Are Aliens Real? New Department of Defense Video Sparks Curiosity

The New York Times reignited the "Do aliens exist?" debate earlier this week with a story about a recently revealed program the Department of Defense (DoD) says it shut down in 2012 whose only priority to investigate whether or not we are alone in the universe.

At the center of this new debate is video from 2004 of a Navy F/A-18 fighter jet interacting with an aircraft they don't recognize (a "UFO," technically speaking). The video was declassified and released to the public by the DoD this week. Take a look.

This of course has led to thorough analysis by many who believe there to be some credibility to the idea of alien lifeforms, including the privately funded, To The Stars Academy, who posted their analysis in the video below.

I've watched the DoD video a few times, and I'm still not 100% sure what to make of it. The object does appear to be too big a drone as the first pilot suggests, but could it simply be some sort of glitch on the camera, or some sort of atmospheric disturbance that's showing up as some sort of strange blob on the camera? The mind is a pretty powerful tool and can play tricks on people. However, they both seem pretty convinced that's not the case.

In the interest of fairness, I did try to find video analysis from an individual or group that doesn't believe this is a UFO, but couldn't find anything.

Personally, I don't know if I'd go as far as saying I do believe aliens exist, however I do think that with all we know about how the universe works based on the data science has provided us over the years, we can't rule it out. To think that in the vastness that is space, Earth is the only planet that can sustain life seems a bit close-minded to me.

What do you think? Cast your vote in the poll below.