ebsco.com
Unidentified flying object (UFO) | Religion and Philosophy | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
pAn unidentified flying object (UFO) is technically defined as any aerial object that cannot be identified by the observer. Over time, public perception has shifted, with many now associating UFOs primarily with the concept of extraterrestrial spacecraft. This shift became prominent in the years following World War II, particularly after a surge of media reports about "flying saucers" captured public imagination. The US government has since sought to reframe the discussion around these phenomena, using terms like unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) to reduce the links to alien visitation. Historical accounts of strange objects in the sky date back centuries, but it was not until the late 1940s and 1950s that the modern UFO movement began, largely influenced by wartime reports and media frenzy./p
