Context:
- Flight operations at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal, Manipur, were disrupted after an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was observed.
What is UFO?
- Definition of Unidentified Flying Object: Coined by the US Air Force in 1952, UFOs refer to any apparent aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily or immediately identified by the observer.”
- Originally, Unidentified Flying Objects were objects under investigation, but the term now casually describes any unidentifiable object.
- US Government Involvement:
- Project Blue Book, from 1952 to 1969, compiled over 12,000 Unidentified Flying Object reports, classifying only 6% as unidentified.
- Recent government reports (2021) find limited data on sightings inconclusive, with patterns observed around US training and testing grounds.
UAPs: A Broader Term
- Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) is a newer term replacing Unidentified Flying Object to avoid confusion and speculation.
- Used by the Pentagon and NASA to refer to unidentified anomalous phenomena.
- NASA commissions a study team to examine UAPs scientifically, focusing on data identification and collection.
News Source: The Indian Express
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