MAIN Society UFOs

"Flying saucers" was the term first coined following a sighting of a UFO in 1947.

At the time, newspapers nationwide reported an eyewitness account of 9 objects hurtling across the sky near Mt. Rainier, Washington like "a saucer skipping across the water".

Since then, thousands more sightings of flying saucers or UFO's (unidentified flying objects) have been reported, discussed, wondered about, or lambasted by experts, and in the press most often regarded as "tin hat" sensationalism or conspiracy theories.

The most famous of these in popular culture is the purported 1947 UFO crash in Roswell in New Mexico, along with the infamous Area 51, a suspected top secret US military installation that may be home to recovered alien spacecraft and bodies carefully hidden by the U.S. government in the deserts of Nevada.

Today, the Roswell Museum offers a glimpse of the purported aftermath of the UFO crash in 1947.

The Pentagon reports in

Even after serious scientific research on the matter, belief in visits by extraterrestrial aliens continued unabated. But it wasn't until 2021 when excitement grew to fever pitch as the US government issued their long-awaited UFO report. And although it didn't provide substantive proof of UFO's existence, it didn't disprove it, either:

In summary ... "Our analysis of the data supports the construct that if and when individual UAP incidents are resolved they will fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, USG or U.S. industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall 'other' bin."

The "catchall 'other' bin" are the words that touched off another round speculation of what the government may, or may not be hiding. Of course, the 10 percent of unexplainable close encounters only continues to fuel the speculation.

Celebrating UFO Day

Keeping UFOs on the pop culture radar since 2001, UFO Day is often celebrated on June 24 or July 2.

The World UFO Day Organization declared July 2 to be the official day. June 24 marks the anniversary of one of the first UFO sightings in the United States, when Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine high-speed crescent-shaped objects near Mt. Rainier in Washington, in 1947. July 2 marks the anniversary of the Roswell UFO incident, which also happened in 1947.

More about UFOs around the Web:

Around the Web, examine the available evidence in pictures, video, news reports and eyewitness accounts at top sites devoted to the topic, or join a discussion in online message boards to learn more about a growing belief that, in the wide reaches of an expanding universe, we may not be alone ....

National UFO Reporting Center - Search the database for historical and most recent U.S. sightings, or use the online form to submit your own. Also includes case highlights, airline and jet chase reports, UFO videos, phone hotline.

Extraterrestrials and UFO's - A virtual encyclopedia of information on UFO's, close encounters and related phenomena including crop circles, cattle mutilations, historical sightings, the Roswell crash, purported depictions in art history, related prophecies.

Unidentified flying object - Wikipedia entry on the topic with discussions on their history, major sightings, conspiracy theories, UFO's in pop culture & photos, related resources.

International UFO Museum & Research Center - The official site in Roswell, New Mexico with news on the latest exhibits, the annual UFO festival, with related photos, audio files, virtual tour, maps, directions & visitor information.

Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Infosite - Pages of information, facts, conjecture and theory behind UFO sightings including historical records, eyewitness & official reports.