Featured Image Credit: NASA/CNN
Topics: Conspiracy Theories, Politics, Space, US News
Emily Brown
A new document released by the Pentagon indicates the US government is struggling to explain more than 150 UFO reports.
Most people have a story about the time they saw something weird floating in the sky, whether it be a bizarre set of lights moving too fast to be a plane, or a flying object suddenly disappearing in front of your eyes.
Sometimes they're brushed off and forgotten, but many such sightings are reported and documented by the US government, ready to be analysed and, hopefully, explained.
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The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has now published an 11-page report about 510 reports of alleged sightings of UFOs (unidentified flying objects), or UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena), most of which were filed by US military personnel.
A total of 144 of the sightings related to a previous ODNI report which looked at UFO data compiled between 2004 and 2017, but the remaining 366 cases were all newly identified in 2022.
When the new reports were investigated, authorities managed to resolve 195 of them with pretty simple explanations - after all, sometimes we just have to call a plane a plane.
The rise in popularity of drones appears to have contributed to last year's reports as they were found to be the culprits in 26 cases, while a further 163 fell into the category of 'balloons or ballon-like entities'.
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Another six were branded pesky 'airborne clutter' which includes plastic bags as well as, rather harshly, birds.
These explanations bolster previous Pentagon claims that most recent UFO reports likely stemmed from drones or clutter, but that still leaves us with 171 cases which we've not yet discussed.
According to the report, these remain cases remain 'uncharacterized and unattributed' due to a lack of detailed data.
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Some of the objects in question were found to be moving in unusual or inexplicable ways, and therefore remain under investigation, however the government has been careful not to mention the possibility of alien involvement.
The report also assured 'no encounters with UAP confirmed to contribute directly to adverse health-related effects to the observer'.
In a summary, the report explained that UAP reporting is 'increasing', and added that the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and ODNI believe the increase is 'partially due to a better understanding of the possible threats that UAP may represent, either as safety of flight hazards or as potential adversary collection platforms'.
Another reason for the increase is said to be 'due to reduced stigma surrounding UAP reporting'.
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"This increased reporting allows more opportunities to apply rigorous analysis and resolve events," the report states.