UFO/UAP knowledge base
Explainers
Clear, source-linked guides to UAP terminology, evidence review, common misidentifications, reporting, and official programs.
BasicsWhat is UAP? Meaning, official definition, and why the term replaced UFOUAP stands for unidentified anomalous phenomena. It is an official umbrella term for observations or detections that cannot be immediately identified and require structured review.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, balloons, aircraft, planets, and camera artifactsMost UFO reports begin as honest uncertainty. This guide explains the ordinary causes that should be checked before a case is treated as unexplained.8 minRead guideReportingHow to report a UFO or UAP sighting: what to record, preserve, and check firstA useful report is not just a story. It is a structured record of time, place, direction, duration, media, witnesses, and possible ordinary explanations.7 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? The U.S. office that investigates UAP reportsAARO is the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the U.S. government body created to coordinate UAP analysis across domains.5 minRead guideScienceNASA and UAP: what the independent study actually saidNASA's UAP work focuses on better data, scientific methods, transparency, and reducing stigma around reporting.6 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 guideEvidenceDrones, balloons, satellites, and UFO reports: how ordinary objects become mysteriesMany modern UFO waves begin with real objects seen under poor context: drones, balloons, satellites, aircraft, or sky clutter.6 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 UFO sightings: why triangular craft reports keep returningBlack triangle reports connect mass sightings, military-aircraft speculation, low-light perception, and famous cases such as Belgium and Phoenix.6 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 guideSkywatchingStarlink satellites mistaken for UFOs: why satellite trains look so strangeStarlink trains are one of the most common modern causes of UFO reports because they can appear as a moving line of lights after launch.5 minRead guideSkywatchingVenus, planets, and bright stars mistaken for UFOsBright planets are classic UFO triggers because they can look low, still, colorful, and unusually intense near the horizon.5 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 guide