The rotor blades that will lift the next-generation Martian helicopters to unprecedented heights have reached a historic milestone—they have successfully broken the sound barrier. During tests at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, engineers demonstrated that the tips of the blades can accelerate to speeds exceeding Mach 1 without adversely affecting their structural integrity.

The next SkyFall helicopter will be larger than Ingenuity. Illustration: NASA

The experiments, consisting of 137 launches, were conducted in a special pressure chamber that accurately simulated the harsh environmental conditions of the Red Planet. The data collected will enable the development of aircraft capable of carrying significantly heavier payloads, transforming them from simple reconnaissance drones into fully-fledged scientific stations.

Speed of sound on Mars

Flying on Mars is one of the most challenging engineering feats in the history of space exploration. According to Al Chen, head of the Mars Exploration Program at JPL, although the previous Ingenuity rover performed exceptionally well, much more is expected of the new generation of drones.

The main challenge lies in the atmosphere: its density is only 1% of Earth’s. To generate sufficient lift in such a thin atmosphere and overcome the planet’s significant gravity, engineers have to take aggressive measures. And while on Earth, rotors simply need to “push” the dense air without approaching the sound barrier, on Mars the blades must be accelerated to supersonic speeds. It’s worth noting that due to the cold atmosphere, which is rich in carbon dioxide, the speed of sound on Mars is about 869 km/h, whereas on Earth it’s approximately 1,223 km/h.

From the pioneering Ingenuity to the powerful SkyFall

The legendary Ingenuity helicopter, which made its first controlled flight in April 2021, was a pioneer. It was a technology demonstration that did not carry heavy scientific instruments on board. To avoid unpredictable aerodynamics during sudden Martian winds, its rotor speed was deliberately limited to 2,700 rpm, which was about Mach 0.7.

Animation of NASA’s Ingenuity flight on Mars

However, future missions will require greater performance. The agency’s SkyFall project calls for the delivery of three new helicopters to Mars in December 2028. Through low-altitude aerial reconnaissance, they will collect data to support future missions involving both humans and robots.

Extreme tests in a simulator

To test AeroVironment’s new rotor designs, a team of engineers led by Jaakko Karras placed a three-bladed propeller in a space simulator. The air was pumped out of the chamber and replaced with carbon dioxide.

The tests were so risky that the chamber walls were lined with sheet metal in case the blades broke apart. Watching from a safe distance, the team recorded the results:

• At 3,750 rpm, the blade tips reached a speed of 0.98 Mach.
• After adding an artificial headwind, the tip speed rose to an impressive Mach 1.08.
• Subsequently, a longer, two-bladed rotor for the SkyFall was also tested. Thanks to its dimensions, it reached supersonic speeds as early as 3,570 rpm.

AsShannah Withrow-Maser, an aerodynamicist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, notes, the team had hoped to reach at least Mach 1.05, but the results exceeded their expectations.

Breaking through this sonic barrier has increased the Martian helicopter’s lift capacity by 30%. This extra thrust opens up the possibility of equipping new helicopters with heavy batteries for extended flights and state-of-the-art scientific sensors. Data analysis is ongoing, but it is already clear that the next generation of Martian helicopters will be a true technological marvel.

We previously reported on how the Dragonfly drone would fly on Titan thanks to a nuclear battery.

• According to phys.org 

• Posted in News, Tech

{  https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

What NASA’s Apollo Astronauts Actually Photographed — And Why It Still Matters

A look at newly surfaced lunar surface images and the declassified transcripts that go with them.

 Alejandro Rojas

The word “UFO” tends to trigger one of two responses: credulous excitement or immediate eye-rolling. But when the source material is NASA mission photography and declassified crew debriefing documents — some originally stamped Confidential — it becomes harder to dismiss out of hand.

A set of recently surfaced images from the Apollo 12 (1969) and Apollo 17 (1972) lunar surface missions has been circulating alongside newly released government UAP files. The photographs show the grey lunar terrain, astronaut shadows stretching across the regolith, and — annotated with yellow zoom boxes — small, anomalous luminous objects in the black sky above the lunar horizon. The objects vary across the frames: a vertical blue streak in one, a tight cluster of white-blue points in another, a solitary bright orb in a third, and in one striking image, what appears to be a larger rectangular luminous form.

The honest answer, scientifically speaking, is that we don’t know what they are. And that uncertainty is actually the interesting part.

NASA: Apollo 12, 1969

What the Transcripts Say

These images don’t exist in isolation. The project files include declassified NASA transcripts and crew debriefings from multiple missions, and the astronauts — trained engineers and test pilots, not given to loose talk — reported unexplained visual phenomena repeatedly.

During Apollo 17, Commander Gene Cernan explicitly radioed Houston about an object he was tracking from the spacecraft window. “I just want to emphasize,” he told Mission Control, “that it’s definitely not one of these particles that tends to look like a star out there. It’s something physical in the distance.” Houston’s response was telling in its matter-of-factness: “We don’t doubt it, Gene.” Ground controllers then worked to establish gimbal angles so they could try to locate the object through the spacecraft’s optics.

In the Apollo 11 Technical Crew Debriefing — originally classified Confidential and declassified years later — Buzz Aldrin described observing what he characterized as a fairly bright light source in lunar orbit that the crew could not immediately identify. Neil Armstrong, methodical as ever, suggested it was likely an optical effect near the horizon. They disagreed mildly and moved on.

Earlier still, in 1965, Gemini 7 commander Frank Borman reported “a bogey at ten o’clock high” — a phrase that got Houston’s attention quickly. Borman clarified it was a separate object from both the spent booster stage and the particle field the crew was also observing. The PAO commentary on the tape release noted plainly that there were three distinct objects in question.

None of these accounts prove anything exotic. What they do establish is that credible, trained observers repeatedly reported objects they could not explain, that NASA took those reports seriously enough to document them in formal debriefings, and that the government saw fit to classify some of that documentation for years afterward.

NASA: Apollo 12, 1969

The Scientific Case for Curiosity

The skeptical position — that these photographs show film artifacts, lens flares, cosmic ray strikes on the film emulsion, or simply distant stars — is entirely reasonable and should be the starting point. Hasselblad cameras shooting on the lunar surface operated in an extreme radiation environment, and cosmic ray tracks on film are well documented. Several of the anomalies in these images have the characteristics you’d expect from that explanation: point-source brightness, slight color fringing, appearing above an otherwise featureless horizon.

But the scientific method also requires that you account for data that doesn’t fit the model. Cosmic ray strikes don’t explain an object that a crew commander tracks across his window for an extended period, gives attitude angles on, and requests optical tracking assistance for. Film artifacts don’t explain a formally documented crew report that survives in a declassified debriefing.

The intellectually honest position is not “this is proof of alien spacecraft” — it isn’t — nor is it “this is obviously nothing.” It’s that there exists a genuine category of unexplained aerial and orbital phenomena observed by some of the most carefully selected and rigorously trained humans ever put into space, and that the U.S. government has historically classified documentation of those observations. That is, on its own terms, a story worth following.

NASA: Apollo 12, 1969

Where Things Stand Now

The federal government’s posture toward UAP has shifted meaningfully in the past several years. The Pentagon established a formal UAP task force. Congress has held open hearings. Legislation has required reporting. And classified files have begun to move toward the public domain — slowly, incompletely, but measurably.

If you want to track what’s actually been released and what’s still being withheld, PentagonUFOFiles.io is worth bookmarking. The site, built by the team at Enigma Labs, tracks congressionally requested Pentagon UAP video files — what’s been released, what the military nomenclature in those files actually means (their “Decoder” section is genuinely useful for cutting through jargon), and what’s still outstanding. It’s a clean, no-nonsense resource for anyone who wants to follow the paper trail rather than the speculation.

The Apollo images discussed here represent one thread of a much longer story. Whether that story ends with mundane explanations, scientific discoveries about poorly understood atmospheric or space phenomena, or something more consequential, the only reasonable approach is to keep looking at the data carefully — and to push for more of it to be made public.

The astronauts were looking. It seems reasonable to keep looking too.

Sources:

• NASA Apollo 12 Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (1969); Apollo 17 Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (1972); Apollo 11 Technical Crew Debriefing (1969, declassified); Apollo 17 Technical Crew Debriefing (1973, declassified); Gemini 7 PAO Commentary Transcript (1965).
• Full disclosure: Alejandro is a consultant with EnigmaLabs.io

{ https://openminds.tv/ }

US government declassifies nearly 200 UAP files, including strange sightings from Apollo astronauts

The Department of Defense just declassified more than 160 documents, images and recordings related to UFO/UAP sightings dating back to before the Apollo era.

 By Brandon Specktor

UFOs have come to Washington again — this time, in a newly released tranche of more than 150 previously classified documents that cover nearly 80 years of alleged sightings.

Available to read today (May 8) on the Department of Defense website, the 162 newly declassified documents, photos, and videos cover reports of UFOs and UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena, the government's preferred name for such sightings today) dating back as far as 1947.

The reports come from agencies across the government, including the Department of Defense (DOD), the FBI and NASA. The NASA offerings include images, audio files and transcripts of Apollo-era astronauts reporting anomalous sightings in space. However, most of these materials have been available for decades and never resulted in any compelling answers.

The government is very serious about UFOs. So why are researchers being stymied?

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"The materials archived here are unresolved cases, meaning the government is unable to make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena," DOD representatives wrote on the agency's website. "This can occur for a variety of reasons, including a lack of sufficient data."

Are there any aliens?

Due to the poor data quality, the reports do not contain any compelling evidence of alien intelligence.

While NASA has not weighed in directly on the newly declassified files — save for a statement of support from Administrator Jared Isaacman — the space agency's official position remains that UAP are real but they have nothing to do with aliens.

"Are there any data supporting the idea that UAP are evidence of alien technologies? 

"No," NASA's official UAP webpage states. "Most UAP sightings result in very limited data, making it difficult to draw scientific conclusions."

Indeed, NASA conducted its own independent investigation into UAP sightings in 2022 and 2023 and found no evidence of alien activity, again pointing to low-quality data among the alleged sightings.

