A weathered sign reading "UFO CRASH SITE" and "UFO Museum - 114 N. Main - Roswell" stands in a scrubby desert landscape under a clear blue sky.

Is There Proof of Alien Life?

What's really going on in Roswell?
EncyclopƦdia Britannica, Inc.
  • NASA
    The Boeing-built Lunar Roving Vehicle transported astronauts and equipment across the Moon during the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions.
  • Ā© Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
    An overview of Apollo 11's landing on the Moon, including the continuing scientific study of the rock specimens collected during the mission.
  • Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.
    Is Area 51 real?
  • U.S. Navy
    Learn about an unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) sighting from this video (known as the Gimbal video) captured by fighter pilots associated with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. The video shows instrument detections of unknown aerial objects, which the pilots were unable to identify, off the East Coast of the United States, 2014–15.

News •

Is the truth really out there? Studying UAP sightings • Nov. 1, 2026, 9:28 AM ET (CBS)

Transcript

In 1835 the New York Sun claimed life was spotted on the Moon.
New York Sun reporter Richard Adam Locke convinced the public that the Moon was home to all sorts of fantastical creatures (including humanoid animals with the wings of bats).
Though Locke originally intended the series of articles as satire, the Sun’s readers were willing to accept his absurd account of alien life.
As recounted by the poet Edgar Allan Poe, ā€œnot one person in ten discreditedā€ what would later become known as the Great Moon Hoax.
In 1947 an alleged alien encounter transformed a tiny town into a tourist destination.
Something crashed on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico...and witnesses didn’t believe it had earthly origins.
Many believed the incident was evidence of extraterrestrial life—and didn’t let go of the idea even when the U.S. government announced that the wreckage was from a weather balloon, not a UFO.
Today, when truth seekers visit Roswell, they find the International UFO Museum and Research Center ready to confirm their suspicions that humans aren’t alone.
In 2021 the U.S. Department of Defense admitted that flying objects seen in declassified footage were ā€œunidentified aerial phenomena.ā€
Three short video clips released in 2017 and 2018 show large oblong objects moving quickly through the air.
In the government’s lingo, ā€œunidentified aerial phenomenaā€ doesn’t directly mean ā€œUFOs.ā€
The fact that they didn’t offer another explanation is enough for many who believe—as The X-Files once said—the truth is out there.

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