|
| Night sky over Kyiv, Ukraine, 2020. (Image credit: Getty) |
The skies over Kyiv are swarming with unidentified flying objects (UFOs),
according to a new report from the Main Astronomical Observatory of the
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Of course, given that Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a months-long
war that relies heavily on aircraft and drones, it's likely that many of
these so-called UFOs are military tools that appear too fleetingly to
identify, a U.S. intelligence agency has speculated.
Published to the preprint database arXiv, the report — which has not yet
been peer-reviewed — describes recent steps that Ukrainian astronomers have
taken to monitor fast-moving, low-visibility objects in the daytime sky over
Kyiv and the surrounding villages. Using specially calibrated cameras at two
weather stations in Kyiv and Vinarivka, a village about 75 miles (120
kilometers) to the south, astronomers observed dozens of objects "that
cannot scientifically be identified as known natural phenomena," the report
said.
Government agencies tend to refer to such objects as UAP, short for
"unidentified aerial phenomena."
"We observe a significant number of objects whose nature is not clear," the
team wrote. "We see them everywhere."
The researchers divided their UAP observations into two categories:
"cosmics" and "phantoms." According to the report, cosmics are luminous
objects that are brighter than the background sky. These objects are
designated with birds' names — such as "swift," "falcon" and "eagle" — and
have been observed flying solo as well as in "squadrons," the team wrote.
Phantoms, by contrast, are dark objects, usually appearing "completely
black," as if absorbing all light falling onto them, the team added. By
comparing observations from the two participating observatories, the
researchers estimated that phantoms range from 10 to 40 feet (3 to 12
meters) wide and can travel at speeds of up to 33,000 mph (53,000 km/h). For
comparison, an intercontinental ballistic missile can reach speeds of up to
15,000 mph (24,000 km/h), according to The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
The researchers did not speculate as to what these UFOs may be. Rather,
their paper focuses on the methods and calculations used to detect the
objects. However, according to a 2021 report from the U.S. Office of the
Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), it's likely that at least some UAP
are "technologies deployed by China, Russia, another nation, or a
non-governmental entity."
Given the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022,
it's reasonable to suspect that some UAP described in the new report may be
linked to foreign surveillance or military technologies.
According to the ODNI report, other possible explanations for UAP include
"airborne clutter," such as birds and balloons; atmospheric phenomena, such
as ice crystals; or classified government projects. Neither the U.S. nor
Ukraine reports raise the possibility of extraterrestrial visitors.
The U.S. government has openly renewed its interest in UAP investigations
since 2017, when several videos taken by U.S. Navy aircraft leaked to the
media. The now-infamous videos showed unidentified aircraft moving in
seemingly impossible ways, with no explanation.
The government subsequently declassified the footage and recently revealed
that more military footage of UAP encounters does exist, though the
Department of Defense (DOD) will not be releasing them due to "national security concerns." Earlier this year, Congress approved funding for the DOD
to open a new office focused exclusively on managing reports of UFO
sightings by the U.S. military. The authors of the new UAP report out of
Ukraine added that the country's National Academy of Science is interested
in contributing to this ongoing research.
Originally published on
Live Science.