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On the hunt for UFOs

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK

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Issue 66

Is there such a thing as an unidentified flying object? What are they and who is responsible?

On the hunt for UFOs

Have you ever seen anything unusual zipping across the sky or hovering in mid-air? Sightings of strange objects in the skies are on the rise. You may have heard of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) but experts mostly call them UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). Both terms refer to anything seen in the air that cannot be immediately identified or explained. These peculiar phenomena often appear in various shapes and sizes, from shiny discs to peculiar lights. Although there might be a perfectly harmless explanation, people who witness one of these unusual events often think they’ve seen alien visitors from another world.

A strange spectacle

There have been many UFO sightings throughout history. More than 2,000 years ago, a Roman historian called Titus Livius wrote about “a spectacle of ships” in the sky. In Ireland, historical diaries from AD749 describe flying ships, and some people believe that ancient Egyptian documents contain descriptions of “fiery discs” (although others say this is a hoax).

A real alien visitor

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