A little reason to celebrate
World UFO Day
Fun ยท July 2
World UFO Day invites curiosity about unidentified flying objects, night skies and the stories people tell about strange lights overhead.
World UFO Day falls on Friday, July 2, 2027. That is 248 days away.
UFO stands for unidentified flying object. Strictly speaking, it means anything seen in the sky that the person watching cannot identify, which covers a lot more than flying saucers. World UFO Day gives that puzzle some attention, and it is marked in the United States too.
Most of what people report turns out to have an ordinary explanation. Planets, satellites, aircraft lights, weather balloons and bright meteors can all look odd at the wrong moment, especially low on the horizon. The ones that stay unexplained are the ones people keep talking about.
The idea of visitors from elsewhere has given us a whole shelf of movies, novels and television, along with a familiar picture: a disc with a ring of lights, hovering over a quiet field. Small towns with a famous sighting sometimes lean into it with green figures on signs and souvenir shops full of little gray heads.
The simplest way to mark the day is to go outside after dark and look up. Give your eyes several minutes to adjust. A steady light that moves smoothly across the sky without blinking is often a satellite catching sunlight high above the earth. A bright point that does not move at all is frequently a planet, with Venus being a common suspect.
Others spend the day with a classic science fiction film, a book about famous sightings, or a long conversation with the relative who swears they saw something over the lake one summer. Their account usually involves a light that hovered, then left faster than anything should.
Ways to celebrate
- Spend twenty minutes outside after dark watching the sky.
- Watch a classic science fiction movie about visitors from space.
- Ask a friend or relative to tell their strangest sky story.
- Try a free stargazing app to identify planets and satellites.
- Sketch what you think a flying saucer should look like.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday, July 2 |
| 2027 | Friday, July 2 |
| 2028 | Sunday, July 2 |
| 2029 | Monday, July 2 |
| 2030 | Tuesday, July 2 |
Also on July 2
Categories: Fun days