Is There Proof of Alien Life?
What's really going on in Roswell?
EncyclopƦdia Britannica, Inc.
-
NASAThe 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. NavyLearn 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, 2014ā15.
News •
Is the truth really out there? Studying UAP sightings
• Nov. 1, 2026, 9:28 AM ET (CBS)
New Pentagon UFO files detail sightings over Catalina Island
• Oct. 24, 2026, 1:58 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 Sunās readers were willing to accept his absurd account of alien life.
As recounted by the poet Edgar Allan Poe, ānot 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 didnāt believe it had earthly origins.
Many believed the incident was evidence of extraterrestrial lifeāand didnāt 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 arenāt alone.
In 2021 the U.S. Department of Defense admitted that flying objects seen in declassified footage were āunidentified aerial phenomena.ā
Three short video clips released in 2017 and 2018 show large oblong objects moving quickly through the air.
In the governmentās lingo, āunidentified aerial phenomenaā doesnāt directly mean āUFOs.ā
The fact that they didnāt offer another explanation is enough for many who believeāas The X-Files once saidāthe truth is out there.
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 Sunās readers were willing to accept his absurd account of alien life.
As recounted by the poet Edgar Allan Poe, ānot 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 didnāt believe it had earthly origins.
Many believed the incident was evidence of extraterrestrial lifeāand didnāt 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 arenāt alone.
In 2021 the U.S. Department of Defense admitted that flying objects seen in declassified footage were āunidentified aerial phenomena.ā
Three short video clips released in 2017 and 2018 show large oblong objects moving quickly through the air.
In the governmentās lingo, āunidentified aerial phenomenaā doesnāt directly mean āUFOs.ā
The fact that they didnāt offer another explanation is enough for many who believeāas The X-Files once saidāthe truth is out there.
Last Modification: