In an effort to discover more about the UFO phenomena, Project Blue Book was set up in December 1948 by the US government. The unit`s aim was to collect and collate any reports of UFO`s that had been made in the USA. Some maintain that Captain Thomas Mantell`s death was the reason for the creation of Project Blue Book ; others believe that the military had been interested in flying saucers for decades.

Between 24 June 1947 and January 1969 Project Blue Book was responsible for cataloguing millions of UFO sightings. Before its official closure the project concluded that most sightings of unidentified flying objects could be rationally explained. In general, sightings could be put down to a number of differing factors, including:

High altitude weather ballons

Observations of Venus

Mars or other heavenly bodies

Short sightedness

Dust in the eye`s of the observer

Flocks of migrating birds

However, there are in all 12,607 cases that cannot be explained by natural phenomena. After Project Blue Book was unexpectedly shut down, the US government has maintained a stoical silence over the question of UFO`s. Some ufologists claim that the project continues, under a new top secret guise. They wait patiently for the year 2023, when the US Freedom of Information act will force the government to revbeal details of their top secret interest in UFO activities.

Blue Book Archive

The United States Air Force UFO research effort, codenamed Project Blue Book, was the big brother, so to speak, of the UK project that I stewarded from 1991 to 1994. The archives are extensive, and still a great resource for anyone with a serious interest in UFOs. Check out http://www.bluebookarchive.org for access to this fantastic ufological resource.