What did the NASA astronauts see?

Some of the most interesting documents, from a historical perspective, are files related to UFO sightings reported by NASA astronauts in the 1960s. They include a transcript and audio recording of two NASA astronauts reporting an unidentified object in Earth orbit during the 1965 Gemini VII mission.

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Just four hours into the flight on Dec. 5, 1965, astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell reported seeing a "bogey" (military slang for an unidentified aircraft) out their spacecraft window, which Borman describes as "hundreds of little particles going by."

When NASA ground control pressed Borman on whether it could be a piece of the recently detached rocket booster, the astronauts said no, maintaining that they could see the booster in a separate part of orbit. The Gemini spacecraft soon drifted away from the object, never to see it again.

The files also include photos and transcripts from the Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 missions, in which astronauts describe seeing various unidentified "flashes" and "particles of light" on the moon. These cases, like the others, remain unresolved due to a lack of sufficient data.

The underlying files have been available in public archives for decades. However, some newly released images from the Apollo 12 mission show zoomed-in boxes to highlight anomalous phenomena on the moon.

What are UAP?

So, if they're not aliens, what are UAP? According to a 2022 DOD investigation, most UAP sightings can be explained by birds, optical illusions, poor-quality photographs and foreign surveillance technology.

Many UAP files remain classified not due to the object sightings themselves, but because of the sensitive military technology used to record them, according to NASA.

The DOD plans to release additional declassified UAP documents every few weeks for the near future.

Editor's note:

• This article was updated at 6:00 p.m. ET on May 8 to clarify that all the Apollo materials have been available in public archives for decades.

{ https://www.livescience.com/ }

FBI Files Reveal Reports of 'Four-Foot Tall' Beings Emerging from UFOs

 Gary Manners

 Gary Manners

The recent release of a massive trove of declassified UFO documents by the Pentagon has brought to light extraordinary witness accounts from the 1960s. Among the most startling revelations is a 1966 FBI memo detailing reports of small, space-suited figures emerging from mysterious craft, reigniting the debate over extraterrestrial visitation. On May 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of War published more than 160 previously classified files — photographs, videos, and internal government memos — on a dedicated public portal, war.gov/ufo, as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).

Small Beings in Space Suits

The astonishing accounts are contained in an internal FBI memo dated October 19, 1966, sent from the Bureau's San Francisco field office to Director J. Edgar Hoover. The document, reported by the New York Post, notes that "1965 was the year of the greatest number of UFO sightings" globally. Investigators tracked reports of landed craft and their occupants, with the memo stating that a few witnesses reported seeing crewmen who had landed from the objects. These entities were described as being "three and a half to four feet tall, wearing what appear to be space suits and helmets."

The sightings involved polished metal objects capable of hovering in total silence before accelerating at "fantastic speeds," ranging in color from brilliant white to dull reds and brilliant orange, with some featuring blinding, striking lights. The craft were said to maneuver with a precision that defied conventional aeronautical explanation, and multiple witnesses across different states reported near-identical descriptions of both the objects and their diminutive occupants.

• CIA Document Dump Reveals 70 Years Of US Government UFO Info
• U.S. Experts Testify Before Congress on Secret UFO Programs

Recreation of a potential anomalous sighting in the southeastern United States in September of 2023.

(U.S. Department of War / Public Domain)

Advanced Technology and Unknown Metals

The files also detailed the physical effects these objects allegedly had on their environment. Witnesses reported that the craft emitted force fields that interfered with power sources and electromagnetic equipment. In some instances, the ground beneath the objects was found scorched after they departed, and animals in the vicinity reportedly reacted with extreme agitation.

Furthermore, the FBI records suggest that wreckage from crashed saucers had been recovered on at least three separate occasions. Laboratory analysis mentioned in the files, as reported by the Times of India, described the debris as an "exceptionally hard unknown metal" and magnesium alloys. One specific material was noted for containing "thousands of 15-micron metal spheres throughout" and showing clear evidence of micro-meteorite impacts on its surface — a detail that has fascinated materials scientists and UFO researchers alike.

Archival imagery from the Apollo 17 mission to the Moon. The yellow box contains an enlarged area of the original photo in which three lights are visible above the lunar terrain.

(U.S. Department of War / Public Domain)

National Controversy and the Book That Shook America

The 1966 memo focused heavily on the public frenzy caused by the book Flying Saucers – Serious Business by Frank Edwards a prominent broadcaster and UFO researcher. The FBI monitored Edwards' claims that the US Air Force had "deliberately withheld information and given misleading explanations because it fears a mass panic by the public if the public were told the truth." The book became a bestseller and was credited with driving a surge in public reporting of sightings throughout 1965 and 1966.

Released FBI file that mentions the UFU crewmen sighting.

(US Department of War)

The document also mentions the political climate of the time, noting that future President Gerald Ford, then a congressman from Michigan, was calling for official hearings after a wave of UFO sightings swept his home state. This political pressure eventually led the Air Force to commission a $300,000 study by University of Colorado physicist Edward U. Condon to investigate the phenomena — a study that itself became mired in controversy when internal documents suggested its conclusions had been predetermined.

• The Rendlesham Forest UFO Sightings: An Unresolved Enquiry
• Beyond Top Secret: Eyewitness Accounts to the Roswell Incident

Unprecedented Transparency — With Caveats

The release of these 162 files follows an executive order from President Donald Trump directing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to declassify records related to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). "The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena," Hegseth stated, according to Al Jazeera. Officials have urged caution in interpreting the files, noting that the FBI memo serves as a summary of contemporary witness accounts and popular literature rather than a government verification of extraterrestrial life.

While the files contain no definitive revelations confirming alien contact, they offer a remarkable window into the government's decades-long tracking of UFO phenomena and the deeply strange accounts reported by ordinary citizens. As the Pentagon promises to release new materials on a rolling basis, the public is left, in the words of officials, to "make up their own minds" about what these documents reveal. For those who have long suspected that the truth about unidentified aerial phenomena was being withheld, the release represents a significant, if incomplete, step toward transparency.

• Top image: Infrared still image captured of unidentified object over western United States in December of 2025.  
• Source: U.S. Department of War

By Gary Manners

References

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

10 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies About UFO

 ByShawn S. Lealos 

Shawn S. Lealos is an entertainment writer who is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has written for Screen Rant,  CBR, ComicBook, The Direct, The Sportster, Chud, 411mania, Renegade Cinema, Yahoo Movies, and many more.

Shawn has a bachelor's degree in professional writing and a minor in film studies from the University of Oklahoma. He also has won numerous awards, including several Columbia Gold Circle Awards and an SPJ honor.

He also wrote Dollar Deal: The Story of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers, the first official book about the Dollar Baby film program. Shawn is also currently writing his first fiction novel under a pen name, based in the fantasy genre.

UFOs in movies have been around since the sci-fi space epics began in old-school Hollywood, with a 1951 robot warning Earth about danger, and on to a 2022 predator that attacked beings on Earth. In the old days of cinema, seeing UFOs in movies was a groundbreaking and unsettling event, especially since a radio show reportedly sent the world into a panic with Orson Welles' War of the Worlds.

Since that time, the UFOs have been both hostile and friendly, and at the same time, humanity's response to them has been both welcoming and hostile. It is when those two dynamics are reversed that the alien movies have a chance to shine, such as when friendly aliens arrive only to have humankind attack with violence, or when UFOs show up, and humans greet them, only to end up disintegrated.

The best UFO alien movies are never really about unidentified flying objects. Instead, they are about what the arrival of these alien visitors means to the humans who witness them. They represent everything from nuclear anxiety and human smallness to exploitation or what people do when the unknown becomes much too knowable. The best of the UFO movies take these lessons and get their themes exactly right.

10. Fire In The Sky (1993)

Fire in the Sky is based on a real-life event where a man named Travis Walton claimed in 1975 that aliens abducted him in Arizona. Walton and his wife even appeared in the movie, lending to its sense of discomfort and authenticity. Walton wrote the book the film is based on, but the actual abduction itself was fictionalized and bears no similarity to the story that Walton originally told.

The film opened in 1993 and brought in $19.9 million at the box office, which was decent for a movie with a slow-burning storyline and no action scenes. The UFOs in this movie are never heroic or communicative, and they represent the unknowable fear of abduction, as well as the confusion and terror of what the aliens have planned. Fire in the Sky contains one of the best alien abduction scenes in movie history.

9. Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers (1956)

One of the earlier UFO movies arrived in 1956 with the sci-fi movie Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. This movie remains best-known for the work of Ray Harryhausen, who created the stop-motion animation that created the UFO scenes. The designs match the description of flying saucers from Major Donald Keyhoe's 1953 book, Flying Saucers from Outer Space, which the movie is based on.

This was the first movie that showed the UFOs attacking and destroying national landmarks, something that Independence Day copied decades later. Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! also paid homage to the UFO design years later, proving the lasting legacy of this sci-fi classic. This movie had the UFOs as weapons of war during the era of Cold War paranoia.

8. Flight Of The Navigator (1986)

The UFOs became part of a coming-of-age story in the family-friendly Flight of the Navigator in 1986. This was one of Hollywood's first attempts to use extensive CGI in a movie, with the alien spacecraft used to create the realistic ship for the young man to pilot. This also featured one of the earliest film appearances by Sarah Jessica Parker, who befriends the young time-traveling pilot.

The UFO is also voiced by Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), and is more empathetic and curious in its delivery than it is threatening. It also makes him both a vehicle and a character, and he is a nice supporting character to young David Freeman (Joey Cramer). This mixes the ideas of alien abduction and time-travel coming-of-age stories in one of the better UFO movies of the 1980s.

7. Mars Attacks! (1996)

Tim Burton made his own alien invasion movie in 1996. In Mars Attacks!, Burton has the alien invasion show up in Las Vegas, with the cartoon-looking Martians attempting a hostile takeover. The cast here is star-studded, with names like Jack Nicholson (in two roles), Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, Pierce Brosnan, Annette Bening, and many more as they fight to survive the alien attacks.

