If we didn’t already have enough to deal with, now there are UFOs.

I’m talking about UFOs in the true sense of the acronym – unidentified flying objects.

As we’ve learned over the years, more often than not, these usually turn out to be satellites, drones, or flight tests conducted by the military in a particular region.

There’s usually no need to panic, and yet panic has been the preferred response from citizens in the municipality of Magé, just north of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, when mysterious lights were spotted in the sky last week.

Per VICE, the glowing objects were seen to move around, even forming a triangle formation.

This appears to be the biggest UFO scandal since the US government released those videos a while back.

Speaking of videos, here are a few captured by residents in Magé:

More from Twitter:

Now tonight #Ovnis Nova Marília #Mage #ovnis2020 #UFO #ufo2020 @elonmusk What is your opinion, is it really a UFO? pic.twitter.com/eS5toPOB2w

— André Di Mauro (@andredimauro) May 13, 2020

Elon Musk has not responded to the above tweet.

Before you head off to Twitter for more pictures and videos, keep in mind that when conspiracy theorists and trolls get going, the videos and photos aren’t always real, like this unlikely “witness account”.

Photo of the flying saucer allegedly crashed or hit in #Magé, Brazil. The dome of the disc is facing the witness. Another witness said that the UFO (bus-sized) is shaped like the lid of a pot that was on its side and partially buried in the ground. Does anyone explain this image? pic.twitter.com/G1RbA23Jz1

— UFO’s & Aliens (@AliensOnEarth_) May 17, 2020

The so-called ‘witnesses’ are as elusive as the flying objects.

The event saw the hashtag #MageUFO trending on Twitter, before some claimed the trending hashtag suddenly vanished. A search for #MageUFO on Twitter, however, still shows many results:

Typical internet lunacy aside, Brazil has been a long time hotspot for some pretty interesting UFO incidents. In 1957, journalist Ibrahim Sued received an envelope containing small bits of metal from an anonymous source claiming that they were debris from Ubatuba, a beach resort town, where an alleged UFO had crashed. Though not otherworldly in origin, the fragments were a highly pure magnesium. It is unclear where the metal came from and still remains a mystery.

The infamous Colares UFO flap of 1977 made headlines when locals on the island of Colares began reporting strange objects in the sky and bizarre injuries to their bodies. According to researcher and computer scientists Jacques Vallee, several individuals were allegedly killed by the objects witnessed on the island. Reports of radiation and thermal burns, as well as strange scars, fill the Brazilian government’s file on the incident. After a formal investigation, the government concluded that it found no evidence of unusual phenomena.

There’s also the ‘devil alien’ of 1996, supposedly seen roaming the streets of Varginha City.

The latest sighting will undoubtedly make its way into the unsolved case files of conspiracy theorists worldwide.

The most likely explanation?

Sceptics reckon that the lights were skydivers kitted out with pyrotechnics, Chinese lanterns, or drones.

While we might not be alone in the universe, I’m pretty sure we’re alone on the planet for the time being.

[source:vice]