On June 25, 2021, the Pentagon released a much-anticipatedreport on UFOs to Congress.
Im aprofessor of astronomywho has written extensively on thesearch for lifein the universe.
I also teach afree online class on astrobiology.
But the report is important because it opens the door for a serious look at UFOs.
Historically, UFOs have felt off-limits to mainstream science, but perhaps no more.
Whats in the UFO report?
1 thing the report focuses on is the lack of high-quality data.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
UFOs are taboo among scientists
UFO means unidentified flying object.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Youd think scientists would enjoy the challenge of solving this puzzle.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Another reason for the scientific hesitance is that UFOs have been co-opted by popular culture.
They are part of a landscape of conspiracy theories that includes accounts ofabduction by aliensandcrop circles.
But some scientists have looked.
In 1968, Edward U. Condon at the University of Colorado published thefirst major academic study of UFO sightings.
If astronomers are intrigued by UFOs and believe some cases deserve study with academic rigor whats holding them back?
Ahistory of mistrustbetween ufologists and scientists hasnt helped.
A search of 90,000 recent and currentgrants awardedby the National Science Foundation finds none addressing UFOs or related phenomena.
Indeed, most astronomers think it very unlikely thathumans are the only or the first advanced civilization.
This confidence has fueled an activesearch for extraterrestrial intelligence, known as SETI.
It has been unsuccessful so far.
As a result, researchers have recast the question Are we alone?
to Where are the aliens?
The absence of evidence for intelligent aliens is called theFermi paradox.
The SETI activity has not been immune from scientistscriticism.
It was starved of federal funding for decades and recently has gotten most of its support fromprivate sources.
In this context, the Pentagon report is welcome.
The report drawsfew concrete conclusionsabout UFOs and avoids any reference to aliens or extraterrestrial spacecraft.
However, it notes the importance of destigmatizing UFOs so that more pilots report what they see.
It also sets a goal of moving from anecdotal observations to standardized and scientific data collection.
Meanwhile, the truth is still out there.