Mars Attacks! is a different UFO sci-fi movie, as it is a comedy, with slapstick moments, some shockingly hilarious scenes with major movie stars in unpredictable situations, allowing Burton to spoof the genre, while also paying respect to what came before. The UFOs here are used as satire, but the menace and destruction match up with anything in serious movies like Independence Day.

6. Nope (2022)

Jordan Peele followed up his first two horror movies with a terrifying sci-fi movie called Nope. This was a huge production, with Peele shooting it on IMAX and delivering the story of a UFO terrorizing a small Western town. However, what made this UFO so different from others in movie history was that it was a living organism that arrived on Earth as a predatory creature feeding on living life forms.

5. District 9 (2009)

District 9 takes the idea of a UFO movie in a wildly different direction. Instead of the aliens arriving in peace or to wage war, these alien UFOs arrived with aliens looking for sanctuary and help. Directed by Neill Blomkamp and based on his 2005 short film, this features a UFO that arrived over Johannesburg in 1982 with aliens who were all sick and malnourished. They wanted help and received it.

However, the aliens were locked away in an internment camp called District 9, where they were often treated with contempt and hatred by humanity. The parallels with this movie are clear, as Blomkamp presents a vision of life during the apartheid era in South Africa. Critics praised the film, with District 9 earning four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

4. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

The original The Day the Earth Stood Still was released in 1951, with a UFO arriving on Earth containing a robot known as Gort (Lock Martin) and an alien named Klaatu. This was one of the most impressive robots shown in movies at the time, as Gort stood over seven feet tall. The alien that showed up next, Klaatu, delivered an alien warning, saying, "Klaatu barada nikto.

This was a line that has been referenced, homaged, and spoofed several times over the years in other movies, including Army of Darkness (1992). The UFO here was not a weapon, but was instead a warning. Klaatu's words were a warning about the dangers of nuclear war. When humans shot and killed Klaatu, Earth was left with a warning: Find peace or face obliteration. This theme is one of the strongest in UFO movies.

3 Independence Day (1996)

Roland Emmerich became the master of the disaster movie throughout his career, but his masterpiece remains the alien invasion movie, Independence Day. The movie was one of the highest-grossing movies of all time when it was released, second only to Jurassic Park (1993), and it showed an alien invasion movie where the UFOs began to destroy national landmarks.

Based on Ted Chiang's 1998 novelette Story of Your Life, Denis Villeneuve directed this movie about a UFO that arrives on Earth and humans race to find out if it is there as a danger or in peace. To do this, a linguist is brought in to learn the alien language and figure out what these UFOs are trying to say. This is clearly influenced by The Day the Earth Stood Still, but with a different focus.

While The Day the Earth Stood Still was about humans who feared the unknown, Arrival was a story about the linguist, Louise Banks (Amy Adams), and how this mission ties into her own life and doubts about her future. The UFO in this movie serves as a philosophical question about what it means to be human and what a person would do if they could see their own futures.

1. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)

Released in 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a UFO movie that is more about what humans expect from these unidentified flying objects rather than what the UFOs have planned for humanity. Steven Spielberg's sci-fi movie follows a man who wants, more than anything, to learn if there is something more outside of Earth, and he is willing to give up everything, including his family, to find the truth.

The UFO landing site at Devil's Tower was an incredible set. The giant spacecraft hovering and landing with the giant musical communication movement is one of the most memorable moments in sci-fi movie history. This UFO sci-fi movie is about the curiosity of the unknown, and the human story makes it one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, UFO-related or not.

RELATED

{ https://screenrant.com/ }

What's in the sky? New Pentagon UFO files rekindle old mystery

A video released in the Trump administration's UFO disclosure on Friday has ignited an online debate that the mysterious object resembled beings described in the Bible.

The nearly two-minute clip, captured in 2013, shows a glowing object resembling an 'eight-pointed star,' darting through the darkness with uneven, shape-shifting arms. 

Religious leaders and US officials have suggested the object in the video was a Cherubim, angelic beings with multiple wings, faces and eyes.

Texas pastor Josh Howerton said on X that the eight-pointed object resembled the strange heavenly structures described in the Book of Ezekiel, which recounts glowing entities and mysterious 'wheels within wheels' moving beside God's throne-chariot without turning. 

'What I am trying to point out is the very possible overlap between a Biblical cosmology and some of the things you're seeing on your timeline,' Howerton shared.

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna also drew the same comparison, simply sharing an artist's impression of a Cherubim online. 

Vice President JD Vance has previously suggested that some UFO sightings may be linked to spiritual or supernatural forces rather than extraterrestrial life, framing the phenomenon through a Christian worldview that includes references to demonic entities. 

The clip of the eight-pointed object was part of the first batch of the long-awaited UFO files released on Friday, with hundreds of previously unseen videos, photographs and records published. 

The nearly two-minute clip, captured in 2013, shows a glowing object resembling an 'eight-pointed star,' darting through the darkness with uneven, shape-shifting arms

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna also drew the same comparison, simply sharing an artist's impression of a Cherubim online

'Is it just me, or does it almost resemble a Seraphim angel from the book of Isaiah?' one X user posted.

 In the Book of Isaiah, seraphim are described as powerful heavenly beings surrounding the throne of God. 

The prophet Isaiah recounts a vision in which the seraphim each had six wings, two covering their faces, two covering their feet and two used for flying, while calling out, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.'

The beings are portrayed as radiant, fearsome and deeply connected to divine power and judgment. In biblical tradition, seraphim are often interpreted as a high order of angels associated with fire, purity and worship in the presence of God.

Howerton's post sparked a huge debate on X, which quoted Ezekiel 1:15-17.

'Now, as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them, the biblical text reads.

'As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. 

'And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went.' 

The video was captured by military infrared, showing the object darting through the darkness with uneven, shape-shifting arms

However, other users were quick to point out that the object in the video appears to show eight points, two more than what the Bible describes for the angelic beings. 

One user posted: 'Apparently, an orb somehow looks like an angel? They're really reaching here!' 

Regardless, the video was captured by military infrared, showing the object darting through the darkness with uneven, shape-shifting arms.

At one point, the military sensor zooms in as the mysterious object races through the frame, seemingly leaving behind a glowing trail.

It was seen making abrupt movements, sharply changing direction and repeatedly vanishing from view before suddenly reappearing moments later.

Officials who documented the video cautioned that the footage description was provided for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as proof of the object’s nature or origin.

The UFO files were made public months after the President ordered the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to declassify government records related to UFOs and alleged extraterrestrial activity.

Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett, who has long been advocating for disclosure, said on X: 'Remember the Feds told us these files didn't exist and [Donald Trump] stood up to the deep state. The 1st drop will be big, but in comparison to what is coming they will be a drop in the bucket. I would say "Holy Crap" is coming.'

After the files went live on the Department of War's website, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'In an effort for Complete and Maximum Transparency, it was my Honor to direct my Administration to identify and provide Government files related to Alien and Extraterrestrial Life, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, and Unidentified Flying Objects.

'Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Have Fun and Enjoy!'

RELATED

{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

A new tranche of “UFO files” has just been released from Washington, ranging from historical documents and space-era transcripts to recent military ISR cases from the 2020s. As expected, however, there is little genuinely new to see, and some of the material has already been public for years. And most of the released videos show little more than grainy dots moving through the sky. 

While Apollo-era images, such as the photograph catalogued AS12-49-7278, allegedly showing a flashing blue object, are widely explained as cosmic ray interference causing internal reflections within the Hasselblad camera system. 

Taken together, the newly released UFO files amount to little more than a nothingburger. The truly significant UFO material, many believe, remains hidden from the public. 

As Richard Dolan stated in a 2018 interview, the UFO subject has long been shaped by systems of control, disinformation, and selective reporting connected to the national security state. Tracing this dynamic from the era of Operation Mockingbird through Cold War media manipulation and into today’s digital information landscape suggests that credible UFO-related information has often been suppressed at the national level while simultaneously being ridiculed or sensationalized for public consumption. In this view, the phenomenon is carefully managed in a way that neutralizes its impact while allowing establishment narratives to maintain control. 

For many observers, this latest release has little to do with genuine UFO disclosure. The timing itself raises questions. Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, declining trust in institutions, growing skepticism surrounding global crises, and economies under increasing strain, some believe public attention is deliberately being redirected toward the UFO phenomenon. This has fueled a broader theory: that humanity is gradually being conditioned for the idea of an ultimate manufactured threat. 

The concept of a “universal enemy” has long appeared in conspiracy and geopolitical discussions. The theory suggests that an external threat from beyond Earth would serve as the ultimate catalyst for global unity under centralized authority. Faced with a perceived extraterrestrial danger, national borders and political divisions could rapidly lose relevance, creating the ideal moral justification for citizens to surrender privacy, freedoms, and sovereignty in exchange for “planetary security.” 

Supporters of this theory often point to statements attributed to Werner von Braun, who allegedly warned that if existing systems of control began to fail, “the alien card” could become the final mechanism used to unite humanity against a common enemy from the stars. While the authenticity and context of these claims remain heavily debated, the idea continues to resonate within UFO research circles and among critics of centralized power. 

Richard Dolan "Inside the New UFO Files: What They Actually Show" 

Richard Dolan "What The Media is Hiding About UAP" 

The Pentagon 161 UFO files from reports, images and videos can be explored Here 

If you are interested, the video below shows all of the videos from latest Defense Department release.

 

{ https://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

Study Argues Dante's Inferno Mapped a Planetary Impact 500 Years Before Science

Dante's Inferno Mapped a Planetary Impact 500 Years Before Science

A new study presented at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna in April 2026 has put forward a striking argument: that the geometry of Hell as described in Dante Alighieri's Inferno closely mirrors the physical structure produced by a large planetary impact event. The research, led by Dr. Iain Stewart of the University of Plymouth, suggests that the medieval poet may have encoded real geophysical knowledge into his 14th-century masterwork, some five centuries before modern science had the tools to describe such phenomena.

