If Aliens Are Out There, They’re Way Out There

The mysterious flying objects showed up in Washington, D.C., on a hot, humid night in the summer of 1952. The air-traffic controllers at the airport saw them first, and then so did the operators at nearby Air Force bases—seven unexplained blips on their radar screens. A commercial pilot in the vicinity reported seeing bright lights in the darkness. The Air Force dispatched fighter jets but found nothing. A week later, it happened again. More blips. More jets. This time, an Air Force pilot even reported chasing a strange light before it got away. The newspapers were all over these sightings. “Jets Chase D.C. Sky Ghosts.” “Saucers Swarm Over Capital.” “Aerial Whatzits Buzz D.C. Again!”

Decades later, as America heads into another toasty summer, unidentified flying objects are in the headlines again. Many more of us are involved in