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UFO Facts & Worksheets

UFOs are any object flying in the sky that cannot be identified by the person who sees it.

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An unidentified flying object (UFO), also called an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP), is any reported aerial phenomenon that cannot be easily identified or explained. Most UFOs are recognized as known objects or atmospheric phenomena upon study, but few remain unexplained.

See the fact file below for more information about UFOs, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environments.

Key Facts & Information

OVERVIEW

  • Scientists and skeptic organizations, like the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, have offered mundane explanations for many reported UFOs, claiming that they were generated by natural phenomena, modern technology, delusions, or hoaxes. 
  • Small but loud groups of “ufologists” support unusual, pseudoscientific concepts, some of which go beyond the standard alien encounter claims and occasionally become part of new faiths.
  • While strange sightings in the sky have been reported throughout history, UFOs did not attain their current cultural popularity until the era after World War II, peaking during the Space Age. 
  • Project Condign in the United Kingdom and Projects Grudge and Sign in the United States, as well as organizations and individuals, performed studies and investigations into UFO accounts during the twentieth century.

TERMINOLOGY

  • The name “UFO” (or “UFOB”) 1953 was created by the United States Air Force (USAF) to act as a catch-all for all such claims. 
  • The USAF first defined a “UFOB” as “any flying object that, by performance, aerodynamic characteristics, or odd features, does not correspond to any presently known aircraft or missile type, or that cannot be definitively recognized as a familiar item.” 
  • As a result, the phrase was first limited to incidents that remained unidentified after examination, as the USAF was concerned about potential national security reasons and “technical factors” (see Air Force Regulation 200-2).
  • UFOs were frequently referred to as “flying saucers” or “flying discs” throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s due to the Kenneth Arnold event, which popularized the phrase. 
  • The Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar was a 1950s concept vehicle that was a practical airplane with a saucer form. During the cold war, UFOs were informally referred to as “Bogeys” by Western military personnel and pilots. The name “bogey” was first used to describe irregularities in radar blips that may signal enemy forces in the region.
  • The word “UFO” became more prevalent in the 1950s, first in technical literature and then in public usage. UFOs sparked widespread curiosity during the Cold War, a period marked by increased worry about national protection, and, more recently, in the 2010s, for unknown reasons. 
  • Nonetheless, several researchers have found that the phenomena do not pose a threat and do not include anything worthy of scientific investigation (e.g., 1951 Flying Saucer Working Party, 1953 CIA Robertson Panel, USAF Project Blue Book, Condon Committee). 
  • According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a UFO is “an unidentified flying object; a ‘flying saucer.'” Donald E. Keyhoe wrote the first book in which the term was used.
  • Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, who oversaw Project Blue Book, the USAF’s official examination into UFOs, invented the term “UFO” as an abbreviation. “The word ‘flying saucer’ is inaccurate when applied to objects of every imaginable shape and performance, so the military prefers the more broad, if less colorful, name: unidentified flying objects, or UFO (pronounced yoo-foe) for short,” he wrote.
  • Other official terms that precede the UFO acronym include “flying flapjack,” “flying disc,” “unexplained flying discs,” and “unidentifiable object.” Because of the issue’s public and media contempt, some ufologists and investigators prefer to use terms like “unidentified aerial phenomenon” (UAP) or “outlier phenomenon,” as in the designation of the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena (NARCAP).
  • In a military aviation setting, the terms “anomalous aerial vehicle” (AAV) or “unidentified aerial system” (UAS) are also used to characterize unidentified targets.

INVESTIGATIONS OF REPORTS

  • UFOs have been the focus of several investigations, with varying scope and scientific rigor. 
  • UFO claims have been examined by governments or independent scholars in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Belgium, Sweden, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain, and the Soviet Union at various periods. 
  • No official government inquiry has decided whether UFOs are undeniably real, tangible objects of alien origin or a national security issue.
  • Among the most well-known government investigations are the Swedish military’s ghost rocket inquiry (1946-1947), Project Blue Book, formerly Project Sign and Project Grudge, performed by the USAF from 1947 to 1969, and the covert U.S. The Army/Air Force Project Twinkle investigation on green fireballs (1948-1951) and the Brazilian Air Force’s 1977 Operacao Prato are all examples of such studies (Operation Saucer).
  • Since 1977, France’s space agency Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES) has been conducting an ongoing inquiry (GEPAN/SEPRA/GEIPAN); Uruguay’s government has been running a similar study since 1989.

NOTABLE CASES / INCIDENTS

BRITAIN

  • The Rendlesham Forest event was a series of alleged sightings of inexplicable lights at Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, England, in late December 1980 that became associated with UFO landing claims.