Hell's Geometry and the Science of Craters

Dante's Inferno describes Hell as a vast, inverted conical pit beneath the Earth's surface, narrowing downward through nine concentric circles toward a frozen core. According to the study, this geometry matches what planetary scientists now call a "complex impact crater", the type formed when a massive asteroid strikes with enough force to cause rock to behave like a fluid. Such craters are characterized by terraced inner walls, a central uplift, and a broad, relatively flat floor, features that map with surprising fidelity onto Dante's layered underworld.

• Dante's Handwritten Notes Discovered 700 Years After His Death
• The Comet Hunters Of Göbekli Tepe

According to the study, the nine circles of hell are remarkably similar to the terraced ridges of large meteor strikes seen on Mars, such as this impact crater on the Arcadia Planitia.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ of Arizona)

The researchers note that Dante was deeply engaged with the natural philosophy of his day, drawing on Aristotle and the Arabic scholars who transmitted classical learning to medieval Europe. What the new research proposes is that this model, consciously or not, captured the essential morphology of a large impact structure, a description that would not be formally articulated by geologists for another five hundred years.

Artist's impression of the Chicxulub impact event, which produced a complex crater whose structure parallels Dante's description of Hell. (Donald E. Davis / NASA / Public Domain)

The Chicxulub Connection

The researchers draw particular attention to the Chicxulub impact crater, the 66-million-year-old scar left beneath the Gulf of Mexico by the asteroid that ended the age of the dinosaurs. Chicxulub is one of the best-studied complex impact craters on Earth, and its internal structure — with its peak ring, terraced walls, and central basin — provides a real-world analogue for the geometry Dante described. The study does not claim Dante had direct knowledge of Chicxulub, but argues that the physical intuitions embedded in classical natural philosophy led him to a geometrically accurate model of what a large impact structure looks like.

The scale of Dante's Hell (roughly the size of the Mediterranean basin) is consistent with the scale of a very large terrestrial impact structure, though the authors acknowledge this may be coincidence rather than evidence of direct knowledge. As Heritage Daily noted in its coverage, the study "raises the intriguing possibility that Dante's vision of Hell was not purely theological but also reflected an intuitive grasp of planetary physics."

• Fire in the Sky: Cosmic Impact Obliterated a Prehistoric Settlement
• Giordano Bruno: What Led The Renowned Friar and Astrologer to a Burning Stake?

Domenico di Michelino's 1465 painting of Dante Alighieri holding the Divine Comedy, with the mountain of Purgatory and the city of Florence behind him. (Public Domain)

A Poet Ahead of His Time?

This is not the first time scholars have looked to ancient and medieval texts for evidence of sophisticated natural knowledge. Researchers have previously argued that ancient peoples at sites such as Göbekli Tepe were tracking cometary activity, and that myths from many cultures preserve memories of catastrophic impact events. The new Dante study fits into this broader tradition of "archaeo-geophysics" — the search for scientific knowledge embedded in pre-modern cultural artefacts.

Dr. Stewart presented the findings at the EGU General Assembly, one of the world's largest gatherings of earth and planetary scientists. The work has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and the authors acknowledge that their hypothesis remains speculative. What they do argue is that Dante's extraordinary spatial imagination, combined with the physical intuitions of classical philosophy, produced a description of Hell that corresponds closely to the structure of a large impact crater - making the Divine Comedy a work that may be as remarkable for its science as for its poetry.

• Top image: Botticelli's Map of Hell (c. 1480–1495), a detailed diagram of Dante's Inferno showing the funnel-shaped pit of Hell.
• Source: Public Domain

By Gary Manners

References

• Heritage Daily. 2026. Dante's Inferno May Have Predicted Planetary Impact Physics Centuries Before Modern Science. Available at: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2026/05/dantes-inferno-may-have-predicted-planetary-impact-physics-centuries-before-modern-science/158020
• La Brujula Verde. 2026. Dante Described a Planetary Impact in His Divine Comedy 500 Years Before Modern Science. Available at: https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/05/dante-described-a-planetary-impact-in-his-divine-comedy-500-years-before-modern-science/
• Patel, N. 2026. Dante's Inferno Was Modelled on a Planetary Impact, Study Claims. Daily Mail. Available at: https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-15801103/Dantes-Inferno-asteroid-impact-study.html
• Stewart, I. et al. 2026. Dante's Inferno: A Medieval Vision of Planetary Impact? European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2026. Abstract EGU26-14300. Available at: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/EGU26-14300.html

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology }

UFO expert says Trump still hiding key info despite bombshell files release: ‘Something strange…’

The release of over 160 classified UFO files raises questions about government transparency.

The documents were made public Friday after President Donald Trump ordered agencies to identify and release records connected to alien life and unidentified aerial phenomena. Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard said the disclosures were intended to provide Americans with “maximum transparency.”

But veteran UFO investigator Dennis Anderson believes the release may reveal far less than it appears.

“The government will never disclose that we are dealing with an unknown phenomenon that we cannot control or defend ourselves against,” Anderson said.

The longtime researcher also questioned whether the public could even handle complete disclosure. “Some UAP researchers think the public could handle it, I don’t,” he added.

Also Read: 

• UFO Files: Pentagon archive reveals bizarre ‘eight-pointed star’ caught on infrared camera

Anderson previously studied the mysterious 2001 “Arthur Kills Lights” sightings, in which several glowing orange oval-shaped objects were reportedly seen flying between New Jersey and Staten Island.

“There’s something that is going around all the time… It’s constantly around us, but just adapts to the time,” Anderson told the Post.

Referencing reports of “Phantom Airships” seen in the late 1800s, he suggested that mysterious sightings throughout history could be linked to the same unexplained force appearing differently across generations.

“So whatever this thing is, whatever this phenomenon is, it stays one or two steps ahead of what people actually expect something to be,” he warned.

Also Read: 

• Apollo photos in Trump's UFO files may have answered most pressing question - Are aliens real?

“If they show you enough of this stuff where you’re not seeing anything… people are just going to get tired and they’re just going to not pay attention anymore,” he said.

He further accused authorities of pretending to be transparent while withholding meaningful information. “They’re trying to cover as much as they can and still make it sound like they’re interested in giving you the information when they’re really not. It’s all smoke and mirrors stuff,” Anderson claimed.

Despite his concerns, Anderson said the mysterious phenomenon has not shown signs of targeting humanity directly. “It just is and it just does whatever it feels like whenever it wants to,” he added.

{ https://www.hindustantimes.com/ }

Buzz Aldrin’s ‘unusual’ sightings and photos from the moon landings. What we learned from the first batch of the UFO files

The astonishing collection was released to the public on Friday

Katie Hawkinson in Washington, D.C.

UFO Files: All of the videos from latest Defense Department release

The Trump administration released its first batch of files on UFOs and “unidentified anomalous phenomena” Friday morning.

The Pentagon’s trove of documents includes descriptions of unidentified objects spotted during NASA’s lunar missions and out-of-this-world FBI tips about flying saucers and extraterrestrial life. The government also released dozens of images and videos of recent sightings, including several from the Middle East region.

Officials are planning to release more files on a rolling basis. The Trump administration has celebrated the release as a “historic transparency effort,” while others have criticized the move, including former GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who described it as “propaganda.”

“I really don’t care about the UFO files. I just don’t. I’m so sick of the ‘look at the shiny object’ propaganda while they wage foreign wars, let rapist and pedophiles run free, and ruin the value of our dollar,” Greene wrote on X.

When asked about Greene’s comments, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Independent: “Marjorie ‘Quitter’ Greene has never met a conspiracy theory she didn’t embrace.”

“The former Congresswoman disgracefully quit on her constituents during the middle of her term. Now, she should also quit spreading Fake News,” he added.

UFO files (Department of Defense)

Here’s what to know about the Trump administration’s UFO files:

’Unidentified phenomena’ spotted from moon’s surface during Apollo 12 mission

The newly released UFO files includes photos of several different “unidentified phenomena” taken from the moon’s surface during the Apollo 12 lunar mission in 1969.

The Pentagon said it modified some of the images to “assist viewers in identifying specific areas of interest,” adding that these highlights are “provided for contextual purposes only.”

The Apollo 12 crew was the second to land on the moon, following the Apollo 11 mission earlier that year.

Five ‘unidentified phenomena’ seen from the moon's surface during the Apollo 12 mission 

(Defense Department)

The Pentagon included these photos from the Apollo 12 mission in the latest batch of UFO files released Friday 

(Defense Department)

Buzz Aldrin’s reported ‘unusual’ sights on Apollo 11

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, described three strange sightings from the Apollo 11 mission during a technical crew debriefing conducted in July 1969, according to a transcript included in the Pentagon’s UFO files.

“The first unusual thing that we saw I guess was one day out or something pretty close to the moon. It had a sizeable dimension to it, so we put the monocular on it,” Aldrin said.

Another observation included “little flashes” inside the cabin.

“The other observation that I made accumulated gradually. I don’t know whether I saw it the first night, but I’m sure I saw it the second night. I was trying to go to sleep with all the lights out. I observed what I thought were little flashes inside the cabin, spaced a couple of minutes apart,” he said.

Aldrin also described seeing a “fairly bright light.”

“I observed what appeared to be a fairly bright light source which we tentatively ascribed to a possible laser,” he recalled.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin described ‘little flashes’ and a ‘fairly bright light’ during the Apollo 11 mission  (AFP via Getty Images)

Buzz Aldrin Finally Breaks Silence on What He Saw on the Far Side of the Moon

Apollo 17 crew spotted ‘bright particles’ during mission

The Apollo 17 crew reported “unidentified phenomena” to mission control during their 1972 lunar mission, according to a transcript included in the UFO files.

"Now we've got a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver," pilot Ronald Evans told mission control.

Harrison Schmitt, another pilot on the mission, added: "There's a whole bunch of big ones on my window down there – just bright. It looks like the Fourth of July out of Ron's window.”

“Yes. Now you can see some of them in shape. They're very jagged, angular fragments that are tumbling,” Evans said.

