Hovering objects and flashing lights: what we learned from UFO documents released by the Pentagon

The US has published transcripts, video clips and audio recordings about unidentified flying objects. UFO documents released by Pentagon describe floating objects and flashes of light Declassified footage shows 'unidentified anomalous phenomena' Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. A view from the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission in 1969, with an unidentified flash is highlighted and enlarged A photo from the surface of the Moon. It shows the shadows of two astronauts, and in the distance what looks like a flash of blue light. It is highlighted and englarged Hovering objects and flashing lights: what we learned from UFO documents released by the Pentagon Watch: Declassified footage shows 'unidentified anomalous phenomena' around the world An unidentified black, tubular thing shoots through the air. There is a red ring around it. The tranche of never-before-seen documents released by the Pentagon on UFOs includes descriptions of reported sightings - by civilians on Earth and by astronauts on the Moon. The documents, spanning decades, were declassified and posted online on Friday at the direction of US President Donald Trump, who said earlier this year that he would release them "based on the tremendous interest shown". The US has seen renewed public interest in extraterrestrial life in recent years. In 2022, Congress held the first hearings on UFOs in 50 years and the military has promised more transparency on the matter. The 161 files are accessible on the Department of Defense's website, with more set to be released. Friday's release of files comes after former President Barack Obama sparked further interest when he said in a February interview that aliens were "real, but I haven't seen them". Obama has since clarified his comments, saying that statistically the chances are that life is out there but that he saw "no evidence" while president. Trump later that month directed to Pentagon to release files "related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs)". The files that came out on Friday include decades of declassified military memos, reports from the Apollo Moon missions and reports from individuals who claim to have witnessed a UFO - or unidentified flying object - that they suspect has extraterrestrial origins. Apollo astronauts describe flashes of light The files contain previously classified transcripts from the astronauts aboard the Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 Moon landing missions in the 1960s and 1970s. Buzz Aldrin, famed astronaut from the Apollo 11 mission, said in a 1969 interview published on Friday that he saw several inexplicable phenomena on his trip to the Moon. "I observed what appeared to be a fairly bright light source which we tentatively ascribed to a possible laser," he said. The transcripts show that Apollo 12 Astronaut Alan Bean, who walked on the Moon in 1969, said he saw particles and flashes of lights "sailing off in space" during the mission. The particles looked like they were "escaping the Moon", he said. Two astronauts aboard the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 also reported seeing flashing light while on board. "It's like the Fourth of July out there!" astronaut Jack Schmitt said. They added that the light could have been reflections off pieces of ice. In another of the released files, an audio recording from the 1965 Gemini 7 space flight features communication between astronaut Frank Borman communicating and ground support. He reports a sighting of an unidentified object to Nasa mission control, describing a "bogey" and "trillions of little particles" seen to the left of the spaceship. Among the decades' worth of reports released in the files are dozens of individual claims of sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. One file shows a man told the FBI in a 1957 interview that he had witnessed a large, circular vehicle rising over the ground. There are also interviews from September and October 2023 in which US citizens report hovering metal objects materialising out of bright light. Military sightings in Iraq, Syria, and the UAE The files also include video clips taken by the US military from the Middle East, dating from 2022. Footage from Iraq, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, shows what the Pentagon's website calls "unresolved unidentified anomalous phenomenon". One 2022 clip, taken in an undisclosed location in the Middle East, captures an oval-shaped object streaking left to right, which an accompanying report flagged as a "possible missile". Good first step, but we need more, lawmakers say Congressman Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, has previously advocated for more governmental transparency on UFO sightings. He welcomed the Pentagon's release of the files, calling it a "great start" in a post on X. Republican Anna Paulina Luna, a congresswoman from Florida, also advocates for transparency on this issue. She called the disclosure "a massive first step in the right direction" in a statement. However, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a onetime Trump ally who has fallen out with the president and left Congress, said the release was a distraction from more pressing issues facing Americans, such as price affordability and the war in Iran. "I'm so sick of the 'look at the shiny object' propaganda," Greene said in a post on X. Those within the UFO community spent their day scrutinizing the new documents, images and videos released by the Pentagon. The US government was unable to make a definitive determination on the alleged UFO sightings filmed around the world. In 1965, mysterious sounds and sightings captivated a rural town and 'The Thing' was born. Krista Scelza, 33, opens up about the reasons why she became a surrogate for a couple from Bolton. Abbas Araghchi says the US attacks each time there is a diplomatic solution on the table. 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