SAN DIEGO — The Pentagon released a report on UFO sightings that includes reports by people, claiming the sightings left them with serious health problems such as radiation burns, nerve damage and feelings of electric shock.
The 1,500 page report was obtained by the newspaper company, The Sun, four years after they requested the documents.
"My first thought was this was the first thing from the government that lists things like this,” said Douglas Leonard, an associate professor of Astronomy at San Diego State University.
He held a star gazing party Thursday evening where he gave one explanation of what a UFO sighting can sometimes be.
"About 1% of us know that's the international space station and it makes a pass like this every couple of nights."
His students say the Pentagon documents lead them to more questions and could potentially be advanced air craft from other countries.
The report does confirm the incidents were accurately reported and medical data was collected, some people reported paralysis, perceived time loss and marks left on their bodies.
"These things just remain sort of mysteries and you investigate and investigate, but sometimes you never come up with a good answer,” Professor Leonard said.
He said the planet Venus has a glow that can cause people to mistaken it for an alien spacecraft.
WATCH RELATED: Pentagon releases UFO report to Congress, includes cases off San Diego coast (June 2021)