The Unknowns

What needs to be understood?

There are often seen strange things flying in our atmosphere, in outer space, or in our oceans. We do not know what they are, so we call them Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) or more recently Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs).

There are a number of common objects which we may be failing to identify, and we have a list of likely things here. However there are a number of distinctive features which makes them unlikely to be identified correctly in that way. Those features are often listed as follows:

Positive Lift – The ability to fly without apparent means of propulsion or lift.
Instantaneous Acceleration – The ability to reach a high rate of speed in a very short amount of time.
Hypersonic Velocity (Without Signatures) – The ability to travel faster than five times the speed of sound (3,700 mph) with no accompanying auditory or physical effects.
Trans-Medium Travel – The ability to seamlessly move through space, air, and water.
Low Observability – The ability to conceal from visual and sensor observation

Our challenge is to find some theory or theories of the universe wherein these things are possible.
This website, www.uapsciences.org , is trying to encourage formulating and testing new kinds of scientific theories as may be necessary.

A good introduction to these phenomena from the scientific side is the book

R. Powell (2024) UFOs. A Scientist Explains What We Know (And Don't Know), Rowman & LIttlefield (Amazon)

A recent talk explained the different standards of proof needed in this and other systems of knowledge:

C. Mellon (2026) The Hierarchy of Proof, and How We Work Through It (copy)

The five observables in a little more detail

Anti-gravity: The ability of the object to defy the force of gravity and stay suspended in the air, lacking any flight surfaces.
Sudden or Instantaneous Acceleration: The ability of the object to move rapidly and unexpectedly, reaching ultra-high speeds in a short period, making right-angle turns, and even near-instant stops. Any of these maneuvers would seem lethal for occupants by our current inertial understanding.
Hyper-speed Without Signatures: The absence of "signatures" such as vapor trails and sonic booms that are typically left behind when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound.
Low Observability: Our inability to detect the object visually, by radar, and other technological systems, or to rapidly change course to evade detection.
Trans-medium: The ability of the object to transition between different mediums, such as air, water, and space.