On July 15, 2019, a video was captured by a U.S.S. Omaha Navy warship off the coast of San Diego, showed an unidentified flying object, otherwise known as a UFO, flying above the water at speeds of 100-200 knots (115-230 mph) and then descending into the water at the same speeds. The object disappeared into the ocean and the attempts to search the water for wreckage were ineffective. China, Russia, and the U.S. all being the most advanced countries in military aviation have denied responsibility for this unidentified object which brings up a very serious question: are aliens real?

For generations in the U.S.,movies such as “E.T.”, the Alien series, “Monster vs. Aliens” and even movies such as the Star Wars series, question the idea of the existence of life on other planets. Now that science fiction fantasy might be turning into a reality. On May 15, 2021, the Pentagon released a statement saying that the leaked video, showing a mysterious spherical object, is genuine and under investigation by the UFO task force. In the past, there have been many potential sightings written off as a malfunction of the radar or a glitch in the camera feed, but since the validity of this video has now been confirmed, the Pentagon will be going back to look at the past sightings and do more investigation.

The Pentagon has alleged that its UFO-tracking project, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, was disbanded, but a Senate report last year acknowledged the same work had continued under a different body. Rebranded as the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force, the agency is meant to compile and confirm the validity of sightings of unknown flying objects. The UAPTF is required to produce a report on its findings, which is expected to be released in June.

What does this mean for the public? It means that many questions people have regarding the issue will finally be addressed and hopefully answered by the government. I also believe that many questions will be answered about what is stored in Area 51 by the senate report in June. This whole event really makes people wonder how much information is being hidden from the general public by the government. What is inside of Area 51? Why have humans only explored less than 10% of our oceans but they are working hard to explore space? Are there extraterrestrials or more intelligent beings that live in the depths of the oceans? Are aliens real? Although these questions will never be fully answered by the government because of the “protection of information,” this event has truly struck a spark and created a new type of curiosity for the unexplainable.