Unidentified flying object facts for kids
A UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object. It's anything flying in the sky that someone sees but can't figure out what it is. Sometimes, people will investigate these sightings. If, even after looking into it, they still can't identify the object, then it remains a UFO. But if they figure out what it is – like a plane, a balloon, or even a bird – then it's no longer a UFO because it has been identified!
Even though a UFO can be anything unknown in the sky, when most people say "UFO," they are usually thinking about alien spacecraft. Another common name for an unidentified flying object, especially one that looks round and flat, is a flying saucer.
What Are Identified Flying Objects (IFOs)?
When a UFO is identified, it becomes an IFO, or Identified Flying Object. Studies show that a large number of UFO sightings, about 50% to 90%, are later identified. This means that only a small part, around 10% to 20%, remain truly unidentified after investigation. It's also interesting to know that very few UFO sightings are actually hoaxes, which are tricks people play. Most UFOs turn out to be natural things or objects made by humans that just looked strange or confusing at the time.
Common Identifications
Most of the time, when a UFO is identified, it falls into one of these three main categories:
- Things in the sky: These are often astronomical objects like bright planets, distant stars, or even meteors (shooting stars).
- Planes and other flying machines: Sometimes, what looks like a UFO is actually a regular aircraft, like a plane, helicopter, or drone, seen from an unusual angle or in strange lighting.
- Balloons: This includes all kinds of balloons, from party balloons floating high up to special weather balloons used by scientists.
Other things that have been mistaken for UFOs include birds, unusual clouds, mirages (like a Fata Morgana), or even bright searchlights shining into the sky.
Images for kids
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Italian ufologist Roberto Pinotti with astrophysicist Josef Allen Hynek in 1981
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Fata Morgana, a type of mirage in which objects located below the astronomical horizon appear to be hovering in the sky just above the horizon, may be responsible for some UFO sightings. (Here, the shape floating above the horizon is the reflected image of a boat.) Fata Morgana can also distort the appearance of distant objects, sometimes making them unrecognizable.
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Photograph of "an unusual atmospheric occurrence observed over Sri Lanka", forwarded to the UK Ministry of Defence by RAF Fylingdales, 2004
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Allen Hynek (left) and Jacques Vallée
See also
In Spanish: Ovni para niños