The next day, mission commander Eugene Cernan reported observing a bright light.

“And probably the one most imposing thing I remember is - and the last one I remember before falling asleep - was the fact that there was a very bright spot that flashed right between my eyes like a very bright headlight - like a train coming at you, only with a flash,” he said.

The Pentagon has also opened an investigation into a photograph taken on the Apollo 17 mission.

The Pentagon is now investigating a photograph from the Apollo 17 mission, which shows three dots in a triangular formation  (Defense Department)

The image, which was already public before Friday’s release, shows “three ‘dots’ in a triangular formation in the lower right quadrant of the lunar sky that is clearly visible upon magnification of the image,” according to the agency.

“While this photo has been previously released and discussed by keen observers, there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly. New preliminary U.S. government analysis suggests the image feature is potentially the result of a physical object in the scene,” the agency said.

“Additionally, as part of this investigation, the government has obtained the original film from the Apollo 17 mission and the results of the full NASA and DOW analysis will be released when completed.”

Strange reports found in FBI case files

The Pentagon released hundreds of pages from an FBI case file that contained reports of UFOs and flying discs documented between 1947 and 1968.

Included in this file was a handwritten letter from a Virginia man, who asked the FBI to comment on an image of a figure with its arms up and looking toward the sky.

A Virginia man asked the FBI to comment on a picture that shows a figure holding its arms up and looking upward  (Defense Department)

Another FBI report described how a young woman went to the agency’s Dallas field office in October 1967 and claimed she received “a quantity of information concerning beings from outer space.”

She refused to give her name because she would “feel like a fool if this information is not true,” the document said.

A man also once contacted the agency claiming he read a report that they “captured a saucer occupant,” according to a letter included in the case file.

He wrote: “Does the FBI really have a saucer man?”

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Five biggest revelations from UFO files from ‘alien encounters’ to ‘flying orbs’

 Luke Alsford

Bombshell files documenting alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects and aliens have been published by the US Administration.

Donald Trump ordered the Department of War to release hundreds of never-before-seen classified files.

The first tranche of 169 items included State Department cables, FBI documents and NASA transcripts of crewed flights into space.

This is only the first batch of files from the Pentagon – with many more to come – but they have already created a storm of unanswered questions about the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Strange lights seen from the Moon

This archival photograph depicts the lunar surface as viewed from the landing site of Apollo 12, featuring five highlighted areas of interest (Picture: NASA)

The files contain a string of unexplained sightings made by astronauts on the lunar surface.

A string of reports were made during the Apollo 17 mission to the Moon in 1972.

Pilot Ronald Evans told mission control: ‘Now we’ve got a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver.’

Harrison Schmitt, another pilot on the mission, added: ‘There’s a whole bunch of big ones on my window down there – just bright. It looks like the Fourth of July out of Ron’s window.’

Then the next day, mission commander Eugene Cernan said he had seen a ‘very brihgt spot hat flashed right between my eyes like a very bright headlight’ just as he was falling asleep.

A photograph showing three dots above the Moon was even snapped, sparking an investigation by the Pentagon.

Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, also repoted ‘unusual sights’ while on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, including as he was going to sleep.

Astronauts from different Apollo missions reported seeing unexplained bright lights while on the Moon (Picture: NASA)

According to a transcript in the files, the astronaut said: ‘The first unusual thing that we saw I guess was one day out or something pretty close to the moon. It had a sizeable dimension to it, so we put the monocular on it.

He went on: ‘The other observation that I made accumulated gradually. I don’t know whether I saw it the first night, but I’m sure I saw it the second night. I was trying to go to sleep with all the lights out. I observed what I thought were little flashes inside the cabin, spaced a couple of minutes apart.’

The Apollo 12 mission later in 1969 also observed ‘unidentified phenomena’ from the moon’s surface, the files revealed.

Chilling FBI reports about ‘aliens’

The Pentagon also made public hundreds of pages from an FBI case file of reports of UFOs and paranormal activity from 1947 to 1968.

One of these included a chilling picture of a figure holding its arms up and looking towards the sky.

A handwritten letter from a man from Virginia asked the FBI to comment on the image.

There were also testimonies of encounters with apparent occupants of these craft.

One memo reads: ‘A few witnesses have reported seeing crewmen who had landed from the objects.’

One of the most unnerving photos released in the UFO files

The beings were described as ‘three and a half to four feet tall, wearing what appear to be space suits and helmets.’

The sighting was detailed in a book titled Flying Saucers – Serious Business authored by Frank Edwards in June 1966. 

In a different report, a ‘young white female’ informant came forward to the force claiming she had met a being from another planet.

That being ‘had assumed earthly form. He allegedly ‘gave her certain information, then was picked up and departed from earth.’

Mysterious footage and pictures of UFOs

The tranche of files released on Friday included a host of pictures and images showing bizarre-looking objects in the skies.

These included footage of a triangular-shaped UFO, which has gone viral on social media.

The documents also feature an FBI graphic made from eyewitness reports from September 2023 of an apparent ellipsoid bronze metallic object materializing out of a bright light in the sky.

According to the report, several witnesses claimed to have seen ‘orbs launching other orbs’ in the distance, along with a large glowing sphere hovering in place and a semi-transparent object compared to a ‘translucent kite.’

Claims that Nazis built a UFO

One FBI document alleged that a man named Paul Peyerl claimed he was a member of the German Air Force in 1944 and that the Nazi’s built a UFO during the war.

The FBI put together a graphic based on witness reports of a UFO from September 2023 (Picture: U.S. Department of War)

The document claimed: ‘During this period he observed the aircraft described above. It was saucer shaped, about twenty-one feet in diameter, radio controlled, and mounted several jet engines around the exterior portion of the craft.’

Going into detai about the craft, the file continued: ‘He further described the exterior portion as revolving around the dome in the center which remained stationary. It was PEYERL’s responsibility to photograph the object while in flight. He asserted he was able to retain a negative of a photograph he made at 7,000 meters (20,000 feet).

‘A Xerox copy of the negative, as furnished by PEYERL, appears on the last page of this communication. Also, a still photograph he allegedly made “at the risk of my life”, illustrating the object parked in a hanger, appears on the last page.’

‘Super-hot’ orbs chased US fighter jets

Unidentified flying orbs allegedly chased the US military (PIcture: via REUTERS)

One of the heavily redacted FBI reports included a bombshell allegation about quick unidentified objects that were able to outrun military helicopters.

In the file, a senior US intelligence officer recounted a nighttime mission in a remote mountain range.

After local staff repeatedly claimed they had seen strange glowing ‘orbs’ intelligence personnel, federal agents and helicopter crews were dispatched to investigate.

When they arrived, they allegedly saw swarms of highly maneuverable objects that came up as extremely hot on their thermal cameras.

The orbs were said to have outpaced a military helicopter and then pursued a fighter jet trying to intercept them.

A co-pilot in the lead helicopter even claimed he watched an orb split into two before another object ’emerged’ and shot away.

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The six times Americans saw UFOs in Greece, three of them on video – What the files released by the Pentagon say

They were sighted either on mainland Greece or in the Aegean Sea

• The U.S. Pentagon released files containing reports of unexplained phenomena, including three from Greece.
• Two Greek reports from October 2023 describe small, circular objects moving over the sea and disappearing from tracking systems.
• A third unresolved UAP report from January 2024 involved a diamond-shaped object visible only through an infrared sensor.
• These reports document sightings of unidentified phenomena, not confirmations of extraterrestrial life.
• The collection of files, some dating back 80 years, is available on WAR.GOV/UFO.

At least three of the six reports related to Greece include video footage and are part of the files released by the U.S. Pentagon regarding UFO sightings around the world.

In essence, these do not constitute confirmation or denial of extraterrestrial life, but rather incidents in which civilians or members of the U.S. Armed Forces saw, observed, detected unexplained phenomena on the horizon, or encountered unidentified flying objects that cannot be explained based on the available evidence.

The collection is hosted at WAR.GOV/UFO, and it is noted that additional files will be released “on a rolling basis.” It is worth noting that the collection includes files dating back as far as 80 years. The documents were published as part of the Trump administration’s initiative for greater transparency regarding records that had remained restricted for years.

The first batch includes 162 folders. Among them are documents from federal agencies, old diplomatic cables, and transcripts from NASA crewed missions. Of particular interest to the Greek public are the reports of sightings from Greece, either inland or in the Aegean.

According to the released information, two of the Greece-related reports recorded on video are from late October 2023, while the third dates from January 2024.

In the first case, on October 27, a small, apparently circular object was reportedly detected moving very low over the sea and was said to perform sudden maneuvers before disappearing from the tracking system.

Video description according to the report:

00:02: The sensor narrows its field of view to focus on a high-contrast area near the center of the screen.

00:03–00:19: The sensor tracks the high-contrast area as it moves against the backdrop of the sea.

00:20: As the background transitions from mostly water to land, the high-contrast area becomes difficult to distinguish.

The second case, on October 29, also concerns a small circular object which, according to the report, moved over the sea toward land before disappearing from view.

Video description according to the report:

00:04: A contrast area enters the sensor’s field of view from the lower-left quadrant of the screen.

00:07–00:19: The contrast area moves horizontally back and forth within the field of view while the sensor pans to follow it.

01:00–02:01: The sensor marks the contrast area with a blue crosshair, synchronizing its movement with the relative position of the contrast area.

02:02–02:21: The sensor activates a contrast filter to better distinguish the contrast area from the background.

02:22: The contrast area becomes indistinguishable from the background, and the crosshair loses focus.

02:27–02:57: After losing focus, the sensor rapidly changes zoom levels and contrast thresholds.

The same files also include a third unresolved UAP report, filed in January 2024. Based on the available information, no further details emerge regarding the circumstances of the observation or the nature of the object.

Video description according to the report:

00:04: A contrast area becomes distinguishable from the background in the center-right frame.

00:10: The display switches to a full-screen SWIR feed view for better focus on the contrast area.

00:55: The contrast area generally remains centered in the sensor’s field of view. It visually resembles an inverted teardrop with a vertically linear mass hanging below it.