FRANCE

  • The Valensole UFO event in 1965 and the Trans-en-Provence Case in 1981 were two of France’s most prominent UFO sightings.

UNITED STATES

  • Residents in the Kecksburg UFO encounter in Pennsylvania (1965) claimed to witness an object crash in the region. 
  • Aliens abducted, Travis Walton declared in 1975. The movie “Fire in the sky” was founded on this incident; however, it greatly dramatized the actual story. The “Phoenix Lights” were turned off on March 13, 1997.

ASTRONOMER REPORTS

  • According to the USAF’s Project Blue Book archives, amateur and professional astronomers or other telescope users accounted for around 1% of all unknown reports (such as missile trackers or surveyors). 
  • In 1952, the astronomer J. Allen Hynek, a Blue Book consultant at the time, performed a brief survey of 45 other professional astronomers. There were five reports of UFO sightings (roughly 11% of all accounts). 
  • Astrophysicist Peter A. Sturrock performed two extensive surveys for the AIAA and the American Astronomical Society in the 1970s (AAS). Approximately 5% of those polled said they had witnessed UFOs. 
  • Clyde Tombaugh, an astronomer who witnessed six UFOs, including three green fireballs, endorsed the alien explanation for UFOs and said, scientists.
  • Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi rejected the theory that UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft. In response to the “onslaught of credulous coverage” in books, films, and entertainment, he taught his students to involve critical thinking in such claims, telling them that “being a good scientist is not unlike being a good detective.” UFO tales, according to Fraknoi, “may appear mysterious at first,” but “the more you explore, the more probable you are to realize that there is LESS to these stories than meets the eye.” 
  • In a 1980 poll of 1800 members of amateur astronomer groups conducted for CUFOS by Gert Hleb and Hynek, 24% said “yes” to the question “Have you ever witnessed an object that withstood your most comprehensive efforts at identification?”

FAMOUS HOAXES

  • The incident on Maury Island.
  • Over two decades, George Adamski made several claims concerning his encounters with telepathic aliens from adjacent worlds. He claimed that photos of the Moon’s far side taken by the Soviet lunar mission Luna 3 in 1959 were forgeries and that there were buildings, forests, and snow-capped mountains on the Moon’s far side. Cedric Allingham, a dark British character, was among the imitators. 
  • Ed Walters, a construction contractor, reportedly committed a prank in Gulf Breeze, Florida, in 1987.
  • Walters first claimed to have seen a little UFO flying close to his home and had photographed it. Walters observed and documented a series of UFO encounters over three weeks and took several images. These sightings became well-known and are now known as the Gulf Breeze UFO event. 
  • Three years after, in 1990, after the Walters family had relocated, the new occupants uncovered a model of a UFO that bore an unmistakable similarity to the ship in Walters’ images. 
  • Most investigators, including forensic photographer William G. Hyzer, now believe the sightings were fake.

UFOLOGY

  • Ufology is a made-up word that refers to the combined efforts of individuals who investigate UFO claims and related data.

UFO Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use UFO worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about UFOs, which are any object flying in the sky that cannot be identified by the person who sees it.

Download includes the following worksheets:

  • Planets Facts.
  • Planet Labels.
  • Planets Wordsearch.
  • Jupiter’s Eye.
  • Planet Factfile.
  • Fill-in-the-Blanks.
  • Planets Crossword.
  • Guess the Planet.
  • Unscramble the Planet.
  • Should Humans Colonize Mars?
  • Write a Postcard.
  • BONUS Hidden Planet Activity!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a UFO?

An unidentified flying object (UFO), also called an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP), is any reported aerial phenomenon that cannot be easily identified or explained. Most UFOs are recognized as known objects or atmospheric phenomena upon study, but few remain unexplained.

Who coined the acronym UFO?

Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, who oversaw Project Blue Book, the USAF’s official examination into UFOs, invented the term “UFO” as an abbreviation. “The word ‘flying saucer’ is inaccurate when applied to objects of every imaginable shape and performance, so the military prefers the more broad, if less colorful, name: unidentified flying objects, or UFO (pronounced yoo-foe) for short,” he wrote.

In widespread usage, UFO is associated with what?

Other official terms that precede the UFO acronym include “flying flapjack,” “flying disc,” “unexplained flying discs,” and “unidentifiable object.” Because of the issue’s public and media contempt, some ufologists and investigators prefer to use terms like “unidentified aerial phenomenon” (UAP) or “outlier phenomenon,” as in the designation of the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena (NARCAP).

What are the most notable cases of UFO sightings in France?

The Valensole UFO event in 1965 and the Trans-en-Provence Case in 1981 were two of France’s most prominent UFO sightings.

What is Ufology?

Ufology is a made-up word that refers to the combined efforts of individuals who investigate UFO claims and related data.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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