The report came a day after an ‘unidentified aerial phenomenon’ was discussed in Congress
Pentagon officials say there have been more than 20 UFO sightings in a 12-month period that need further analysis.
While the majority of reports were explained away by everyday objects, some have left officials stumped.
But don’t get too excited – this doesn’t mean an alien invasion is close by.
The findings were published in a report a day after US officials took to Congress for the second-ever ‘unidentified aerial phenomenon’ (UAP) hearing.
The term UAP is now used in place of UFO in an attempt to remove stigma and is popular among government officials.
People mistook satellites and birds for UFOs (Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In 2022, the Pentagon created the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to track UAP reports.
The Pentagon’s new review covered 757 cases from around the world that were reported to US authorities from May 1 2023, to June 1 2024.
The great majority of the reported incidents occurred in airspace, but 49 occurred at altitudes estimated to be at least 100 kilometres (62 miles), which is considered space.
The total includes 272 incidents that occurred before that time period but had not been previously reported.
Among these reports are 21 that AARO director Jon Kosloski said are ‘true anomalies’ and warrant further investigation.
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Signs of extraterrestrial life is yet to be found, the report claims (KTSDesign/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)
Although experts said there is no indication any of the cases they looked into have unearthly origins.
“It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology,” the authors of the report explained.
The explanations for those that have been identified, though, would certainly burst any conspiracy theorist’s bubble.
Investigators found explanations for nearly 300 UAP sightings, and in many cases, the unknown objects were found to be balloons, birds, aircraft, drones or satellites.
How boring!
The report even name-checked SpaceX’s Elon Musk, as his Starlink satellite system is an increasingly common source of confusion.
A trail of SpaceX’s Starlink G6-27 satellites passing over Uruguay captured late last year (MARIANA SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images
People have been mistaking twinkling chains of satellites in the night sky for UFOs, with people taking to Reddit over the years to discuss their sightings.
The almost 7,000 small satellites are positioned just 340 miles above the Earth’s surface level – so it’s no wonder they’re so easily spotted.
Starlink uses small low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to beam high-speed internet access to customers across 100 countries, including the US, UK and Australia.
SpaceX said it hopes to have more than 40,000 LEO satellites in orbit.
So forget making a wish on a shooting star – how about on a Starlink instead?
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ABC News / Alex Wong/Getty Images