00:56: The operator switches the sensor mode to the visible spectrum, causing the object to disappear into the background.00:57–01:05: The operator switches the sensor back to SWIR (Black-Hot) mode but is unable to reacquire the contrast area.

The following document is a Mission Report (MISREP) from the U.S. military documenting the circumstances surrounding operations conducted from Greece in January 2024.

A U.S. Armed Forces operator reported observing a UAP, estimating its speed at “approximately 434 knots (800 km/h).” The observer described the UAP as diamond-shaped, with a probe-like feature underneath that did not maneuver. The observer noted that the UAP was visible only through an integrated Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) sensor. The observer stated that the incident lasted approximately two minutes.

{ https://en.protothema.gr/greece/ }

How to access UFO files — and dodge the Men in Black

(Image credit: Getty Images)

• See the UFO files at the US Gov website today (May 8)
• View UFO files anonymously with NordVPN - 75% off + 3 months extra free
• UFO files drop – 8am ET / 1pm BST

The UFO files are set to go live today at 8am ET / 1pm BST according to Rep. Luna, and we'll show you how to access the declassified UFO videos safely, securely and privately with the right VPN.

Washington’s long-promised UFO file dump starts with up to 'UAP material' including documents and declassified files that President Donald Trump has described as "very interesting".

With Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day film out in June, it certainly feels like we're living in The Age of Disclosure. Here's how to access UFO files and Aliens.gov from anywhere – with a solid VPN.

Use a VPN to see the UFO files online

The truth is out there – but depending on where you live, the latest UFO file dump might not be quite as easy to access as Mulder would like.

From geo-blocks to overloaded servers and privacy concerns, the best way to see the UFO files anonymously with a strong VPN (no IP tracking).

Use a VPN to see UFO files online

The US gov website is available around the world, but what if you're abroad and find you can't access the UFO files?

This is where a VPN can help. It's a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be back home, so you can unlock your usual service or subscription from anywhere. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything you want it to do at great speeds and an even better price.

What is likely in the UFO files?

Republican Anna-Paulina Luna has been teasing the UFO files again , posting "8am ET" on Thursday, 7 May. Line

So far, the “UFO files” appear to contain a mix of military UAP reports, pilot testimony, radar logs, declassified videos and internal government investigations into unexplained aerial phenomena — not a giant “we found aliens” smoking gun.

Luna has confirmed on X/Twitter that the requested 46 videos and documents will arrive in the second batch of the disclosure.

A lot of today's buzz centres on:

• Navy “Tic Tac”-style encounters
• Cockpit footage and thermal imagery
• Radar tracking data
• Reports of objects accelerating or manoeuvring beyond known aircraft capabilities
• Possible underwater “USO” sightings
• Congressional testimony from whistleblowers claiming hidden retrieval programs

Is this full disclosure? Will it show aliens exist?

No. The first UFO files won't prove that aliens exist or that a flying saucer landed at Holloman Airbase for a meeting with President Eisenhower. Don't expect 4K videos of UFOs going in and out of the water.

There’s currently no verified evidence in the public releases confirming extraterrestrial life. Even pro-disclosure sources such as Rep. Tim Burchett and Weaponized podcaster Jeremy Corbell say the rollout is more about transparency around unexplained incidents and classified investigations than an official 'alien announcement'.

Why should I use a VPN to see the UFO files? Any tips?

Most premium VPNs also include kill switches, tracker blocking and malware protection, which is probably overkill for UFO browsing… but then again, so was building Area 51. Just remember: use official sources where possible, avoid random “leak” sites packed with pop-ups, and maybe don’t answer any unmarked black sedans parked outside your house afterward. You can select from the best VPNs in our full guide – we test them daily to find the most trusted apps.

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A huge tsunami 1.5 times the size of the Eiffel Tower hit a popular tourist spot in Alaska last year, a new study has revealed. 

Measuring 1,578ft (481 metres) high, the tsunami ran up the wall of Tracy Arm fjord on 10 August, 2025.

This makes it the second highest tsunami ever recorded – second only to a tsunami in Lityua Bay, Alaska, in 1958, which measured 1,720ft (524 metres). 

While Tracy Arm is a popular spot for cruise ships, thankfully no one was caught in the wave as it hit early in the morning, at around 5.30am.

The tsunami was triggered by a landslide, which was ultimately a result of climate change, according to researchers from UCL.

'Fjords with retreating glaciers have seen a sharp increase in tourism,' explained co–author Dr Stephen Hicks.

'More people are visiting these beautiful places in the polar and sub–polar regions but they are at the forefront of climate change impacts and so can be dangerous.

'This event took everyone by surprise. The area had not been identified as hazardous.'

A huge tsunami 1.5 times the size of the Eiffel Tower hit a popular tourist spot in Alaska last year, a new study has revealed. Note the trimline along the far side of the fjord, caused by the tsunami stripping the walls of vegetations

Measuring 1,578ft (481 metres) high, the tsunami ran up the wall of Tracy Arm fjord on 10 August, 2025. This makes it the second highest tsunami ever recorded – second only to a tsunami in Lityua Bay, Alaska, in 1958, which measured 1,720ft (524 metres)

While no–one was caught in the wave, there were several eyewitnesses, whose accounts were used in combination with numerical modelling and data from satellites and seismometers to piece together exactly what happened. 

According to the researchers, the glacier holding up the mountain had retreated rapidly – by 500 metres in a matter of weeks – leaving the rock unsupported. 

As the rock plunged into the water, it triggered an enormous wave in the water below.

The wave scraped off trees and plants along the walls of the fjord, leaving a sheer rock face.

This allowed the researchers to infer the wave at a height of 1,578ft (481 metres) for over 0.6 miles (1km).

A group of kayakers camped out further down the fjord reported waking up at around 5:45am to find water flowing past their tent, carrying away one of their kayaks and much of their gear. 

Another eyewitness described a two–metre wave coming along the beach. 

Meanwhile observers on a cruise ship anchored near the mouth of the fjord saw currents and white water, but no obvious wave. 

While no–one was caught in the wave, there were several eyewitnesses, whose accounts were used in combination with numerical modelling and data from satellites and seismometers to piece together exactly what happened

According to the researchers, the glacier holding up the mountain had retreated rapidly – by 500 metres in a matter of weeks – leaving the rock unsupported

Given the size of the tsunami, the researchers estimate that the amount of rock that crashed into the water was equivalent to 24 Great Pyramids of Giza. 

Dr Dan Shugar, lead author, based at the University of Calgary, said: 'Normally with these gigantic rock avalanches, they often give some sort of warning signs in the weeks, months, years prior when the slope is slowly moving down the mountain. 

'It's sagging and then it catastrophically gives way in a rock avalanche. 

'In this case, that didn't happen.' 

Given the popularity of the site, the researchers say that urgent action is needed to avoid a repeat incident.  

'We need to reduce the risk of these expeditions by better identifying the riskiest areas and getting investment into warning systems that might give us a few hours' or days' notice of a potentially catastrophic event,' Dr Hicks explained. 

'With hindsight, there were some warning signs. 

'Tiny earthquakes occurred at an increasing rate in the days to hours before the landslide, signalling that this mass of rock was starting to crack. 

Given the size of the tsunami, the researchers estimate that the amount of rock that crashed into the water was equivalent to 24 Great Pyramids of Giza

'Many seismic monitoring stations provide data in real–time, so this gives us some optimism that we can turn what we have learned into a warning system.'

So far this year, at least six cruise lines have been forced to change their itineraries to avoid the Tracy Arm fjord. 

Read More

• Scientists warn there's a 100% chance a TSUNAMI will hit the French Riviera in the next 30 years 

Dr Shugar added: 'Ultimately what we hope is that coastal municipalities, the cruise ship industry and other stakeholders take these threats seriously.'

The news comes shortly after scientists warned the French Riviera is 'overdue' a tsunami. 

Experts say there is a '100 per cent' chance a great wave will form in the Mediterranean Sea in the next 30 years.

The tsunami could hit France's southern coastline in as little as 10 minutes from the trigger, causing chaos for tens of thousands of people who flock there during the summer months.

WHAT CAUSES TSUNAMIS?

A tsunami, sometimes called a tidal wave or a seismic sea wave, is a series of giant waves that are created by a disturbance in the ocean.

The disturbance could be a landslide, a volcanic eruption, an earthquake or a meteorite; the culprit is most often an earthquake.

If the landslide or earthquake triggering the tsunami occurs nearby the shore, inhabitants could see its effects almost immediately.

The first wave of the tsunami can arrive within minutes, before a government or other institution has time to issue a warning.

Areas that are closer to sea level have a higher risk of being affected by the waves.

Researchers have found that a layer of the remains of microscopic organisms at the bottom of the ocean can cause tsunamis (file photo)

Those less than 25 feet from sea level are the most dangerous.

The cause of death most frequently associated with tsunamis is drowning. Additional hazards include drinking water contamination, fires and flooding.

Initial tsunami warnings are usually based on seismic information only.

Inhabitants of coastal areas that might be exposed to a tsunami are encouraged to follow evacuation routes in the event that they receive a tsunami warning.

They should seek higher ground or move inland immediately to get away from the ocean.

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{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

“This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration’s earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency,” Hegseth said.

“Today’s release is the first in what will be an ongoing joint declassification and release effort,” said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a statement on Friday.

According to supplemental information made available at the new PURSUE web page, which was featured on a portion of the DOW’s website that can be found here, the new release follows an announcement by President Donald Trump earlier this year, where he revealed on his Truth Social website that he would be directing Hegseth and Pentagon officials to oversee the release of UAP-related materials.

“In response to President Donald J. Trump’s directive for transparency on U.S. government information regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), the Department of War (DOW), with support from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), is overseeing government wide efforts to expeditiously find, review, identify, declassify and publicly release unresolved UAP-related records and historical documents in the federal government’s possession,” read a statement accompanying the new release, which appeared at the website of the DOW on Friday morning.

