Why the Senate's vote to make UFO reports public could be 'extremely important'

UFO research just got a whole lot more serious. What was once considered a hobby for conspiracy theorists received a big boost from the United States Senate on Tuesday.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), voted to require U.S. intelligence agencies and the Pentagon to compile an analysis of all data collected on "unidentified aerial phenomenon," including sightings and recordings from Navy pilots over the years, which are what really caught the upper chamber's attention. What's more, the panel wants it go public.

The provision is part of the annual intelligence authorization bill, so it still needs to be adopted by the full Senate. Regardless, it's seen as good news by those who have advocated for more government research into UFOs. "It further legitimizes the issue," Christopher Mellon, a former top Pentagon intelligence and Senate staffer who has pressed for more research, told Politico. "That in itself is extremely important. People can talk about it without fear of embarrassment."

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Mellon said "there is no telling" what the potential implications could be. The expanded research could reveal anything from major technological breakthroughs by foreign adversaries that could shed light on U.S. "military vulnerability," to — for the dreamers — whether "there have been probes visiting our planet." Read more at Politico.