US research also reveals a fifth of scientifically-minded experts have either seen, or someone they know has seen, a UFO
More than 10 per cent of scientists believe UFOs could be alien objects, a study has found.
The mystery over whether unidentified flying objects, UFOs, are alien spacecraft has endured for decades but has received little in the way of formal study.
But a survey of more than 1,400 academics in the US by researchers at the University of Louisville asked experts about their views on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) – the new term used for UFOs.
It revealed a fifth of scientifically-minded experts have either seen, or someone they know has seen, a UFO.
Around a third had interest in studying the UFO phenomena themselves, and 39 per cent were unsure as to what the most likely explanation for UFOs is.
‘Devices of unknown intelligence’One in five (21 per cent) thought UFO sightings were natural events, while one in eight (13 per cent) said “devices of unknown intelligence” was the most probable explanation.
The scientists showed an interest and desire to research UFOs properly, but the interest in doing so would increase, data showed, if a reputable scholar led the way and blazed a trail and if legitimate funding was available.
The majority of scientists thought that academia should be involved in tracking down UFOs to some extent, with 64 per cent considering the involvement of scientists in UAP-related research to be very important or absolutely essential.
“Without opening a discussion about UAP, academia will not have the vocabulary necessary to contribute to the conversation,” the authors wrote in their study, published in the journal Humanities and Social Science Communications.
“Without a vocabulary, academia might relinquish a much-needed voice on a topic already complicated by classification, stigma, and perception management.”
They added: “Results demonstrated that faculty think the academic evaluation of UAP information and more academic research on this topic is important.
“Curiosity outweighed scepticism or indifference. Overwhelmingly and regardless of discipline, faculty were aware of reports but not legislation.
“Faculty varied in personal explanations for UAP, and nearly one-fifth reported UAP observations.”
New UFO sightingLast month, the Pentagon unveiled a new sighting of a UFO that looked like an “orb” flying over the Middle East.
Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, said the US government was looking into more than 650 UAP reports.
He told a Senate armed services subcommittee hearing that the number of sightings being investigated had nearly doubled since the release of an unclassified intelligence report earlier this year.
Mr Kirkpatrick said: “Of those 650 we’ve prioritised about half of them to be of anomalous interesting value, and now we have to go through those and go ‘how much of those do I have actual data for?’”
