We’re sorry, the politically correct term these days is “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP), as it’s less likely to excite those with a predilection for tinfoil hats. But whether you call them flying objects or anomalous phenomena, it’s that unidentified part that has us interested.
Which is why we’ll be tuned into NASA TV at 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 31 — that’s when the agency has announced they’ll be broadcasting a meeting of an independent study team tasked with categorizing and evaluating UAP data. The public can even submit their own questions, the most popular of which will be passed on to the team.
Before you get too excited, the meeting is about how NASA can “evaluate and study UAP by using data, technology, and the tools of science”, and the press release explains that they won’t be reviewing or assessing any unidentifiable observations. So if you’re hoping for the US government’s tacit acknowledgment that we’re not alone in the universe, you’ll probably be disappointed. That said, they wouldn’t have to assemble a team to study these reports if they were all so easily dismissed. As always, interstellar visitors are dead last on the list of possible explanations, but some cases have too much hard evidence to be dismissed out of hand. They might not be little green men, but they are something.
More after the break.
Those with an interest in such things are likely already aware of the 2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The report explains that under the direction of the Secretary of Defense, an All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) had been established in July of 2022 to catalog and analyze credible UAP cases. The paper further reveals that of the 366 cases the AARO was actively investigating, only 195 could be deemed “unremarkable” and likely the result of a drone, balloon, or wildlife.
Does that mean the remaining 171 were the product of interdimensional incursions? Of course not. But the report does acknowledge that “some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities” which makes their identification difficult. The report’s recommendation was simple enough: in order to collect more data, UAP cases needed to be taken more seriously.
This NASA meeting is a step towards that goal, and we’re looking forward to seeing the team’s final recommendations when they’re released over the summer. The truth is out there.