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NASA's About to Unveil a Report on 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena': Watch Live
Now officially known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), 'UFOs' have certainly long captivated our curiosity.
NASA commissioned a study team in 2022 to investigate such hard-to-easily-classify reports, and tomorrow they're revealing the highly anticipated findings at a media briefing.
The scarcity of high-quality observations of UAPs – defined as objects in the sky that are inconsistent with known naturally occurring phenomena or aircraft – makes scientific conclusions about their nature rather impossible.
So NASA assembled an independent team of 16 scientific, aeronautic, and data analytic experts with the primary goal to advise NASA on UAPs from a logical and scientific perspective.
"We have access to a broad range of observations of Earth from space – and that is the lifeblood of scientific inquiry," NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen said last year before the commencement of the study.
"We have the tools and team who can help us improve our understanding of the unknown. That's the very definition of what science is. That's what we do."
After starting in October last year, the team chaired by astrophysicist David Spergel of the Simons Foundation, has spent nine months laying the groundwork for NASA and other organizations to conduct their own research.
"The primary objective of this incredible team of experts is not to go back and look at grainy footage of UAPs but rather to give us a roadmap to guide us for future analysis," explained Daniel Evans, the NASA official in charge of the study, during an update meeting in May.
The media briefing at NASA's headquarters in Washington is scheduled for 14:00 UTC on 14 September 2023 (10:00 EDT on 14 September and 00:00 on 15 September in AEST). You can watch it live below.
A full report containing the independent team's findings will be released tomorrow too, suggesting a strategy for future analysis of UAP data by NASA.
"All of NASA's data is available to the public – we take that obligation seriously – and we make it easily accessible for anyone to see or study," Evans said last year.
The study wasn't intended to answer all the questions. The researchers focused on how civilian government data, commercial data, and other sources could be organized and analyzed in the future to shed more light on obscure sky sights, but they didn't look at classified information.
"Unclassified data make it possible for our team to communicate openly to advance our understanding of UAP not only with each other, but across the scientific community and to the public," NASA's head of science, astrophysicist Nicola Fox, explained.
One of NASA's missions is to ensure the safety of aircraft, so this study aligns with that as well as with the interests of national security in the study of UAPs.
The team investigated potential enhancements to air traffic management to acquire data on future reported UAPs and analyzed the challenges of studying UAPs and their potential risk to US national airspace.
"By understanding the nature of UAPs we can ensure that our skies remain a safe space for all," Evans said in May during the meeting.
The research will report on which scientific methods should be applied, what else NASA should collect to understand UAP, and what are the fundamental physical constraints on UAP's origins and nature.
"We recognize that public interest in UAPs is high, and that the demand for answers is strong," Evans said.
"It is now our collective responsibility to investigate these occurrences with the rigorous scientific scrutiny that they deserve."
We can't wait to find out more.
注释：
anomalous: adj
表示" 反常的；不规则的"，means "deviating from the general or common order or type"，如：The phenomenon is called anomalous propagation.这种现象被称为异常传播。
aeronautic: adj
表示" 航空学的"，means "of or pertaining to aeronautics"，如：Something akin to panic swept the National Aeronautic and Space Agency. 一种近乎恐慌的心情席卷了国家宇航局。
astrophysicist: n
表示" 天体物理学家"，means "an astronomer who studies the physical properties of celestial bodies"，如：That well-known astrophysicist found a new planet. 那位著名的天体物理学家发现了一颗新星。
rigorous: adj
表示" 严格的；严厉的"，means " strict"，如：The planes have to undergo rigorous safety checks. 这些飞机得接受非常严格的安全检查。
scrutiny: n
表示" 监视；细看"，means "careful and thorough examination"，如：She was conscious of his scrutiny of her face. 她觉察到了他长时间的注视着她的脸。
中文简要说明：
俗称「幽浮」的不明飞行物(Unidentified Flying Object,UFO)，现在在学术与官方文件上被改称「不明异常现象」（Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,UAP），长期以来一直吸引着我们的好奇心，也是最好的都市传说与杂谈话题。那么，学术圈怎么看呢? 美国航天总署(NASA)从去年组织了一个研究小组来调查，明天他们将在媒体上发表结果。
科学警报(ScienceAlert)报导，不管是UFO还是UAP，它们最大的问题就是「不明」，很难找到具体的证据，也使得科学化调查变得相当困难；因此，NASA 组建了一 16位包括科学界、航空界和数据分析专家，所组成的独立团队，其主要目标是从逻辑和科学的角度，提出一些建议。
NASA的天体物理学家祖布臣( Thomas Zurbuchen)，从去年这项研究开始前就表示：「我们可以从太空对地球进行广泛的观测，包括观测工具与人员都不缺，这是一项科学探究。」
16名成员之一的NASA天文学家艾文斯 (Daniel Evans)说：「专家小组不是去调查那些模糊不清的照片真相，而是提出一些可行的建议与准则，来指导未来对不明现象的分析工作。」
「在记者会举行前30分钟，NASA会先在网上发布完整报告，主要是未来面对不明物体可以收集哪些数据，以分析UAP的性质和起源。该报告不是对先前无法识别的观察结果有审查或评估。」
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