Characterizing the new effort under PURSUE as “an unprecedented, historic undertaking,” the statement added that the DOW’s efforts under Trump’s directive require “coordination between dozens of agencies and the review of tens of millions of records, many existing only on paper, spanning many decades.”

Friday’s release, which includes a trove of U.S. military imagery depicting what appear to be unidentified aerial objects, as well as NASA imagery from the Apollo era, and a collection of files from agencies that include the FBI, DOW, Department of State, and NASA from over the years, are said to be the first of an ongoing series of releases under the President’s PURSUE initiative.

“Given the scope of this task, the Department of War will be releasing new materials on a rolling basis as they are discovered and declassified, with tranches posted every few weeks,” the DOW statement reads.

Historical Documents and Unresolved Cases

The recent releases feature cases that were previously unresolved, which the DOW characterizes as incidents involving purported UAP for which “the government is unable to make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena,” citing insufficient data and other factors that may account for this.

The DOW says that it “welcomes the application of private-sector analysis, information and expertise” in the further evaluation of the UAP records it has released. “DOW will continue to conduct separate reporting on resolved UAP cases, as mandated by statute.”

“Under this Administration, we will pursue the truth and share our findings with the American people,” the DOW statement reads.

It remains unclear whether any formal directives or other Presidential actions were behind the new release of UAP records. Last year, a similar release of long-classified records was secured with the issuance of a formal Executive Order by President Trump, which led to the release of some new files related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, although many of the files in that release had previously been made available.

Along similar lines, some of the UAP-related documents made available in the new DOW release appear to have been publicly available in various formats previously, including several documents related to past FBI inquiries into reports of aerial phenomena.

Fewer Redactions on Previously Available UAP Files

Significantly, the new versions appearing on the DOW’s PURSUE page are reportedly released with fewer redactions than previous versions made available by the FBI.

A summary accompanying Friday’s re-release of the FBI’s 62-HQ-83894 case file, which features “investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs documented between June 1947 and July 1968,” notes that the originals released by the FBI were incomplete.

The FBI’s 62-HQ-83894 case file, as shown in the recent DOW UAP release (Image Credit: FBI/DOW).

“This file is partially posted on [the] FBI vault with more redactions and some pages missing. Included here is the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions,” the DOW summary states.

Although some of the newly released files do feature redactions, the DOW states that these were only made “to protect the identity of eyewitnesses, the location of government facilities, or potentially sensitive information about military sites not related to UAP.”

“No redactions have been made to any files released under President Trump’s directive concerning information about the nature or existence of any encounter reported as a UAP or related phenomena,” the DOW’s website states.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Friday that his agency “remains committed to supporting this rolling declassification effort with the same rigor and integrity we bring to every national security matter.”

“As these files continue to be reviewed and released, the American people can be confident that their security remains our highest priority,” Patel said.

NASA Administrator Jared Issacman said he applauded the new effort, which he said will “bring greater transparency to the American people on unidentified anomalous phenomena.”

“At NASA, our job is to bring the brightest minds and most advanced scientific instruments to bear, follow the data, and share what we learn,” Issacman said on Friday. “We will remain candid about what we know to be true, what we have yet to understand, and all that remains to be discovered.”

What the New Records Reveal

In advance of the release, expectations about what the Trump Administration might reveal ranged from the otherworldly to the likelihood that little new information would be made available.

Based on Friday’s release, very little of the documentation appearing at the DOW’s website provides significant new insights into the nature of UAP, and the new web page appears to be poised mostly to serve as a one-stop clearinghouse for various past U.S. government records related to the subject.

Several images and videos included with the initial PURSUE release constitute UAP imagery that had been assessed by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and which are currently characterized as unresolved UAP reports.

Also notable from the new release are the inclusion of a series of historic NASA images that have been modified to include “highlighted areas of interest” which emphasize what appear to the unexplained objects. Among the images are photos from the Apollo era, including lunar photography “in which unidentified phenomena are visible,” according to the newly modified PURSUE versions of these images.

It remains unclear whether the “areas of interest” in these images are merely photographic artifacts, reflections, or if they represent genuine physical objects, although the PURSUE versions of these historic NASA images are accompanied by a statement emphasizing that the highlighted portions “do not constitute an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the nature or significance of the subject matter.”

In one incident report included with the release, a series of events that reportedly occurred over two days in 2023 describes observations of unusual orange “orbs” that appeared to emit or release smaller reddish orbs.

The sightings, observed by three teams of federal law enforcement special agents, are reportedly deemed significant by AARO based on “contextual factors” that include the credibility of the reporters, which the PURSUE release states “combine to make this report among the most compelling within AARO’s current holdings.”

Despite its apparent significance, no technical information, including imagery or other data, apparently accompanied the report.

What’s Next

In a statement that appeared on her X account, Representative Anna Paulina Luna called Friday’s release “a great first step,” adding that “Additional releases are expected in the coming weeks.”

“A second tranche of documents, including additional requested video footage, is anticipated within approximately 30 days,” Luna wrote, seemingly in reference to several videos depicting UAP that she and other lawmakers have reportedly learned of, which they have requested to be released to the public.

On Friday, a DOW statement accompanying the first PURSUE release also affirmed that additional collections of UAP records will be made available in the days ahead.

“DOW will continue to conduct separate reporting on resolved UAP cases, as mandated by statute,” the statement read.

“Under this Administration, we will pursue the truth and share our findings with the American people.”

The complete contents of PURSUE Release 01 can be found at the DOW’s official UFO web page.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

Welcome to this very special TGIF edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, the U.S. Department of War has finally launched a new and highly anticipated transparency initiative with the release of its first batch of long-classified UAP documents under the “Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters” (PURSUE) program, an effort officials say will unfold over the coming weeks and months. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at

• 1) how the new initiative aims to declassify decades of government-held UAP records across multiple agencies,
• 2) what Friday’s release actually revealed—including updated FBI files, military imagery, and NASA photographs with fewer redactions,
• 3) why much of the material offers limited new insight despite heightened expectations, and
• 4) what this rolling disclosure effort could mean for future transparency surrounding unresolved UAP cases.

Quote of the Week

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves.”

– Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of War

If you enjoy the news and perspectives offered by The Debrief, make sure that you aren’t missing our stories by making us one of your “preferred sources” on Google News. You can simply follow this link to add The Debrief to your list of favorites, and you can read more about Google’s preferred sources in our article here.

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Pentagon Launches UAP Transparency Initiative as First Batch of Files Is Released

Just in time for the weekend, the U.S. Department of War (DOW) has released a “new” batch of government documents involving UFOs, or what the Pentagon has now been calling “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP) for the last several years.

The release comes as part of a newly established program that the White House has dubbed the “Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters,” or PURSUE, which officials describe as an ongoing effort to identify, review, and declassify decades of UAP-related records held across multiple federal agencies.

Friday’s release is understood to be just the first phase of a broader transparency initiative under the Trump administration, with future releases expected as soon as within the next few weeks.

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a statement accompanying the release. “It’s time the American people see it for themselves.” He added that the effort reflects “an earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency.”

Echoing Hegseth’s statements, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard described Friday’s disclosure as only the beginning. “Today’s release is the first in what will be an ongoing joint declassification and release effort,” she said.

So what, exactly, was revealed by the DOW this week, and what (if anything) does the latest document release provide in terms of new insights into the longstanding mystery of unidentified flying objects?

The Latest Release of “New” UFO Files

As many had expected in the days leading up to this week’s release, a good portion of the documentation in the “new” batch of files revealed at the DOW website on Friday has appeared online or elsewhere in the past.

However, that isn’t to say there wasn’t plenty of new material, both in documents that were previously only available in partial form or with heavy redactions, and in documents that have never been seen before.

Friday’s release includes a wide range of materials, from military imagery and previously classified FBI files to historical NASA photographs dating back to the Apollo era.

Much of the legitimately new material focuses on unresolved UAP cases—incidents in which the government has been unable to determine the nature of the observed phenomena due to insufficient data or other limitations. Officials say they are encouraging private-sector analysts and independent researchers to examine the newly available records.

So what else did we learn with this initial rollout of the Trump Administration’s new PURSUE effort? Here’s a look at several of the highlights from the information detailed in the new release, and what can be expected in the weeks ahead.

The FBI’s UFO Files

Among the more notable elements of the release are updated versions of previously available FBI files, including the well-known 62-HQ-83894 case file, which documents UFO-related reports between 1947 and 1968. According to the DOW, the newly released version includes additional pages and fewer redactions than earlier public versions.

“This file is partially posted on [the] FBI vault with more redactions and some pages missing,” a summary accompanying the release states. “Included here is the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions.”

Officials emphasized that remaining redactions were limited to protecting sensitive information, such as the identities of witnesses or the locations of government facilities. “No redactions have been made… concerning information about the nature or existence of any encounter reported as a UAP,” the department said.

AARO Imagery and Analysis

The release also includes imagery and video previously assessed by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), as well as modified NASA photographs featuring “highlighted areas of interest” that appear to show unexplained objects. However, officials caution that these enhancements do not represent analytical conclusions and may reflect artifacts or unknown visual anomalies.

One incident report included in the release describes sightings of unusual orange “orbs” observed by federal law enforcement personnel in 2023. According to the summary, the objects appeared to emit smaller reddish spheres and were deemed among the most compelling cases in AARO’s holdings due to the credibility of the witnesses. No accompanying imagery or technical data was included.

Ongoing “Disclosures”

Despite the breadth of the materials, the initial release appears to offer limited new insight into the underlying nature of UAP. Instead, the PURSUE platform primarily serves as a centralized repository for government records, many of which were previously only partially available.

Still, officials say the effort represents a meaningful step toward greater transparency. “Under this Administration, we will pursue the truth and share our findings with the American people,” the DOW said in a statement.

Lawmakers have indicated that additional disclosures may follow soon. Taking to social media, Representative Anna Paulina Luna called the release “a great first step,” noting that a second tranche of documents, including previously requested video footage, could arrive within weeks.

