mysterious 200-yard long wreckage near an Army airfield in Roswell, New Mexico.
- Project Blue Book. Sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena increased, and in 1948 the U.S. Air Force began an investigation of these reports called Project Sign.
- The Robertson Panel and the Condon Report. An American obsession with the UFO phenomenon was under way. In the hot summer of 1952, a provocative series of radar and visual sightings occurred near National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Jun 11, 2024 · Unidentified flying object (UFO), any aerial object or optical phenomenon not readily identifiable to the observer. UFOs became a major subject of interest following the development of rocketry after World War II and were thought by some researchers to be intelligent extraterrestrial life visiting Earth.
Jul 6, 2023 · The U.S. has spent decades inquiring into the unknown—here's what they've learned. This image released by the U.S. Department of Defense shows a 2004 encounter between two Navy fighter jets and...
