Are We Alone in the Universe? UFO Expert Weighs In on the Mystery of Unidentified Flying Objects
The idea of extraterrestrial life has captivated humanity for centuries.
The notion that we are not alone in the universe is both thrilling and unsettling.
Yet, despite countless reports and sightings, definitive proof of alien life has remained elusive.
A recent conversation with a UFO expert sheds light on the ongoing mystery surrounding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), commonly known as UFOs.
While we don’t have concrete evidence that aliens exist, the expert suggests that what we are witnessing could be evidence of technology far beyond our comprehension.
List of reported UFO sightings
| Date | Name | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-11-11 | The 2000 Belgium UFO wave | Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands | A wave of UFO sightings, including multiple reports of triangle-shaped craft. The Belgian Air Force was involved in tracking these objects, which were radar-confirmed but never fully identified. |
| 2004-11-14 | The “Tic-Tac” UFO incident | Pacific Ocean, near San Diego, California, USA | U.S. Navy pilots from the USS Princeton and USS Nimitz encountered a “Tic-Tac” shaped object. The event was recorded on radar and video. The Pentagon later confirmed the authenticity of the incident in 2017. |
| 2006-03-01 | The 2006 O’Hare International Airport UFO sighting | Chicago, Illinois, USA | United Airlines employees and witnesses reported seeing a metallic disc hovering over O’Hare Airport. The object was said to have flown into a cloud at high speed, leaving a hole in the clouds. |
| 2007-01-08 | The 2007 Manchester UFO sightings | Manchester, England, UK | Multiple reports from residents of Manchester about a triangular UFO seen flying at low altitude. Local authorities were involved in the investigation. |
| 2007-09-14 | Stephenville UFO sighting | Stephenville, Texas, USA | Dozens of witnesses saw a large, silent, fast-moving craft in the sky. Several local pilots also reported similar sightings. The incident was covered in the media. |
| 2011-06-08 | The “Norway Spiral” | Tromsø, Norway | A strange spiral of blue and white light appeared in the sky, spiraling for several minutes. The Norwegian government attributed the phenomenon to a failed Russian missile test, but many still considered it a UFO event. |
| 2014-05-23 | The “Japan Air Lines Flight 1628” UFO encounter | Near Alaska, USA | Captain Kenju Terauchi of Japan Airlines reported an intense sighting of a large UFO that followed his aircraft for over 30 minutes while flying over Alaska. |
| 2014-11-03 | 2014 Mexico UFO sighting | Mexico City, Mexico | Multiple reports emerged from people across the city and surrounding areas of a UFO, with many claiming to have seen a triangular-shaped object hovering. |
| 2015-01-01 | The 2015 Hawaii UFO incident | Hawaii, USA | Residents of Hawaii reported seeing multiple UFOs in the night sky. Some were filmed with several objects flying in unusual formations. |
| 2015-07-06 | 2015 Argentina UFO sighting | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Multiple sightings in Buenos Aires of bright lights moving erratically in the sky, witnessed by hundreds. |
| 2017-12-16 | Pentagon UFO Program (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program – AATIP) | USA | The New York Times revealed the Pentagon’s secret UFO program, including footage of the “Tic-Tac” UFO and other encounters by Navy pilots, sparking renewed interest in UFOs. |
| 2018-07-14 | O’Hare Airport UFO sighting revisited | Chicago, Illinois, USA | New reports and investigations into the 2006 O’Hare sighting, with new analysis suggesting multiple witnesses may have observed the object for longer periods than initially reported. |
| 2019-03-01 | 2019 Las Vegas UFO sightings | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | Numerous reports from Las Vegas residents of strange lights and a large hovering craft over the city. |
| 2020-04-27 | Pentagon releases UFO videos | USA | The U.S. Department of Defense officially released three declassified videos that show UFO encounters by Navy pilots, further fueling the discussion on UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). These videos were previously leaked by former Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge’s To the Stars Academy. |
| 2020-07-23 | U.S. Navy UFO encounters reveal | USA | The U.S. Navy confirmed the authenticity of several UFO sightings, stating that they were investigating and confirming numerous unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP) observed by military personnel. |
| 2020-12-16 | U.S. Congress and UAP report | USA | The U.S. government mandated that intelligence agencies provide an unclassified report on UAPs. The 180-day period for review was to explore any national security concerns. |
| 2021-06-25 | The U.S. government UAP report | USA | The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a long-awaited report on UAPs, confirming over 140 sightings of unexplained aerial phenomena by U.S. military personnel and stating that the phenomenon is under investigation. |
| 2021-07-23 | U.S. Navy encounters | Pacific Ocean, USA | U.S. Navy fighter pilots reported ongoing encounters with unidentified flying objects that displayed extraordinary capabilities, with several objects moving at extreme speeds and performing maneuvers beyond current known technologies. |
| 2022-01-04 | UAP Task Force becomes All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) | USA | The U.S. Department of Defense established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to study UAPs, including phenomena occurring in the air, underwater, and in space. |
| 2022-05-17 | UFO sightings by U.S. Navy pilots | USA | U.S. Navy pilots continued to report encounters with mysterious craft that perform unpredictable maneuvers. A video of one such encounter was released. |
| 2023-07-26 | U.S. Congress UAP hearing | USA | A historic U.S. Congressional hearing on UAPs took place, featuring testimony from former military officials and a whistleblower who claimed the government was hiding knowledge of extraterrestrial technology. |
| 2023-09-04 | Mexico UFO presentation | Mexico City, Mexico | Mexican officials revealed non-human biological specimens from alleged UFO crashes in a public event, claiming that they were part of ongoing investigations into extraterrestrial phenomena. |
| 2024-01-01 | Ongoing government UAP investigations | USA | Continued investigations by various U.S. government agencies into UAPs, with further information about government-backed projects to examine aerial phenomena. |
UFOs: The Puzzle That Won’t Be Solved
In May, a former US Navy pilot made headlines when he revealed to CBS’s 60 Minutes that pilots training off the coast of the United States were encountering UFOs nearly every day.
