Hovering objects and flashing lights: what we learned from UFO documents released by the Pentagon

The tranche of never-before-seen documents released by the Pentagon on UFOs includes descriptions of reported sightings - by civilians on Earth and by astronauts on the Moon. The documents, spanning decades, were declassified and posted online on Friday at the direction of President Donald Trump, who said earlier this year he would release them "based on the tremendous interest shown".The US has seen renewed public interest in extraterrestrial life in recent years. In 2022, Congress held the first hearings on UFOs in 50 years and the military has promised more transparency on the matter.The 161 files are accessible on the Department of Defense's website, with more set to be released.Friday's release of files comes after former President Obama sparked further interest when he said in a February interview that aliens are "real, but I haven't seen them".Obama has since clarified his comments, saying that statistically the chances are that life is out there but he saw "no evidence" while president.Trump later that month directed to Pentagon to release files "related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs)".The files that came out Friday include decades of declassified military memos, reports from the Apollo Moon missions, and reports from individuals who claim to have witnessed a UFO - or an unidentified flying object - that they suspect has extraterrestrial origins.Apollo astronauts describe flashes of lightUS Department of DefenseA view from the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission in 1969. An unidentified flash is highlighted and enlargedThe files contain previously classified transcripts from the astronauts aboard the Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 Moon landing missions in the 1960s and 1970s.Buzz Aldrin, famed astronaut from the Apollo 11 mission, said in a 1969 interview published on Friday that he saw several inexplicable phenomena on his trip to the Moon. "I observed what appeared to be a fairly bright light source which we tentatively ascribed to a possible laser," he said.The transcripts show that Apollo 12 Astronaut Alan Bean, who walked on the Moon in 1969, said he saw particles and flashes of lights "sailing off in space" during the mission. The particles looked like they were "escaping the Moon", he said.Two astronauts aboard the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 also reported seeing flashing light while on board. "It's like the Fourth of July out there!" astronaut Jack Schmitt said. They added that the light could have been reflections off pieces of ice.In another one of the released files, an audio recording from the 1965 Gemini 7 spaceflight features communication between astronaut Frank Boman communicating and ground support. He reports a sighting of an unidentified object to Nasa mission control, describing a "bogey" and "trillions of little particles" seen to the left of the spaceship.Hovering objects emerging from lightAmong the decades-worth of reports released in the files are dozens of individual claims of sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. One file shows a man told the FBI in a 1957 interview that he had witnessed a large, circular vehicle rising over the ground. There are also interviews from September and October 2023 in which US citizens report hovering metal objects materialising out of bright light.Military sightings in Iraq, Syria, and the UAEThe files also include video clips taken by the US military from the Middle East, dating from 2022.Footage from Iraq, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, shows what the Pentagon's website calls "unresolved unidentified anomalous phenomenon".One 2022 clip, taken in an undisclosed location in the Middle East, captures an oval-shaped object streaking left to right, which an accompanying report flagged as a "possible missile".Good first step, but we need more, lawmakers sayCongressman Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, has previously advocated for more governmental transparency on UFO sightings. He welcomed the Pentagon's release of the files, calling it a "great start" in a post on X.Republican Anna Paulina Luna, a Congresswoman from Florida, also advocates for transparency on this issue. In a statement, she called the disclosure "a massive first step in the right direction."