The Pentagon has started releasing files related to unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UFOs. Here are the images released so far
By Jeanna Bryner edited by Claire Cameron
The Pentagon on Friday released what appears to be the first batch of government files related to UFOs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). The files include Federal Bureau of Investigations reports into unexplained sightings as well as NASA debriefs with astronauts who saw things on the moon they couldn't identify—some of which was captured in images.
Scientific American's Adam Kovac reports that experts in the field are not surprised by any of the released files and say rather than quelling speculation the declassification could fuel it.
Here are some of the images included in the file release, as well as the information the Pentagon has provided saying what the photographs might show.
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DOW
This still image was taken from a video captured in May 2022 by a U.S. military operator flying over the Middle East, showing a UAP flying across their screen.
FBI
Newly released infrared still image (black hot) shows an unidentified object below a helicopter above the western United States in September 2025.
DOW
In 2024, personnel of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reported seeing a UAP that resembled a football-shaped body near Japan.
FBI
In late 2025, a U.S. military operator reported a small, dark and slightly irregularly shaped object visible on their screen. This monochrome image shows the object just below and to the right of the center of the reticle.
NASA
In this archival image you can see the lunar surface as viewed from the landing site of Apollo 12, the sixth crewed flight for the U.S. Apollo Program and the second to land on the moon on November 19, 1969. The UAP can be seen in the highlighted area slightly to the left of the vertical axis of the frame, above the horizon.
NASA
Another archival photograph taken during the Apollo 12 mission, depicting the moon surface with an unidentified phenomenon in the highlighted box.
NASA
This archival photo of the site of the Apollo 12 landing features two highlighted areas of interest, labeled “Area 1” and “Area 2,” slightly to the right of the vertical axis of the frame, showing unidentified phenomena.
NASA
Another Apollo 12 archival image viewed from the landing site, in the southeastern region of Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms. The highlighted UAP can be seen near the right edge of the frame, above the horizon.
NASA
NASA photograph from the Apollo 17 mission, taken December 1972 shows three “dots” in a triangular formation in the lower right quadrant of the lunar sky, which are more visible in the pulled-out magnification of the area.
DOW
An infrared still image (black hot) captured of unidentified object—a dark dot—over the western United States in December 2025. Parts of the image has been redacted.
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