WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has acknowledged funding a secret multi-million dollar program to investigate sightings of UFOs.
The shadowy program ended in 2012, according to the Defense Department, but the New York Times reported that it is still up and running — with officials continuing to study incidents brought to their attention by US military service members while performing their regular duties at the Pentagon.
The so-called Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program operated from 2007 to 2012 and had $22 million a year in funding tucked away in the Pentagon’s gargantuan budget, the Times said, quoting program participants and records.
The program yielded documents describing sightings of unidentified flying aircraft that apparently moved very fast with no visible sign of propulsion or hovered with no apparent means of lift, the Times said.
Program officials also examined video of encounters between unknown objects and US military aircraft.
This included one released in August of a whitish oval object about the size of a jetliner, being pursued by two Navy fighter jets from an aircraft carrier off the California coast in 2004, the paper added.
The Department of Defense said in a statement the program is now over.
“The Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program ended in the 2012 timeframe. It was determined that there were other, higher priority issues that merited funding and it was in the best interest of the DoD to make a change,” it said.
It added: “The DoD takes seriously all threats and potential threats to our people, our assets, and our mission and takes action whenever credible information is developed.”
The program was initially funded at the request of then Senator Harry Reid, the chamber’s majority leader at the time and a long-time enthusiast of space phenomena, the Times said.
Most of the money in the program went to an aerospace research company run by Robert Bigelow, a billionaire entrepreneur and longtime friend of Reid, the Times said.
“If anyone says they have the answers, they’re fooling themselves,” Reid, who retired from Congress last year, said in a tweet Saturday night.
“We don’t know the answers but we have plenty of evidence to support asking the questions. This is about science and national security. If America doesn’t take the lead in answering these questions, others will,” Reid wrote.
Revealed: the Pentagon’s secret UFO-hunting program
Revealed: the Pentagon’s secret UFO-hunting program
6 planets will parade across the night sky at the end of February
NEW YORK: Six planets are linking up in the sky at the end of February, and most will be visible to the naked eye.
It’s what’s known as a planetary parade, which happens when multiple planets appear to line up in the sky at once. The planets aren’t in a straight line, but are close together on one side of the sun.
Skygazers can usually spot two or three planets after sunset, according to NASA. Hangouts of four or five that can be glimpsed with the naked eye are less common and occur every few years. Last year featured lineups of six and all seven planets.
When will they be visible?
On Saturday, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye if clear skies allow. Uranus and Neptune can only be spotted with binoculars and telescopes.
What time is optimal for viewing?
Go outside about an hour after sunset and venture away from tall buildings and trees that will block the view. Look to the western sky and spot Mercury, Venus and Saturn close to the horizon. Jupiter will be higher up, along with Uranus and Neptune.
How to know if you’ve spied a member of the parade?
“If it’s twinkling, it’s a star. If it is not twinkling, it’s a planet,” said planetary scientist Sara Mazrouei with Humber Polytechnic in Canada.
The parade should be visible over the weekend and in the days after. Eventually, Mercury will bow out and dip below the horizon.
At least one bright planet is visible on most nights, according to NASA.
Glimpsing many in the sky at once is a fun way to connect with astronomers of centuries’ past, said planetary scientist Emily Elizondo with Michigan State University.
Ancient astronomers used to make sense of the universe “just by looking up at the stars and the planets,” Elizondo said, “which is something that we can do today.”
