UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena) seem to be on the news more often this past year for various reasons. Many of these sightings turned out to be drones, although the military didn’t exactly disclose who owned them. The words “extraterrestrial” or “alien” were associated with a number of these reports.
Rumors quickly spread that some were Chinese or Russian drones, with citizens threatening to take the law into their own hands and shoot them down with rifles. Only after our government promised to take action did cooler heads prevail.
The Department of War recently released, under President Trump’s authority, former confidential and top-secret reports, photos, and videos of UAPs. I saw nothing here that made me a believer; more on my reason why later.
Our backyard is a great place to watch satellites and airplanes at night. With the recent development of the prestigious Rivera housing development, light pollution has increased, but we’re still able to view the stars and galaxies better than in some parts of town.
On occasion, shooting stars and even the International Space Station (ISS) have been observed. I know it’s the ISS by checking a website that shows its exact location at a given time. This manmade object is also much brighter than the average satellite.
As of 2026, there are an estimated 6,000 active satellites orbiting our planet, supporting everything from communications and weather monitoring to scientific research and navigation, including military surveillance. I’ve counted as many as sixteen in one evening with the naked eye.
For years, I’ve kept hoping I’ll stumble across satellite fragments while hiking around in the desert, but so far, no luck. Experts tell us that most “space junk” disintegrates upon reentry, yet some make it through unscathed, as photos have shown.
The corridor along the Colorado River behind our house is busy with commercial and private airplanes, including military jets. Quite often, I can hear the fighters yet never spot them. I’m not sure if this is because they’re stealth or my eyes are failing.
Recently, my wife and I have been tuning in to YouTube channels where adventurous guys and gals camp out in the Nevada desert near Area 51, solely to spot unique aircraft prototypes. They use night-vision equipment to do this. This includes both digital and analog goggles/binoculars, with the prices ranging from $50 to over $13,000.
I ordered an economy-priced version with very good reviews from buyers. Hopefully, these glasses will help us see stealth fighters and bombers, along with providing better images of satellites. My main reason for getting them is to view SpaceX flights streaking across the sky after takeoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
In the reviews for our glasses, purchasers claimed they were great for viewing wildlife at night, with plenty of that in the desert behind our place. We have coyotes sneaking around, with an occasional UWO (unidentified walking object) at night. I suspect them to be bobcats and loose dogs.
With limited use of this new toy, they do brighten the night sky tremendously. Some stars seem almost blinding, much like those repulsive Xenon headlights on select newer cars and trucks. Cupcake Mountain and the surrounding peaks come in very clearly, even at the darkest hours.
Slow-moving satellites are much easier to pick out, and they don’t fade quite as fast using this night vision. I can only imagine how those high-dollar or military-grade versions perform.
Getting back to UFOs, especially those that some folks insist contain alien beings, I’m still a skeptic here. Until I see the real deal, I believe many of these stories are the product of someone’s wild imagination or them jumping to conclusions more than anything else.
Rumor has it that aliens crashed their spacecraft near Kingman in May of 1953 and survived. If true, I suppose they’d still be living in the vicinity. No exact location is mentioned, with the Walmart shopping area being my first guess.
I uncovered no photographs to prove this Kingman rumor, but there’s a restaurant in Yucca cleverly named “The Frying Saucer.” It’s next to that geodesic dome resembling a giant golf ball. My wife and I have yet to eat there, but it’s on our radar.
Reported sightings of flying saucers are akin to those reports of “Bigfoot” and “The Loch Ness Monster.” Why are their photographs always grainy and fuzzy, as if on purpose? I’ve come across blurred photographs of paper plates hanging from strings, with folks jokingly calling them flying saucers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already capable of producing realistic fake images, and before long, they’ll undoubtedly be introduced as the “real deal” in many scenarios. Perhaps they already are, and we just don’t know it. The seemingly large crowds at Gavin Newsom rallies come to mind here.
One of my favorite poems regarding life and reality is a short one by Graeme Edge, of the Moody Blues. This 1967 poem, titled “Late Lament,” is oftentimes read at the end of the song “Nights in White Satin.”
Graeme seemed to be a visionary, knowing that as time goes on, it’ll become harder for people to recognize the truth, even when they see it. Perhaps he understood AI before any of us. The final five lines of this poem sum things up best for me.
“Cold-hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colors from our sight.
Red is gray and yellow white.
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion.”
I like to write junk... 