Shapes of the Unidentified: A Historical Survey of UFO Forms and Their Cultural Echoes

To the point

Unidentified flying objects have been reported in many shapes—from discs and boomerangs to cigars, triangles, spheres, diamonds, eggs, rectangles, teardrops and amorphous masses—reflecting a long history and cultural impact, with Kenneth Arnold’s 1947 sighting popularizing the disc, Lonnie Zamora’s 1964 Socorro encounter among the varied forms, and events like the Belgium wave and Phoenix Lights, while explanations range from alien or military origins to perceptual biases and atmospheric phenomena, leaving some sightings explained and others still mysterious.