Pentagon Set To Release Findings From UFO Research Program

Roughly two-and-a-half years since the New York Times released its bombshell report about the governments Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program, the Times reports that the Pentagon is preparing to make some of those findings public. The sporadic appearance of UFO, or as the government designates them, Unidentified Ariel Phendomeona, in the news, once again, sent social media users into a tizzy, even as some officials warn, the answers might be more "boring" than we think.

Earlier today, the Times said the AATIP, now called the "Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force," continues to investigate the experiences of numerous military pilots, many of which were caught on tape. As part of their continued use of the program, that Senate committee that authorized and budgeted the department requires that some findings be made public 180 days after its passage. That day is rapidly approaching.

As was the case in the past, social media users shared the report widely online, commenting on the state of the world and how news of UFOs barely makes a dent, between coverage of President Trump and the coronavirus pandemic. UFOs trended on Twitter throughout the day, while posts on Reddit and Facebook circulated on the platforms.

Still, officials in the piece called for calm. The explanations, as many noted, might be less exciting than we think. Put simply: There might not be much there there. Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio floated the possibility that an adversary could have made "some technological leap."

"Maybe there is a completely, sort of, boring explanation for it. But we need to find out," said Rubio.

Harry Reid, the retired Senate majority later and long-time advocate for the program, believes that crashes of these unidentified aerial objects may have occurred, and he aims to find out more.

"After looking into this, I came to the conclusion that there were reports -- some were substantive, some not so substantive -- that there were actual materials that the government and the private sector had in their possession," Reid said.

However, according to the Times, "No crash artifacts have been publicly produced for independent verification. Some retrieved objects, such as unusual metallic fragments, were later identified from laboratory studies as man-made."

The report leaves open the possibility that 2020 could get weirder and scarier, even though the prospect of aliens doesn't seem to phase many people.