These flying objects, which would zoom through the sky at incredible speeds, often seemed to defy the laws of physics, leaving everyone puzzled.
The pilot and his colleagues, part of an elite group of aviators, were not just seeing these strange objects occasionally—they were happening all the time.
As one Navy aviator explained in a now-famous video, “There’s a whole fleet of them.”
This revelation is far from an isolated event. In fact, the U.S. government has been increasingly focused on UFOs.
In 2019, the Department of Defense launched a special task force to investigate the growing number of UAP sightings.
These mysterious objects were captured on video by military personnel, and the footage left many more questions than answers.
While the official report, released in 2021, did not confirm that these UFOs were alien in origin, it also didn’t rule it out.
As the report stated, “We don’t know what they are,” acknowledging that very little is understood about these phenomena.
Could It Be Alien Technology?
Professor Madhu Thangavelu, a renowned expert on space technology at the University of Southern California, offers an intriguing perspective.
Thangavelu, who works in both the Engineering and Architecture departments, states that there is no definitive evidence proving that UFOs are extraterrestrial.
“We haven’t found any public evidence that aliens exist,” he says. However, he is open to the idea that what we are witnessing may be far more advanced than anything we currently understand.
Could these mysterious objects be the result of alien technology? The question still lingers.
However, Thangavelu argues that it is just as likely that we are witnessing technological advancements that we cannot yet explain.
“There’s a possibility that the technologies employed in these objects are so advanced that they cannot be explained using our current physics and engineering knowledge,” he says.
In other words, we might be encountering technology that is beyond anything we can imagine right now.
Advanced Technology or Otherworldly Visitors?
It’s important to consider that the mystery surrounding UFOs could be due to technology, not necessarily from other planets but perhaps from highly secretive programs right here on Earth.
While the Pentagon has stated that the objects seen by military personnel were not created by the U.S.
or any other nation’s classified programs, there is still a possibility that these objects are the result of cutting-edge military technology we’re not privy to.
Thangavelu highlights an important point: humanity’s technological advancements have come in relatively short bursts.
In just the last century, we’ve gone from barely being able to fly to landing on the moon and exploring the far reaches of space.
If such rapid progress is possible for human beings, it is not unreasonable to imagine that some technologies are so advanced that they would seem like magic to us—just as author Arthur C.
Clarke famously stated: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
The idea that these objects could be the result of advanced human-made technology is particularly compelling.
In fact, if they were the result of a covert military project, Thangavelu says we would have seen consequences by now.
“If these objects were being used as part of a secret espionage mission, we would feel their effects,” he says.
So far, no such consequences have been reported, suggesting that whatever is flying around in the skies is not being used to spy on the U.S. or its allies.
NASA Joins the Investigation
The mystery of UFOs has piqued the interest of many, including NASA.
Bill Nelson, the new chief of NASA, spoke with CNN recently about the agency’s involvement in the investigation of UAPs.
While he doesn’t believe the UFOs are proof of extraterrestrial life, he acknowledges that the objects witnessed by Navy pilots are unlike anything seen before.
“We don’t know if it’s extraterrestrial. We don’t know if it’s an enemy. We don’t know if it’s an optical phenomenon,” Nelson said.
The fact that the objects display unusual characteristics—like high speeds and rapid changes in direction—makes it clear that they’re not easily explained.
For many people, the idea that UFOs might be of extraterrestrial origin is the most exciting possibility.
But Nelson’s comments reflect the reality that these sightings may not necessarily point to alien life.
Instead, the phenomenon could be tied to highly advanced technologies that we are only beginning to understand.
Whether those technologies are from another country, another planet, or even secret U.S. military programs remains to be seen.
What If We Are Not Alone?
The idea of encountering life beyond Earth is both exhilarating and terrifying.
For centuries, humanity has looked up at the stars and wondered whether we are the only intelligent beings in the universe.
As our technology advances and we uncover more mysteries about the cosmos, the possibility that we are not alone seems more tangible.
Yet, the unknown also brings uncertainty and fear. The idea that UFOs could be piloted by beings from another world can be unsettling.
If advanced alien civilizations are out there, are they friendly? Do they have the power to do harm? Or are we simply encountering new technologies that we have yet to understand?
These questions stir emotions that range from awe to anxiety, especially when we consider the implications of extraterrestrial life.
However, despite the excitement and fear that UFOs stir, Professor Thangavelu urges caution.
“If these objects are extraterrestrial, there is no reason for panic,” he says. “They have been around for decades, and there’s no evidence that they have harmed us in any way.”
His words offer a sense of reassurance to those concerned about the potential dangers of alien encounters.
Looking to the Future
As investigations continue and more evidence is gathered, the mystery surrounding UFOs is likely to deepen.
Will we eventually find answers to these age-old questions about alien life?
Or will we discover that the truth is even stranger than we can imagine—perhaps a technological breakthrough that rewrites everything we know about physics and engineering?
The upcoming reports from the Pentagon and NASA may provide some clarity, but for now, the question remains: Are we truly alone in the universe, or are we on the verge of discovering something far beyond our understanding?
Until then, we will continue to gaze at the sky, waiting for the answers to unfold.
And whether those answers are alien or human, they will undoubtedly change our view of the universe forever.