Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have been an intriguing phenomenon for decades. They've recently benn renamed Unidentified Areal Phenomena and then Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). Public interest has waxed and waned, but never disappeared. I don't expect that will ever change.
I was a bit nervous when I learned NOVA was going to produce an episode to this topic. Why? I was recently disappointed by celebrated columnist Ezra Klein's stunning credulity amidst a recent flare up of interest. I expected better.
But my anxiety was not warranted. I was heartened to see skeptical analyst, Mick West, was a participant, and he certainly has a moment in this episode. This is NOVA, not The New York Times; I should not have been concerned.
But I do have questions.
For decades UFOs have captivated the public, even as many scientists saw them as too taboo to investigate. Now, after highly publicized sightings of unidentified objects by Navy pilots, UFOs are moving out of the shadows and into the light, as NASA pledges to study them scientifically. So what does science have to say? Though some are identified as balloons or drones, weather phenomena, or optical illusions, others remain mysterious. Could they be the result of secret new technology developed by other governments – or our own? And what would it take for alien engineers to traverse vast distances to send probes or visit Earth from other solar systems? Explore the evidence, as astrophysicists and engineers use new technologies to investigate the strangest objects in our skies.
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