Are Those Aliens?

You’re about to read a story about aliens and mysterious things seen flying in the sky. How much do you know about aliens? Take the quiz to find out. (Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers. By the time you’re done, you’ll be an expert!)

You’re about to read a story about aliens and mysterious things seen flying in the sky. How much do you know about aliens? Take the quiz to find out. (Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers. By the time you’re done, you’ll be an expert!)

You’re about to read a story about aliens and mysterious things seen flying in the sky. How much do you know about aliens? Take the quiz to find out. (Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers. By the time you’re done, you’ll be an expert!)

You’re about to read a story about aliens and mysterious things seen flying in the sky. How much do you know about aliens? Take the quiz to find out. (Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers. By the time you’re done, you’ll be an expert!)

Arnold saw nine strange objects in the sky. At first he thought they were birds. But they couldn’t be birds. The objects were shiny. Sunlight flashed off them. Sometimes they flipped in the air. Were they planes? Unlikely. Arnold didn’t see any pilots flying the objects.

Even crazier, they were traveling at least 1,200 miles per hour. At that speed, you could cross five football fields in about one second! Arnold didn’t know anything that flew that fast. 

He was puzzled. What were they? If only he had a camera with him.

After he landed, Arnold told his story to other pilots and to a reporter. A newspaper ran an article about what he’d seen. According to the article, the strange flying objects were “saucer-like.”
(A saucer is a small, round plate.)

Soon, Arnold’s story appeared in other newspapers. The story started a frenzy. What had Arnold seen? Had he seen spaceships flown by aliens?

Americans became obsessed with the story. Within a month, people across the country reported seeing more than 850 unidentified flying objects (also known as UFOs).

Arnold saw nine strange objects in the sky. They were shiny. Sometimes, they flipped around while moving. And they moved faster than anything he had ever seen. But Arnold didn’t see any pilots flying the objects. 

Arnold told people about the strange objects. Newspapers wrote articles about them. The objects were described as “saucer-like.” A saucer is a small, round plate.

Arnold’s story started a frenzy. People wondered if Arnold had seen alien spaceships. People across the country started seeing UFOs. (UFO stands for unidentified flying object.) Farmers saw strange lights. Kids saw flying saucers in the sky.

People formed clubs to discuss UFO reports. Some of the most popular movies and TV shows had aliens in them. The mystery remained: Were people really seeing alien spaceships?

The Mystery

As he got close to Mount Rainier, Arnold saw nine strange objects in the sky. At first, he thought they might be a flock of birds. But thatcouldn’t be. The objects had shiny surfaces, and sunlight sparkled off them. Were they planes? Unlikely. The objects didn’t seem to have pilots, though they sometimes darted and flipped.

Even crazier, the objects were traveling at 1,200 miles per hour or more, according to Arnold. At that speed, you could cross fivefootball fields in about one second! Nothing flew that fast, Arnold knew—and certainly not birds. He was puzzled. If only he had a camera with him, he thought.

After he landed, Arnold told his story to other pilots and a reporter. On June 25, the East Oregonian newspaper ran a front-page article about Arnold’s story. According to the article, the flying objects Arnold saw were “saucer-like.” (Saucers are small, round plates.)

“It seemed impossible,” Arnold said in the article. “But there it is—I must believe my eyes.”

The story was quickly picked up by other newspapers. And it sparked a frenzy. What had Arnold seen? Could it have been some kind of military test? A weapon? Or was it something stranger? Was it aliens?

Whatever it was, the public became obsessed. Within a month, people reported seeing more than 850 unidentified flying objects—or UFOs.

A few months passed. People continued seeing UFOs. Farmers saw strange lights over their fields. Kids saw flying saucers high in the sky.

In July 1947, a mysterious object was found in the desert near Roswell, New Mexico. Rumors spread that aliens had crashed there. (An official report said that a weather balloon—not a spaceship—had crashed.)

UFO hunting became a hobby. People formed clubs to discuss UFO reports. Some of the most popular movies and TV shows featured aliens. Sometimes these aliens were friendly. Sometimes they were terrifying.

Meanwhile, the mystery remained: What were people seeing? Could these UFOs really be alien spaceships?

What’s Out There?

For as long as humans have walked on Earth, we have gazed up at the sky and wondered what might be out there. And we’ve told stories to try to explain what we don’t yet understand.

Early humans saw the shapes of great and powerful beings in the night sky. Now we know those shapes are stars and planets.

In the 1400s, hundreds of people in Nuremberg, Germany, panicked one day when they saw flying globes battle in the sky and then disappear in a puff of smoke. Historians now believe this was most likely a natural event called a in 1947, there was real fear that aliens could invade Earth. In fact, just nine years earlier, some people believed that martians were attacking New Jersey. They had been listening to a radio play based on the novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. But some listeners mistakenly believed an alien invasion was actually happening.

