5 Famous UFO Sightings You Probably Didn’t Know About

Edited By: Bhavesh B.

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The term "UFO," which stands for 'unidentified flying object', has its origins rooted in the 1950s. Donald Keyhoe, an American naval aviator and writer, introduced this abbreviation in his 1953 book Flying Saucers from Outer Space. In earlier decades of the twentieth century, these occurrences were often assigned more peculiar monikers such as flying saucers, foo fighters, or simply celestial lights.

Their widespread presence in various forms of media, such as books, movies, television shows, and later video games, has solidified their enduring impact in the minds of millions. Moreover, they have sparked contentious debates between believers and skeptics for ages,

The subject of extraterrestrial life elicits a range of opinions. Some people dismiss these alien narratives as unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, some are receptive to exploring hypothetical scenarios, and others are completely enthralled by the mysteries that the universe presents.

Related: 10 Most Well Known American Conspiracy Theories

Whether you believe in UFOs or not, most of us tend to be a little awed, whenever we hear about such sightings. These stories of UFO sightings and alien encounters have fascinated people and mystified experts. According to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), around 2,000 UFO sightings have been reported in the United States alone in 2023.

Today, we'd like to shed some light on history's well-known UFO stories. We don't know whether they are legitimate or not, but they are regarded as five of the most compelling UFO sightings in history.

1. Hudson Valley UFO Wave

From 1982 to 1986, approximately 5,000 people reported witnessing V-shaped UFOs adorned with multicolored lights as they soared near the Hudson Valley, which is located merely an hour's drive north of New York City. The first sighting occurred on the last night of 1982, when a retired police officer in Kent, New York, first laid eyes on the phenomenon. The former cop initially believed he was watching an airplane. When the UFO flew overhead, he determined it was going far too slowly and quietly to be an airplane.

Most of the observers recounted seeing a V-shaped UFO moving slowly, but other descriptions contradicted this, suggesting that the object had a circular form and the capability to achieve astonishing speeds or disappear completely. In one reported instance, the UFO was supposedly hovering approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) over the Indian Point Nuclear Plant. The security supervisor weighed the option of shooting down the craft, but it ultimately vanished from view. Despite the accounts of those who saw it and photographic evidence, the event's nature was never adequately clarified.

2. The Rendlesham Forest Incident

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On December 26, 1980, in Rendlesham Forest, England, near the Woodbridge Royal Air Force station, an unidentified flying object (UFO) was reportedly sighted. Responding to puzzling light sightings, a team of Air Force personnel, including Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt, decided to explore the forest, anticipating the possibility of a plane crash. Surprisingly, they were met with a radiant metallic entity that exhibited remarkable speed as it traversed through the forest, as detailed in Halt's official account.

The day after, members of the military returned to the scene and came across triangular impressions imprinted on the ground, tree branches that had been broken, and radiation readings that registered at ten times the standard background level. In 2010, a former Lieutenant named Halt signed a legally validated written statement summarizing the event and making allegations of a cover-up involving the U.S. and England. While skepticism exists, with suggestions of a possible hoax or a fallen Soviet satellite, others firmly believe that this accounts for a genuine UFO sighting.

3. The O’Hare International Airport Saucer

On November 7, 2006, a metallic saucer-shaped UFO was spotted hovering over Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. According to Chicago Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch, "the disc was visible for approximately two minutes and was seen by close to a dozen United Airlines employees, ranging from pilots to supervisors." This object appeared to have rocketed straight up, leaving a visible circular hole in the sky.

Initially, the Federal Aviation Administration denied having any information regarding the reported sighting. Following this, the Chicago Tribune initiated a request under the Freedom of Information Act, which resulted in the discovery of recorded UFO discussions. The FAA put forth a theory suggesting that the sighting could be explained by a meteorological phenomenon known as a hole punch cloud. However, this explanation is rendered implausible by the temperature data recorded on that particular day. Later, the FAA said that airport lights were responsible for the sighting; however, the lights hadn't been turned on at the time. A thorough investigation was never carried out.

4. The Belgian UFO Wave

Thousands of witnesses reported seeing triangular UFOs flying over Belgium between November 1989 and April 1990. Belgian officials even used radar to monitor these objects on several occasions.

As dusk fell on March 30, 1990, almost 13,500 observers gazed skyward to witness the spectacle of two F-16s pursuing UFOs. Over the span of an hour, the F-16s undertook nine separate endeavors to intercept the unidentified aircraft, managing to establish radar locks on these elusive targets.

Reportedly, during one of these radar-locked instances, a UFO underwent a staggering transformation, accelerating from 150 mph (241.4 kph) to well over 1,100 mph (1,770.2 kph), and simultaneously executing a rapid descent from 9,000 feet (2,743 m) to 5,000 feet (1,524 m) within seconds.

Major General Wilfried de Brouwer issued a statement after his retirement saying, "The Belgian UFO wave was exceptional, and the Air Force could not identify the nature, origin, and intentions of the reported phenomena." The Belgian items have yet to be explained.

5. Barney and Betty Hill Incident

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The Barney and Betty Hill Incident is a seminal event in the history of UFO encounters, which occurred in September 1961. Barney and Betty Hill were a married couple from New Hampshire who claimed they were abducted by aliens. They supposedly saw a weird craft in the sky while driving home, which seemed to follow and finally descend upon them. The pair experienced a period of lost time while filled with fear before regaining consciousness and discovering themselves kilometers away from their initial location.

Both Barney and Betty recounted under hypnosis the harrowing experience of being taken aboard a UFO, examined, and subjected to medical procedures by non-human entities. Their account sparked intense debates and investigations concerning the veracity of their assertions. While doubters offered alternative explanations, the Hills' account remains one of the first and most renowned cases of claimed alien abduction.

This case gained not only national attention because of the Hills' detailed narrative, but also because it marked the first instance where hypnosis was used to recover memories of alleged extraterrestrial encounters.

Several films and documentaries have been made based on the case, which was investigated by Project Blue Book.