1 flying saucers On June 24 1947 pilot Kenneth Arnold was flying his small plane above the state of Washington The sky was clear as Arnold soared 9,200 feet 2,804 m above the ground Suddenly a bright light hit the plane Arnold looked in the direction the light came from He was shocked at what he saw Nine aircraft flew past Arnold They were moving in a V-shaped formation But the mysterious aircraft didn’t have wings and tails like most aircraft One of the objects was crescent-shaped and the others were circular They moved together at great speed Arnold guessed the aircraft were traveling about 1,700 miles per hour 2,736 kmh He had never seen anything like them Later Arnold described the objects to the press He said the objects moved like saucers skipping across water Newspapers mistakenly reported that the objects were shaped like saucers From then on such objects were often called flying saucers 4
Kenneth Arnold’s story was a national headline An investigation determined that Arnold saw a mirage or disk-shaped clouds Arnold thought the objects might have been new military aircraft But the US War Department thought Arnold had imagined the aircraft As Arnold’s story spread other witnesses reported seeing similar aircraft What were these unidentified objects and where did they come from 5
What are UFOs 2 Kenneth Arnold was unable to identify the flying objects he had seen that June day And many other reported objects have been unexplainable too Such objects are known as Unidentified Flying Objects or UFOs The term UFO can apply to any flying object that hasn’t been identified UFOs have been spotted for centuries Long ago these objects were often linked to angels demons and other supernatural beings Since more modern times UFOs have been widely associated with extraterrestrial visitors Official investigations have found common characteristics among UFO sightings For example many sighted UFOs are shaped like disks or saucers Others are shaped like cigars or torpedoes UFOs also commonly appear as hovering balloon-shaped objects or even moving balls of light 6
There are also common patterns in the way UFOs have been reported to move Many witnesses have claimed to see multiple UFOs flying in certain formations The objects are often reported to make unnatural or sudden movements Many UFOs are said to glide through the air without making a single sound Most UFO sightings occur in the United States But Canada Sweden Denmark the United Kingdom and other countries have kept UFO sighting records too
