World UFO Day

Every year on July 2, believers, skeptics, experiencers, stargazers, sci-fi fans, and conspiracy theorists alike celebrate World UFO Day: a day dedicated to looking up, asking questions, and asking people to consider that we may not be alone. The date commemorates the long history of UFO fascination, from the “flying saucer” reports of the 1940s to the modern conversation around UAPs, or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.

For decades, UFOs were treated mostly as the stuff of late-night radio, grainy footage, and sketchy tabloid headlines. But in recent years, the subject has moved out of the shadows and into official government reports and congressional hearings, scientific debate, and national security discussions. What was dismissed as fringe has become a mystery that sits right at the intersection of science, defense, folklore, and imagination.

Today, the U.S. government refers to many of these sightings as UAPs rather than UFOs, a rebrand that reflects a broader attempt to study unexplained aerial events without automatically jumping to extraterrestrial conclusions. According to the Department of War’s PURSUE initiative, the government is reviewing and releasing unresolved UAP-related records on a rolling basis, with many cases remaining unresolved because there is not enough data to make a definitive determination.

That uncertainty is exactly what keeps the subject so fascinating. A UAP could be a drone, a weather balloon, a secret aircraft, a sensor error, an adversarial technology, or something we do not yet have the language or technology to explain. Researchers at the University of Utah have noted that the rise in reports may be connected to advances in sensor technology, personal aircraft, and activity in areas with dark skies, open space, and proximity to military installations.

The subject has also attracted renewed scientific attention. Recently, Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb was selected to lead an outside scientific advisory council studying UFOs and potential national security risks, a move that shows how seriously some institutions are taking the question of what exactly is happening in our skies.

UFO stories tap into something deeply human: our desire to believe that reality is bigger than what we can see. Whether we imagine visitors from another world, hidden technologies, or strange encounters that change a person forever, UFO stories ask us to sit with the possibility that the universe is far stranger than we think. And cosmic curiosity has always made alien encounters perfect material for movies.

In 1995's Amanda and the Alien, directed by Jon Kroll & starring Nicole Eggert, a local San Francisco artist named Amanda discovers an alien trying to pass as human; however, the story becomes less about destruction and more about assimilation. Connie may look human, but she does not understand how to be human, making the film a playful and offbeat take on identity, attraction, and the awkwardness of fitting in...ultimately putting a light on what it means to be truly human.

Out There takes a more classic UFO approach: when an award-winning photographer finds evidence of alien existence in undeveloped film, he turns to the Air Force, the press, a UFO enthusiast, and a tabloid. But once the story goes public, his credibility begins to unravel. It is the perfect World UFO Day watch for anyone fascinated by government cover-ups and disclosure. 

Then there is Close Encounters: Proof of Alien Contact, a documentary that dives directly into the testimonies and beliefs surrounding alien experiences. Through expert and eyewitness interviews, it explores the growing conviction among many people that alien life is not only real, but already here. Whether you watch as a believer or a skeptic, the documentary captures the power of the alien encounter story. 

World UFO Day is not about having all the answers. It is about asking better questions. What do we know? What are we missing? What stories have been buried, misunderstood, or dismissed too quickly? On World UFO Day, it is worth looking up! 

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