Is it a bird? A plane? NASA will study mysterious objects in the sky
LA TimesAn image taken from a 2015 video of an unexplained object soaring high along the clouds, traveling against the wind. NASA announced Thursday that it’s embarking on a new study of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs — the term now used in scientific and military circles for the inexplicable airborne sightings commonly known as UFOs. Between 2004 and 2021, the U.S. Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force investigated 144 incidents of UAP spotted by military pilots, according to a report released last year by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “There is a great deal of stigma associated with UAP among our naval aviators and aviation communities,” said Daniel Evans of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, who will direct the agency’s part in the study. And that will yield increased access to data, more reports, more sightings, et cetera.” In a statement about the study, NASA said there was “no evidence” that UAPs are the result of extraterrestrial life.