If seeing is believing, then get ready to believe some very strange things. US Navy pilots have recorded weird and wonderful videos of Unidentified Flying ObjectsThe term UFO was first used in 1953 by the US Air Force. - soaring faster than a jet plane over the Pacific Ocean and hovering above the water, making the sea boil.

These films have floated around the internet for a few years, fuelling speculation that the US government knows more about extraterrestrial visitors than it is letting on. Now, the Pentagon has confirmed: yes, the videos are real and, no, they don't know what we're looking at.

This frank admission of ignorance is a remarkable moment in the history of UFOs.

Our fascination with flying saucersOn 24 June 1947, Keneth Arnold reported nine disk-shaped objects over Mount Rainer in Washington State. A few weeks later, a "flying saucer" crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. The military said it was a weather balloon but, by the end of 1947, there had been 850 sightings of flying saucers. began in 1947, when Americans began to spot strange shapes in the sky. This was the start of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, and both superpowers were developing and testing new rockets and spy planes. This may have been the cause of some of these close encounters, but it also explained why the US was incredibly secretive about what was going on.

This secrecy fed people's curiosity and hunger for answers. UFO hunters developed theories to explain hundreds of unexplained phenomena - many of them focusing on a top-secret US military base called Area 51A top-secret US Airbase in the Nevada desert. From 1955 onwards, the facility was used to test new military aircraft. However, some believe UFOs and aliens are studied at this location.. Sightings peaked in the 1990s, at the same time as television and filmThe hit TV series The X-Files (1993-2002) and the Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day (1996) aired at a time when 33% of Americans believed aliens had visited Earth. By 2004, that number dropped to below a quarter. explored the idea that the US government was hiding evidence of alien contact.

By announcing, last week, that these videos are real, the Pentagon probably hopes to end speculation that further evidence exists. But should we be excited or terrified about things we do not understand?

The unknown did not comfort Stephen Hawking, who warned we should be very worried about the consequences of real alien encounters. And the fear of the unknown is a powerful force that has fuelled scientific discovery and invention for thousands of years.

But there is also wonder and wisdom in embracing uncertainty. The philosopher Immanuel KantA German Enlightenment philosopher who is regarded as one of the most important thinkers of the modern era. He fundamentally changed the way we think about a variety of subjects, from aesthetics to cognition to morality., argued we can never be completely certain about the world beyond our senses. Life is about exploring something that is ultimately unknowable.

Yes, we should. The modern world is saturated with knowledge and is empty of mystery, surprise, and wonder. Our ancestors were used to asking big questions and living with the unknowable, but these days we just google the answer. But not only does embracing the unknown give us perspective, it feeds our imagination and allows us to think creatively about what is possible.

Others say, no, there is a reason why we fear uncertainty. The unknown makes us anxious because we don't know how dangerous it is. The coronavirus was a new disease and we were right to fear it. The hunt for a cure is our attempt to conquer this unknown. The same is true of anything else we cannot explain or control. Including those flying saucers.

Unidentified Flying Objects - The term UFO was first used in 1953 by the US Air Force.

Flying saucers - On 24 June 1947, Keneth Arnold reported nine disk-shaped objects over Mount Rainer in Washington State. A few weeks later, a "flying saucer" crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. The military said it was a weather balloon but, by the end of 1947, there had been 850 sightings of flying saucers.

Area 51 - A top-secret US Airbase in the Nevada desert. From 1955 onwards, the facility was used to test new military aircraft. However, some believe UFOs and aliens are studied at this location.

Television and film - The hit TV series The X-Files (1993-2002) and the Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day (1996) aired at a time when 33% of Americans believed aliens had visited Earth. By 2004, that number dropped to below a quarter.

Immanuel Kant - A German Enlightenment philosopher who is regarded as one of the most important thinkers of the modern era. He fundamentally changed the way we think about a variety of subjects, from aesthetics to cognition to morality.