UFO/UAP knowledge base
Explainers
Clear, source-linked guides to UAP terminology, evidence review, common misidentifications, reporting, and official programs.
BasicsWhat Does UAP Mean? Official Definition and UFO DifferenceUAP is a neutral official label for observations or detections that available data cannot yet identify; it does not mean alien spacecraft.7 minRead guideBasicsUFO vs UAP: the difference between the public term and official languageUFO is still the phrase most people search for. UAP is the broader term used in government, aviation, defense, and scientific discussion.6 minRead guideEvidenceCommon UFO Misidentifications: Drones, Satellites, Planets and Camera EffectsMost reports begin with honest uncertainty. Time, direction, motion, weather, flight paths, satellite passes and original files are the strongest first checks.11 minRead guideReportingHow to Report a UFO or UAP SightingRecord time, location, direction, duration, weather, witnesses and original files, then check aircraft, satellites, planets, balloons and drones before reporting.10 minRead guideOfficial recordsOfficial UAP reports: how to read government UFO documents without getting misledGovernment UAP reports are useful, but they are often cautious, technical, and limited by classification and data quality.6 minRead guideOfficial programsWhat Is AARO and What Does It Investigate?AARO is the U.S. Department of Defense office that coordinates official UAP review, case resolution and public reporting across multiple domains.9 minRead guideScienceNASA UAP Study: Findings and Remaining QuestionsNASA's independent study called for better data, calibrated sensors and transparent analysis; it did not conclude that UAP are extraterrestrial.9 minRead guideEvidenceUAP video evidence: how to judge UFO videos without overclaimingA video can be useful evidence, but only when original files, context, metadata, camera behavior, and alternative explanations are examined.7 minRead guideEvidenceRadar UAP evidence: why radar cases matter and why they can still be wrongRadar can strengthen a UAP case, especially when paired with visual or infrared data, but radar returns need careful technical interpretation.6 minRead guideDocumentsUFO disclosure files: where to find official UAP and UFO recordsOfficial UFO records are scattered across archives, defense releases, intelligence collections, and declassified historical files.5 minRead guideBasicsAre UAP aliens? What the evidence does and does not showThe alien question drives public interest, but official and scientific sources do not treat unidentified as the same as extraterrestrial.6 minRead guideEvidenceDrone, Balloon or Satellite? How to Identify a Reported UFOMovement, lights, duration, wind and tracking records help distinguish common airborne and orbital objects before a sighting is classed as unexplained.10 minRead guideHistoryProject Blue Book: what the U.S. Air Force UFO program actually investigatedProject Blue Book is one of the most searched historical UFO programs, but its files are best read as investigative records rather than a single final answer.6 minRead guideOfficial recordsUAP congressional hearings: what they reveal and what they do not proveCongressional hearings drive search interest because they put UAP claims into public oversight, but testimony still needs documents, data, and corroboration.6 minRead guideCase guidesTic Tac UFO: why the Nimitz case became the modern UAP reference pointThe Tic Tac label refers to the 2004 Nimitz encounter, a case involving military witnesses, sensor claims, and official video attention.5 minRead guideCase guidesBlack Triangle UFOs: Sightings and Possible ExplanationsReports often describe a dark triangular form with three lights. Comparing Belgium, Phoenix and aircraft-related explanations shows what the pattern can and cannot establish.10 minRead guideHistoryFoo fighters: World War II lights before the modern UFO eraFoo fighters were wartime reports of lights or objects near aircraft, long before flying saucers became a public obsession.5 minRead guideSkywatchingWhy Starlink Satellites Are Mistaken for UFOsNewly launched Starlink groups can look like a moving train of lights. Time, direction, launch records and satellite tracks usually provide the fastest identification checks.8 minRead guideSkywatchingWhy Venus Is Mistaken for a UFOVenus can appear unusually bright, stationary or colorful near the horizon. A sky-map check can often identify it within minutes.8 minRead guideEvidenceMilitary pilot UAP reports: why pilot testimony matters and where it can failPilot reports carry weight because pilots know aviation context, but they still need sensor data, timing, and reconstruction.6 minRead guideEvidenceUFO hoaxes: how to spot staged sightings, fake videos, and weak claimsHoaxes are part of UFO history. A serious archive documents them because they teach how evidence fails.6 minRead guideCultureCrop circles and UFOs: mystery, art, hoax, and folkloreCrop circles attract UFO searches, but many have documented human origins and are better studied as culture, hoax, and belief.5 minRead guideSkywatchingMystery lights and UFO reports: Marfa, Hessdalen, Min Min, and recurring sky lightsRecurring lights are high-interest search topics because they mix folklore, tourism, atmospheric science, and unresolved observation.6 minRead guideSkywatchingMeteor or UFO? How to identify fireballs and bolidesBright meteors can produce sudden flashes, colored trails and fragmentation that look extraordinary on video. NASA terminology and event data provide a practical first check.8 minRead guideSkywatchingSpace debris reentry or UFO? How to identify a breakupReentering spacecraft and rocket bodies can create slow processions of glowing fragments across a wide sky. Timing, trajectory and reentry notices are central to identification.8 minRead guideSkywatchingLenticular cloud or UFO? How to tell the differenceSmooth lens-shaped clouds can resemble discs or stacked craft, especially near mountains and at sunrise or sunset. Weather context usually resolves the comparison.7 minRead guideEvidenceAutokinesis: why a stationary light can seem to moveIn a dark scene without visual references, a fixed point of light may appear to drift or dart. Aviation guidance treats this as a known perception illusion.7 minRead guideSkywatchingAircraft lights mistaken for UFOs: a night identification guideAn aircraft approaching nearly head-on can look stationary while its landing light grows brighter. Position, strobe and beacon patterns provide further checks.7 minRead guideEvidenceCamera bokeh and digital zoom in UFO videosA distant point light can become a disc, triangle or pulsing shape when focus, aperture, stabilization and enlargement interact. The recorded outline may belong to the camera.8 minRead guideEvidenceParallax in UAP videos: why objects can seem extremely fastA moving camera can make a distant, slow object appear to race across nearby terrain. Speed cannot be recovered from image motion without geometry and range.7 minRead guideEvidenceInfrared and FLIR UAP videos: how to read the displayThermal video maps infrared contrast, not ordinary color or a direct physical outline. Palette, gain, range, atmosphere and tracking mode all affect the image.8 minRead guideSkywatchingSatellite flares and tumbling objects mistaken for UFOsA satellite can brighten, fade or pulse as sunlight reflects from changing surfaces. One moving point behaves differently from a newly launched Starlink train.7 minRead guideEvidenceHow to verify a UFO sighting with flight, satellite and weather dataA repeatable workflow preserves the original record, reconstructs time and direction, and tests aircraft, orbital, astronomical and weather candidates before calling a report unresolved.9 minRead guide