(UFO Day) Are there aliens? A gentle story about UFOs and human imagination (a gentle picture-book style article)
~A gentle story about UFOs and human imagination~
Have you ever looked up at the night sky?
A summer night with twinkling stars.
A twilight with drifting clouds.
A sky where airplanes fade into tiny specks of light.
While looking at such a sky,
have you ever wondered,
"What lies beyond that?"
Since long ago, people have let their imaginations soar into the world beyond the sky.
And sometimes, they have even found "something never seen before" in the sky.
June 24th is "UFO Day."
This time, let's follow a mysterious and gentle story surrounding Unidentified Flying Objects—UFOs.
1. What is UFO Day?
The day a flying saucer was sighted
June 24, 1947.
American businessman Kenneth Arnold reported that he had sighted mysterious flying objects while piloting his private plane.
They were apparently flying over the mountains at a very high speed. Arnold described their movement as "like a saucer skipping across the water."
When this story was widely reported in newspapers, the term "flying saucer" spread throughout the world. Thus, June 24th came to be known as "UFO Day."
2. People have been looking up at the sky since long ago
Gods and stars were both beyond the sky
However, people felt a sense of wonder about the sky long before UFOs became a topic of conversation. Ancient people thought of the sky as the place where gods lived.
They made wishes upon shooting stars,
found stories in the patterns of the moon,
and gave names to the constellations.
The sky was not just a blue ceiling.
It was filled with hope, prayers, and a longing for worlds yet unknown.
Perhaps the story of UFOs is also one of the dreams that people have held for the sky.
3. Are there really aliens?
The universe is very vast
There are countless stars in the universe. The Earth we live on is just one tiny speck among them. Scientists are still researching the possibility of life outside of Earth.
However, the existence of aliens has not been confirmed yet. But that doesn't mean we can say for sure that they "definitely don't exist."
Somewhere in the vast universe, there might be someone looking up at the sky just like us. Thinking about that makes you feel a little excited, doesn't it?
4. Why are UFOs popular?
The joy of imagining
UFOs appear in many movies, anime, and novels.
Silver discs.
Mysterious lights.
Travelers from unknown stars.
Perhaps people just love to imagine things they don't know.
They can be scary, yet they can also be the stuff of dreams. UFOs are entities that fly between science and imagination.
That is likely why they have continued to captivate so many people for decades.
5. Mysterious sightings that really happened
There are still events in the world that cannot be explained
There are many ways to look at UFOs. While most are considered to be natural phenomena or misidentifications, there are still mysterious, unexplained events in the world. Here, we will share three particularly famous incidents.
① The Rendlesham Forest Incident (1980, UK)
Deep in a forest in the UK, several military personnel witnessed a mysterious light. Some testified that a glowing object landed between the trees (the testimonies of multiple military personnel remain, and it still attracts the interest of many people).
② The Phoenix Lights Incident (1997, USA)
One night, a giant V-shaped light appeared in the night sky over an American city. It wasn't just one or two people who saw it; many people living in the city looked up at the same light. Footage also remains (there is an explanation that it was military flares, but many people are not convinced, and the controversy continues to this day).
③ The Westall Incident (1966, Australia)
A mysterious flying object appeared on a school playground. It wasn't just adults who saw it; children and teachers alike said they witnessed the same thing. Despite having so many witnesses, almost no detailed records remain.
This event, called one of Australia's greatest UFO mysteries, remains unanswered as time quietly passes.
No matter how much science advances, not every event will have an answer. There are still things in this world that cannot be explained. That is a little scary, but it also makes me feel somewhat excited.
Perhaps that is why people continue to ponder the "unknown world" while looking up at the sky.
6. Time to look up at the night sky
A small universe in our busy daily lives
In this modern age where we spend more time looking at smartphones and computers, we may have stopped looking up at the sky as much. However, it is nice to look up at the night sky once in a while.
Just seeing a single star can sometimes calm your heart. Thinking about being in the vast universe can sometimes make your worries feel a little smaller.
The sky has been watching over us quietly, both in the past and today.
7. There is a world we don't know yet beyond the sky
Some people believe in UFOs, and some do not. But there is one thing that is certain: people have always looked up at the sky and pondered the unknown world.
Wanting to know what we don't know.
Wanting to imagine distant worlds.
That feeling might be an important power that humans possess.
June 24th, UFO Day.
Why not look up at the sky for a little while that night?
Beyond it, there might be a story that no one knows yet, spreading out.
People of the past who looked up at the stars.
Scientists who study the universe.
Children who draw dreams in the night sky.
Everyone has imagined something beyond the sky in the same way. That feeling will surely never change. Text: Fuuta Chisato
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