Thread by @nytimes

Unidentified flying objects have been taken more seriously by U.S. officials in recent years, starting in 2007 with a small, secretly funded program that investigated reports of military encounters.

Here's a short history of how we got here: nyti.ms/34Vj8qJ

The modern history of the UFO began in 1947 when Kenneth Arnold, a private pilot from Idaho, reported seeing nine circular objects traveling at high speeds near Mount Rainier. Newspapers described them as “flying saucers.” nyti.ms/34Vj8qJ

After Arnold’s sighting, the government began a classified study, Project Sign, out of concern that such objects could be advanced Soviet weapons. In 1969, a related government project concluded with a report saying UFOs were not worth further study. nyti.ms/34Vj8qJ

In 2004, Navy fighter jets from the U.S.S. Nimitz were off the coast of San Diego when they encountered a whitish oval-shaped craft hovering over the sea. The U.S. Defense Department released their video in 2019 after it was leaked to a documentary filmmaker.

Most recently, the U.S. government shared its latest findings on UFOs this week. It found no evidence of alien technology in flying objects, but hasn't ruled out the possibility entirely.

Read more here: nyti.ms/3vYMe4A