A UFO is a general term used for any “unidentified flying object” in the sky which cannot be discerned by an observer . Most UFOs remain classified as so even after they have been investigated. The UFO phenomenon dates back as far as the beginning of recorded history, but UFO sightings have significantly increased since the mid 1940s.
From UFO videos to UFO pictures, stories and other real life accounts, thousands of people from all walks of life claim to have seen these mysterious aerial phantoms. Many UFO sightings turn out to be nothing at all, mere airplanes, meteors or comets; however, many sightings have gone unsolved for decades or even centuries.
The term “flying saucer” came into popular use after American Kenneth Arnold claimed a UFO sighting on June 24, 1947 near Mount Rainier, Washington. Arnold claimed to have seen as many as nine brightly lit objects soaring across the sky at speeds he estimated as up to 1200 miles per hour. Arnold also reported that the objects appeared to have a disc or “saucer” appearance. No final conclusion has ever been reached in the case.
One of the most famous UFO incidents to date also occurred in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico. After unidentified debris was recovered from the property of a Roswell ranch, the Roswell Army Airfield issued a statement saying that a “flying disk” had been discovered. The airfield retracted the statement just hours later, claiming it was just a weather balloon. This sparked local and nation-wide rumors of an alleged government cover-up of an alien UFO that had crashed in the New Mexico desert. No definitive proof has been produced to this day to support that theory.