For now, though, the first PURSUE release offers a clearer, albeit still incomplete, look into decades of U.S. government engagement with unexplained aerial phenomena. With more expected as the initiative continues, it remains to be seen whether an even deeper look into Washington’s involvement with aerial mysteries awaits, or if much of what is yet to come will simply be a somewhat fresher look at things we’ve already seen in decades past.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.

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Now, the Society for UAP Studies, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization that aims to unite academics and professionals who, according to its website, “are committed to advancing the study of the UAP through rigorous scholarly engagement,” will be hosting an online summer symposium that will address how professionals can help advance our understanding of these perplexing phenomena.

“The purpose of this is to organize a broad array of academic fields, perspectives, and discourses that are in various ways concerned with understanding—more deeply and more rigorously—the subject of UAP,” said Dr. Michael Cifone, a professor of philosophy and founder of the Society for UAP Studies, who also serves as its CEO and editor of its official publication, Limina -The Journal of UAP Studies.

According to Cifone, one of the society’s goals is to encourage interdisciplinary dialog between humanists and scientists who approach the UAP phenomenon in different ways and unite researchers on what he calls “the more metatheoretical questions of how to study the phenomenon.”

Despite the recent focus on scientific and military engagement with UAP, Cifone told The Debrief that the phenomenon presents challenges that also impact the humanities and political science, as well as the inquiries of historians, anthropologists, and professionals in a variety of other disciplines.

“With an event like this, we have an opportunity for more involvement from the humanities,” Cifone said, which he believes will provide an opportunity to learn ways those who work in this academic area can contribute to our growing knowledge of the topic.

“But you can look at disclosure from a more distant political theory perspective,” Peters told The Debrief, “and looking at that as being the play between the unveiling and the hiding in modern and in ancient statehood.”

“There’s a lot that needs to be said about these processes,” he added. In line with these perspectives, Peters will coordinate a workshop for the Society’s summer event with historian Greg Eghigian, which examines the UAP issue from the perspectives of history, political science, and political theory.

“There is a big movement going on with serious people working in different fields,” Peters told The Debrief. “I don’t think we’re going to find an interdisciplinary approach, but we will start to facilitate the discussion that needs to take place.”

Along with interdisciplinary dialogue, Eghigian told The Debrief that another aim of the Society’s event involves another of the subject’s most enduring problems.

“Speculation about UAP is often unmoored from any empirically sound and self-critical research,” Eghigian said. “The conference seeks to address this shortcoming by placing multidisciplinary scholarship about the subject center stage.”

Along with Peters and Eghigian’s workshop, several others that address various approaches toward studying UAP will be featured, including a session that focuses on the application of citizen science.

“The UAP Citizen Science Workshop is bringing together scientists from the UAP field and surveying the available resources and best practices for citizen science in general,” said Dan Williams, who coordinates the Society’s official Citizen Science Working Group.

Williams, who will lead the workshop, says such resources include SciStarter, Zooniverse, the NASA Citizen Science Seed Funding Program, commercial satellite Earth Observation imagery and analytics, ground-based instrumentation, smartphone apps, and self-supervised machine learning, or what he calls “needle-in-a-haystack” technologies.

“We hope the workshop participants can then author a paper on best practices and identify several citizen science projects of general interest. We have several members from the recent National Science Foundation’s ASTRO-ACCEL-sponsored UAP workshop participating, and we hope our workshop also advances their goal of forming a UAP citizen science working group,” Williams told The Debrief.

“The study of UAP deals with incomplete, inaccurate, and even at times deceptive information,” said Joshua Pierson, D.S.S., a career investigator who is also an advisor to the Society for UAP Studies. “The beauty of having a conference and an organization that focuses on bringing the social sciences and the humanities to bear is really where we start being able to assess what is inaccurate and incomplete,” Pierson said.

“Except now, instead of taking a practitioner’s approach, we have people who can think deeply on the subject to help inform some of the best models and methods to approach the information that we get on UAP,” Pierson told The Debrief.

Pierson says that in addition to applying the best models and research methods, a collective aim of academic groups like the Society for UAP Studies is also to define the phenomena more accurately. However, along with framing the phenomenon in academic terms, part of the aim of studying UAP from a humanities perspective also involves recognizing how people relate to UAP experiences and what overall impact the subject has on individuals, as well as at the societal level. 

“UAP have profound effects on the lives of those who witness them, and they also stimulate important questions about the nature of knowledge itself and the limitations of ourselves as knowers,” said Dr. Kim Engels, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Molloy University who is also on the Society’s Advisory Board. “Our conference is offering a space for philosophers and theologians to weigh in on these important dimensions of the UAP conversation.”

“One of the most important things I think the humanities supplies—at least the philosophy of science, my own tradition—is a sort of critical perspective on the ways in which people have come to interpret and study UAP,” Professor Cifone told The Debrief.

“I think we’re at an interesting moment here in terms of the science of UAP. There’s a kind of a turning point right here that I think we’re witnessing, and a science is forming out of a history of kind of abortive and failed attempts to bring to bear some kind of systematic scientific engagement with the question,” Cifone said.

If Cifone is correct, and the efforts by organizations like his, as well as those currently being undertaken by other academic groups and government agencies, are pointing to the emergence of a new area of study in the sciences, then groups like the Society may be some of the best-equipped to help guide the process.

“You know, there’s this in-between space that I think the humanities is really good at negotiating,” Cifone told The Debrief, adding that academics like those who will participate in the Society’s forthcoming conference could be particularly well suited to help the scientific community navigate the various challenges presented by such a complex field of study.

“This is, I think, where humanists can bring the scientists together,” Cifone said, “to discuss that kind of a difficult aspect to the phenomenon.”

The Society for UAP Studies will hold its online Summer Conference 2024, titled “Varieties and Trajectories of Contemporary UAP Studies,” from August 16 to August 18, 2024. Registration details and other information about the event can be found on the Society’s website.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

Bob Lazar Documentary Director Claims Key Parts of the S4 Story May Still Be Missing

A new wave of discussion has emerged around the controversial Bob Lazar story following extensive commentary from filmmaker Luigi Vendittelli, director of S4: The Bob Lazar Story. While Lazar remains one of the most debated figures in UFO history, Vendittelli’s perspective adds a new dimension: he believes Lazar is not fabricating his story, but may still be withholding certain details.

Revisiting Bob Lazar’s Legacy

Bob Lazar first gained international attention in 1989 after claiming he worked at a secret facility known as S4 near Area 51, where he allegedly participated in reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology. His descriptions included advanced propulsion systems, Element 115, hidden hangar doors built into mountainsides, and multiple intact unidentified craft.

For decades, Lazar’s account has been met with both fascination and skepticism. Critics often point to gaps in his academic history and inconsistencies in some aspects of his claims. Supporters, however, highlight the surprising accuracy of certain details Lazar described long before they entered mainstream discussion.

Luigi Vendittelli’s Investigation

Vendittelli spent over four years working closely with Lazar while producing his documentary. According to him, the goal was not to create sensationalism but to build the most visually accurate recreation of Lazar’s alleged experiences at S4.

During this process, Vendittelli claims he became convinced that Lazar’s core story is genuine.

“I don’t think Bob Lazar is lying. I believe Bob Lazar is omitting information.”

This distinction is central to Vendittelli’s perspective. Rather than dismissing Lazar, he suggests there are still unexplained omissions involving key events, including Lazar’s reported possession of Element 115 and certain encounters with government personnel.

The Hidden Hangar Doors Controversy

One of the documentary’s most talked-about revelations involves photographic analysis of terrain near Papoose Lake, where Lazar claimed S4 was located.

Vendittelli and his team conducted forensic image analysis on archival photos, asserting they identified geometric structures embedded into the mountainside that align with Lazar’s description of concealed hangar entrances.

While this evidence does not prove extraterrestrial craft, Vendittelli argues it strengthens the possibility that Lazar accurately described a hidden military installation.

Questions Around Lazar’s Education

Lazar’s educational background has long been one of the biggest criticisms leveled against him, particularly his claims of attending MIT and Caltech.

Vendittelli states that after private discussions with Lazar, he believes there are legitimate explanations tied to unconventional government pathways, though legal concerns prevented certain details from being included in the documentary.

This claim remains highly controversial, but Vendittelli insists the missing educational records alone should not invalidate the broader story.

Project Looking Glass, Sidekick, and Disinformation

Lazar also described exposure to briefing documents mentioning projects such as Looking Glass and Sidekick, along with references to Zeta Reticuli and possible extraterrestrial biological data.

Vendittelli acknowledges that some of this information may have been deliberate disinformation provided to Lazar as part of compartmentalized security measures. He personally questions aspects such as the Zeta Reticuli connection while remaining open to the possibility that portions of those documents contained genuine classified material.

Why Lazar Still Avoids Congress

Despite renewed public interest and modern whistleblower hearings, Lazar has consistently avoided congressional testimony.

According to Vendittelli, Lazar feels he has already shared his story and sees little value in entering political arenas that may offer limited transparency. Lazar reportedly prefers to maintain his private life rather than re-enter decades of scrutiny.

A Story That Refuses to Disappear

Vendittelli’s documentary does not claim to offer definitive proof of extraterrestrial technology. Instead, it presents Lazar’s account as a historical case that deserves serious examination, especially given the increasing number of whistleblower claims regarding hidden aerospace programs.

Whether Lazar’s story is entirely accurate, partially true, or influenced by secrecy and misinformation remains unresolved. However, Vendittelli’s investigation suggests the case may be more complex than simple truth or deception.

More than 35 years after Bob Lazar first went public, his claims continue to spark intense debate. S4: The Bob Lazar Story has reignited that conversation by combining modern visual reconstruction with new personal insights from those closest to Lazar.

For believers, the documentary reinforces longstanding suspicions about secret reverse-engineering programs.

For skeptics, it raises fresh questions about omissions, evidence, and the blurred line between classified reality and extraordinary claims.

What remains clear is that Bob Lazar’s story continues to occupy a unique place in UFO history — one that still refuses to be fully explained.

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