Scientists are getting serious about UFOs. Here's why

Unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, came into the national spotlight in the U.S. in the late 1940s and early ’50s .

In the decades since, UFOs have often come to be dismissed by scientists as the province of wackos.

The term UFO has a smirk factor to it, says an aerospace engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder .

An analysis of nearly 99,000 reported UAP sightings pinpointed U.S. counties with a particularly high number of reports per 10,000 people.

One factor that appears to boost the number of sightings is proximity to an airport or military installation.

A second report, with new analyses focused on more recent sightings, will be released later this year .

Computer simulations helped pinpoint Starlink internet satellites as the source of the mystery lights.

NASA has a wealth of data from satellites that monitor Earth .

NASA satellites could be key in providing details on any environmental conditions that may coincide with UAPs.

Ground-based instruments are developing suites of instruments that can observe a broad range of characteristics.