Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2019

ASTROBIOLOGY 23 don’t come from NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2019 I n the second half of September, spokesperson Joseph Gradisher of the United States Navy confirmed the au- thenticity of three videos recorded by fighter pilots, in which small, indistinct shapes appear that move at speeds similar to those of the planes. The videos had been in the public domain for several months but, not having res- onated with interest on the web to that point, it was as if they didn't exist at all. It is not clear who authorized the declassification of the material, but it is clear that some- one had an interest in making it known for reasons that themselves remain unknown. The first publication of the three videos took place between 2017 and 2018 on the initiative of an authoritative newspaper, The New York Times (NYT), and a much less authoritative association