When is the modern UFO era generally considered to have begun? Which event is regarded as its starting point?
Okay, let's talk about this issue.
The Dawn of the Modern UFO Era: It All Began with a Famous Sighting
If you ask when the modern UFO craze started, most researchers and enthusiasts will give you a clear answer: 1947.
And the iconic event that ignited it all was the famous "Kenneth Arnold Sighting".
What Happened?
This story begins with a businessman and pilot named Kenneth Arnold.
- Time: June 24, 1947
- Location: Near Mount Rainier, Washington State, USA
- Person: Kenneth Arnold
That day, Arnold was flying his small plane, helping to search for a crashed military transport aircraft. The weather was clear, and visibility was excellent. Suddenly, he saw a string of extremely bright flashes in the distance.
At first, he thought it was the reflection from another plane, but he quickly realized something was wrong. He saw nine peculiar, shiny objects flying in formation at an incredibly high speed. He described the objects as shaped like a "shallow saucer" or a "boomerang," and their flight pattern was very unique—"like a saucer skipping across water."
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Arnold's hand-drawn sketch of the flying objects after the event
Arnold was an experienced pilot, and when he estimated the speed of these objects, he was astonished: at least over 1900 kilometers per hour! In 1947, this speed far exceeded any known aircraft of the time.
The Birth of the Term "Flying Saucer"
Here's the most interesting part. When Arnold was interviewed by reporters, he used the phrase "like skipping saucers" to describe the objects' movement. As a result, the media, perhaps to grab attention, directly coined a new term in their reports—"Flying Saucer".
This term was incredibly vivid! It quickly captured the public's imagination and spread worldwide overnight.
Why is this considered the beginning of the "Modern UFO Era"?
Before the Arnold incident, there were many historical accounts of strange phenomena appearing in the sky, but they were mostly sporadic, isolated records.
The Arnold incident was completely different:
- Widespread Media Coverage: This was the first UFO sighting to receive massive, viral dissemination by modern media (newspapers, radio).
- Triggered a Copycat Effect: Within weeks of Arnold's report, hundreds of similar sighting reports emerged across the United States and even worldwide. People began using "flying saucer" to describe all unidentified flying objects they saw.
- Defined the Phenomenon: It set the tone and image for the UFO phenomenon for decades to come—high-speed, silent, saucer-shaped, and technologically advanced beyond its time.
It can be said that Arnold's sighting and the media's "flying saucer" term together initiated the global UFO cultural phenomenon that we know today, which has lasted for decades. This was closely followed by the even more mysterious and controversial "Roswell Incident" in July of the same year, which pushed this craze to its peak.
So, to summarize: The Kenneth Arnold Sighting in 1947 is widely recognized as the starting point of the modern UFO era.