Did I Really Just See That?

When skeptics hear the term "UFO," they're often prompted to spout off about little green men in flying saucers. But UFOs are really just what the acronym stands for, Unidentified Flying Objects, objects, which are visible in the sky that we do not recognize, and cannot classify or explain. The stigma attached to the term UFO in recent decades has caused modern witnesses to keep unusual sightings to themselves. It has also confined the majority of reports to anonymous posts on the Internet, in order to avoid ridicule from those who refuse to accept the fact that we may not be riding solo in the universe.

To put things into perspective, there are literally thousands of reported sightings of unidentified objects penetrating the Earth's atmosphere each year, most of which encompass unusual traveling lights and other mysterious airborne matter. With so many reported sightings, why then, is it so difficult for skeptics to open their minds to the fact that maybe we're not the only inhabitants in our vast universe? With over a billion galaxies visible by telescope alone, is it really plausible that our little, lonely Earth harbors the only structure of intelligent life? And more importantly, is our planet really that infested with compulsive liars?

It's funny, as we get older, we rarely take a moment to look up for any significant amount of time. When you look up into the sky at night, you can see more than just stars and the moon; on a clear night, you might see meteor showers, shooting stars or atmospheric phenomena such as the Aurora Borealis. Satellites are also regularly visible, even the International Space Station can be seen moving across the sky on a clear night (and yes, both are often mistaken for UFOs). Man-made objects that orbit our Earth are easily identified, resembling stars moving in undeviating paths across the sky. Yet, it is the manifestations that move erratically, remain stagnant for a short period of time, or come much closer than familiar aircrafts, that cause laymen and science enthusiasts alike to be baffled.