Editing Unidentified flying object (section)

==Terminology==

During the late 1940s and through the 1950s, UFOs were often called "[[flying saucer]]s" or "flying discs" based on reporting of the [[Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting|Kenneth Arnold incident]].<ref>{{cite web|date=October 9, 2015|title=Home > Visit > Museum Exhibits > Fact Sheets > Display Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar|url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195801/avro-canada-vz-9av-avrocar/|work=www.nationalmuseum.af.mil [[United States Air Force]]|access-date=June 22, 2021|archive-date=May 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518072042/https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/article/195801/avro-canada-vz-9av-avrocar/|url-status=live}}</ref> "Unidentified flying object" (UFO) has been in-use since 1947.<ref name="MW-2023" /> The acronym "UFO" was coined by Captain [[Edward J. Ruppelt]] for the USAF. He wrote, "Obviously the term 'flying saucer' is misleading when applied to objects of every conceivable shape and performance. For this reason the military prefers the more general, if less colorful, name: unidentified flying objects. UFO".<ref>[[#Ruppelt|Ruppelt 1956]], Chapter 1: [http://www.nicap.org/rufo/rufo-01.htm "Project Blue Book and the UFO Story"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927014715/http://www.nicap.org/rufo/rufo-01.htm |date=September 27, 2013 }}</ref> The term UFO became widespread during the 1950s, at first in technical literature, but later in popular use.<ref name="NYT-20170424">{{cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Ralph |title=People Are Seeing U.F.O.s Everywhere, and This Book Proves It |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/science/ufo-sightings-book.html |date=April 24, 2017 |work=[[New York Times]] |access-date=April 24, 2017 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125031952/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/science/ufo-sightings-book.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="AMZ-20170324">{{cite book |last1=Costa |first1=Cheryl |last2=Costa |first2=Linda Miller |title=UFO Sightings Desk Reference: United States of America 2001–2015 |date=2017 |publisher=Dragon Lady Media, LLC |isbn=978-1544219233 }}</ref> "Unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP) first appeared in the late 1960s. UAP has seen increasing usage in the 21st century due to negative cultural associations with "UFO".<ref name="MW-2023">{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-uap |title=Words We're Watching: What does 'UAP' mean? |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417203105/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-uap |archive-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> UAP is sometimes expanded as "unidentified anomalous phenomenon".<ref name="Hanks2022">{{cite web |author=Micah Hanks |url=https://thedebrief.org/the-pentagon-just-revealed-the-new-name-of-its-uap-investigative-office/ |title=The Pentagon Just Revealed the New Name of Its UAP Investigative Office |publisher=The Debrief |date=July 21, 2022 |access-date=July 24, 2022 |archive-date=July 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724094335/https://thedebrief.org/the-pentagon-just-revealed-the-new-name-of-its-uap-investigative-office/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Furfaro2022">{{cite web |author= Emily Furfaro |url= https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-announces-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-study-team-members |title= NASA Announces Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Study Team Members |publisher= NASA |date= October 21, 2022 |access-date=December 23, 2022 |archive-date=December 23, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221223015354/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-announces-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-study-team-members/ |url-status= live |quote=Editor's Note: This article was updated on December 22, 2022 to reflect an expanded terminology for 'UAP,' going from unidentified aerial phenomena to unidentified anomalous phenomena.}}</ref>

While technically a ''UFO'' refers to any unidentified flying object, in modern popular culture the term UFO has generally become synonymous with [[Extraterrestrial UFO hypothesis|alien spacecraft]].<ref>Armando Simón  "The Zeitgeist of the UFO Phenomenon". [[#Haines 1979|Haines ed. 1979]]</ref> The term "extra-terrestrial vehicle" (ETV) is sometimes used to separate this explanation of UFOs from totally earthbound explanations.<ref>{{Citation
  | last1 = Giere
  | first1 = Ronald N.
  | last2 = Bickle
  | first2 = John
  | last3 = Mauldin
  | first3 = Robert F.
  | title = Understanding Scientific Reasoning
  | publisher = [[Cengage Learning|Wadsworth Publishing]]
  | date = 2006
  | edition = 5th
  | page = 99
  | isbn = 0-15-506326-X
  | oclc = 61369793
  | lccn = 2005922853}}</ref>