2 Bo Hl 2 World | Africa | Asia | Australia | Europe | Latin America | Middle East | US & Canada UFOs: Five revelations from Nasa's public meeting 7 hours ago By Mike Wendling BBC NewsUAP are defined as sightings "that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective”. The panel held its first public meeting on Wednesday. Here are some of the revelatory moments. Many sightings can be explained - others rem. mystery "We have 50 to 100-ish new reports each month," said Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), part of the US Defence Department. But he said the number of those sightings which are "possibly really anomalous" are 2% to 5% of the total database. At one point during the hearing, a video taken by a naval aircraft over the western US showed a series of dots moving across the night sky. The military plane was unable to intercept the object, which turned out to be a commercial. aircraft heading towards a major airport. Other sightings are more mysterious. A Pentagon report in 2021 said that of 144 sightings by military pilots made since 2004, all but one remained unexplained. Officials did not rule out the ity that the objects are extra-terrestrial. Privacy limits Nasa investigations Mr Kirkpatrick also noted that privacy concerns limit the agency's investigations. “We can point the largest collection apparatus in the entire globe at any point we want," he said. “A lot of what we have is around the continental United States," he added. “Most people...don't like it when we point our entire collection apparatus at your backyard." No, take me to settingson. Then they start to notice a lot of them bunched together around lunch time," he said. It turned out that the sensitive instruments used by researchers were picking up signals from a microwave used to heat up their lunches. Scott Kelly, a former astronaut and pilot with decades of experience, told a story about an optical illusion. He and his co-pilot were flying near Virginia Beach and his colleague "was convinced we flew by a UFO". “| didn't see it. We turned around, we went to look at it, it turns out it was Bart Simpson - a balloon.” Stigma and harassment hamper research Commercial pilots are very reluctant to report sightings, Mr Spergel said, because of the stigma surrounding flying saucers. “One of our goals is to remove the stigma," he said, "because there is aneed for high quality data to address important questions about UAPs." And some scientists have faced harassment online for their work in the area. "Harassment only leads to further stigmatisation of the UAP field, significantly hindering the scientific process and discouraging others to study this important subject matter," said Nasa science chief Nicola Fox. No, take me to settingsNasa's Dan Evans replied that the agency is committed to transparency. "That is why we are here live on TV today," he said. | UFO report: Do Americans believe something's out there? Related Topics UFOs Nasa __—_United States More on this storyWhy UFO existence is still up in the air... 4 June 2021 Pentagon releases UFO videos for the record 28 April 2020, UFO reports by US troops skyrocket to over 500 13 January No, take me to settings57 minutes ago @LIVE Russia blames shelling inside border town on Ukraine > Moment climber found in rare Everest ‘death zone’ rescue Thours ago Features War crimes evidence erased by social The untold tale of America's first media firms spelling champ ‘eo silly The fake smiles of India's detained wrestlers Let us know you agree to cookies se cook’ ve you thi onlin Please let us kn2 The Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight Could a US debt default unleash global chaos? Elsewhere on the BBC Jellyfish blooms: Why not just eat them?Most Read 41 Trump recorded saying he kept classified document 2 Top Australian soldier loses war crimes defamation case 3 _ Police analyse objects after Madeleine search 4 Jerusalem bombing victim dies after 22 years in coma 5 __ War crimes evidence erased by social media firms 6 Beach death victims were not hit by vessel - police 7 Hammer will not be charged with sexual assault Q _ USactor Danny Masterson found guilty of rape Q _ Five revelations from Nasa's public UFO meeting 1Q US debt ceiling deal moves forward after House vote No, take me to settingsBBC News Ser (On your mobile On smart speakers Get news alerts Contact BBC News Home Sport Worklife Future Music Weather News Reel Travel Culture Vv Sounds Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy Policy Contact the BBC Get Personali 1d Newsletters Do not share or sell my info Cookies Accessibility Help Parental Guidance Why you can trust the BBC Advertise © 2023 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external Let us know you agree to cookies We use cookies to give you the best online experience. Please let us know if you agree to all of these cookies, No, take me to settings