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

Marco Rubio.
(Image credit: Al-Drago-Pool/Getty Images)

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.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.