UFO Mania

In the years after Arnold’s story made headlines, the number of UFO reports exploded. Farmers saw strange lights over their fields. Kids stargazing in their backyards spotted flying saucers high in the air.

And after a mysterious object was found in the desert near Roswell, New Mexico, rumors spread that aliens had crash-landed there. (An official report stated that a weather balloon—not a spaceship—had crashed near Roswell.)

UFO hunting became a national hobby. People formed clubs to discuss UFO reports. Some of the most popular sci-fi movies and TV shows featured aliens in flying saucers. Sometimes these aliens were sweet. Sometimes they were terrifying.

Meanwhile, the mystery remained: What were people seeing? As with the lines on Mars, was there a simple explanation? Or could it really be aliens?

As exciting as that would be, the answer is probably not. After 1945, the U.S. began secretly testing new types of planes. Some were spy planes that could fly in ways no one had seen before. Some could fly without pilots. Some even had a saucer-like shape. 

Many of these tests took place near a secret military base called Area 51. It was in a faraway part of Nevada. That likely explains why many UFOs were seen in the Southwest, not far from Area 51.

Today, experts believe that people who spotted the UFOs were probably just seeing these secret planes. Yet UFO reports have continued to this day. 

Recently, a group of government officials looked into UFO reports from 2004 to 2021. Many of the reports are puzzling. Some are strangely similar to what Arnold had seen in 1947. 

For example, Navy pilots saw spinning objects flying thousands of feet in the air along the East Coast. These objects were seen almost every day from the summer of 2014 to March 2015. They didn’t seem to have engines. How were they flying?

In the end, the officials concluded that we don’t have enough information to know what every UFO might be. Maybe some UFOs are simply birds or balloons. Maybe they are just tricks our eyes are playing on us. Maybe they are a new technology no one knows about yet. Or maybe they really are from another planet. No one knows for sure.

That would be exciting. But the answer is probably not. After 1945, the U.S. began secretly testing new types of planes. Some were spy planes. They could fly in ways no one had seen before. Some could fly without pilots. Some were even shaped like a saucer.

Many of these tests took place near a secret military base called Area 51. This military base was in a faraway part of Nevada. Nevada is in the Southwest. That likely explains why many UFOs were seen in the Southwest.

Today, experts believe that people who saw the UFOs were probably just seeing these secret planes. Yet UFO reports have continued to this day. 

Recently, a group of government officials looked into UFO reports from 2004 to 2021. Many of the reports are puzzling. Some are strangely similar to what Arnold had seen in 1947. 

For example, Navy pilots saw spinning objects. They were flying thousands of feet in the air along the East Coast. These objects were seen almost every day from the summer of 2014 to March 2015. They didn’t seem to have engines. How were they flying?

In the end, the officials said that we don’t have enough information to know what every UFO might be. Maybe some UFOs are simply birds or balloons. Maybe they are just tricks our eyes are playing on us. Maybe they are a new technology no one knows about yet. Or maybe they really are from another planet. No one knows for sure.

Spy Planes

As thrilling as that would be, the answer is: probably not.

After 1945, the U.S. military was secretly testing many new types of planes. Some could fly without pilots or fly in ways no one had seen before. The A-12 spy plane, for example, could fly faster and higher than anything before it.

Many of these tests took place near a secret military base called Area 51, in a remote part of Nevada. That likely explains why many UFO reports came from the Southwest, not far from Area 51.

In fact, if you lived in the Southwest back then, you might have spotted a UFO too!

UFOs Today

Over the years, details about the secret planes have been made public. Today, experts believe that many UFOs were probably test flights for those planes. Yet UFO reports have continued to this day.

Recently, a group of government officials came together to look into UFO reports from 2004 to 2021. And last summer, this group released its findings. Overall, 144 UFO incidents were analyzed. Many are deeply puzzling. Some are eerily similar to what Arnold saw back in 1947.

In one incident, for example, Navy pilots said that spinning objects appeared at about 30,000 feet over the East Coast. The objects didn’t seem to have engines. How were they flying? Where was their fuel? They were seen almost every day from the summer of 2014 to March 2015.

In the end, the government group concluded that we don’t have enough information to fully understand what every UFO might be. The report did not mention anything about aliens. But it didn’t rule them out either.

Maybe some UFOs are no more than birds or balloons or a drone from someone’s backyard. Maybe they are just light filtering through the clouds—a trick our eyes are playing on us. Maybe, like spy planes from years ago, they are a new technology that most people don’t know about yet.

One thing remains clear: Many of us want to believe in aliens. In fact, 4 in 10 Americans believe UFOs are extraterrestrial, or from outside our planet.

Yet believing something to be true and it being true aren’t always the same thing.