Microwaves and balloons: NASA said that people take for UFOs, although there are really mysterious phenomena

The NASA space agency for the first time spoke at a public meeting about the progress of its research related to unknown anomalous objects or phenomena. What became known, the publication found out with the BBC.

Photo: IStock

In July 2022, NASA created a special group to study unidentified air phenomena (UAP - Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). Previously, the UAP was called an unidentified flying object (Unidentified Flying Object, or UFO).

Unidentified aerial phenomena is a new term covering objects or events that cannot be immediately identified and scientifically explained.

On Wednesday, May 31, the group held its first public meeting and revealed that it had examined more than 800 reports of unknown flying objects, of which only a small part had no scientific explanation.

Many phenomena can be explained, but some remain a mystery

“Each month, we receive reports of 50 to 100 seemingly mysterious phenomena,” said Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Office of Anomaly Resolution in All Areas (AARO) of the US Department of Defense.

But, he says, the amount that “may be really an anomaly” is only 2% to 5% of the total database.

On the subject: Ukrainian astronomers noticed a lot of UFOs over Kyiv: they fly at a speed of 54 km/h

During the meeting, the public was shown a video taken by a Navy aircraft over the western United States, which clearly showed bright points of light moving across the sky. The military aircraft was unable to contact the object, which turned out to be a commercial airliner heading towards a large airport.

The rest of the UAP sightings are more cryptic.

A 2021 Pentagon report says that of 144 sightings of military pilots made since 2004, all but one remain incomprehensible. Officials do not exclude the possibility that these objects are of extraterrestrial origin.

NASA investigation hindered by citizens' privacy

Kirkpatrick noted that the agency's investigation is limited for reasons of confidentiality, that is, the impossibility of invading people's privacy.

“We can send the largest data collection instrument in the world to absolutely anywhere,” he stressed. “But most people don’t like the idea that we will see everything that happens in their lives.”

Microwaves and optical illusions

UAP-related data is often difficult to interpret and easily corrupted.

The head of the NASA team dealing with unknown air phenomena, David Spergel, spoke about an unusual flash of mysterious radio waves, which was recorded by researchers in Australia.

“These waves had a strange structure. People couldn't understand what was going on. And then they noticed that the main outbreaks occur during the lunch break, ”he said.

It turned out that sensitive devices picked up signals from the microwave, where scientists warmed up their food.

Scott Kelly, a former astronaut and pilot with many years of experience, told the story of an "optical illusion".

He and his co-pilot were flying near the city of Virginia Beach, and his colleague "was convinced that we had flown past a UFO."

“I didn’t notice anything like that. We turned around to see what it was. It turned out that it was Bart Simpson (the character of the animated series The Simpsons) - a balloon, "Kelly said.

Research is hindered by bad fame and prejudice

According to Spergel, civilian pilots are very reluctant to report their sightings, mainly because everything related to flying saucers in one way or another is stigmatized.

“One of our goals is to get rid of him,” he admitted. “Because we need high-quality data to solve important questions about unidentified aerial phenomena.”

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Some scientists have already experienced real bullying because of their work in this field.

"Persecution only leads to further stigmatization of the UAP field, which greatly complicates the scientific process and discourages others from studying this important subject," said NASA science director Nicola Fox.

A new era of openness

One reason the public meeting is noteworthy is NASA's changing approach to UAP research. For decades, the space agency has been solely concerned with exposing them.

At the end of the hearing, the group's staff answered questions from the audience. Among them was this: “What is NASA hiding from us?”

Dan Evans from the space agency replied that NASA is committed to openness.

“That is why we are here today and broadcasting live,” he explained.

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