The mere suggestion by a top government official that “aliens” could explain some UFO activity is the latest example of the government’s striking shift in tone regarding this issue.

This week, the director of the U.S. government’s UFO analysis office stated that there is “evidence” of concerning unidentified flying object activity “in our backyard.” According to physicist Seán Kirkpatrick, who heads the congressionally-mandated All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, this alarming UFO activity can be attributed to one of two extraordinary sources: either a foreign power or “aliens.”

To be sure, the ramifications of either would be significant. But Kirkpatrick’s comments, which come as he is about to retire after a 27-year defense and intelligence-focused career, are more intriguing because he also says that “none” of the hundreds of military UFO reports analyzed by his office recently “have been positively attributed to foreign activities.”

At the same time, Kirkpatrick and senior defense officials have ruled out the possibility that secret U.S. programs or experimental aircraft explain the phenomena.

  • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
    71·
    1 year ago

    Leaving the solar system is less than 1% of the distance to the nearest star.

    The Voyager probes have left the solar system. It took about 30 years for them to do it…

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
      62·
      1 year ago

      The Voyager probes didn’t have a nuclear engine. They had a sad little rocket and some gravity assists. Nor were they designed to go as far as they did. The original mandate was only to Juptiet and Saturn.

      In any case nothing is going to happen until the boomers are dead so we can embrace nuclear power and propulsion.

      • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
        81·
        1 year ago

        Nuclear thermal engines still need propellent.

        And while they have an ISP about 10 times higher than chemical rockets, they are still basically useless for interstellar distances.

        Simply because the more you accelerate the more you have to break and you have to carry the propellant for both.

        TLDR: the rocket equation is a merciless task master.

          • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
            5·
            1 year ago

            No you can’t.

            Any craft that has enough mass for human travel and is accelerated to even 1% of c would need solar sails that are thousands of square Kms in area to have a hope of decelerating.

            That still ends up at a 500+ year trip to Alpha Centauri.

            And that is just more added weight you have to accelerate in the first place.

            TLDR: the rocket equation is a merciless task master.