UFO is short for Unidentified Flying Object. For decades UFO sightings have been reported here and there, now and then. UFOs are often portrayed by Sci-fi aficionados as spaceships navigated by aliens who have mastered the technology of interstellar travel, while others are quick to embrace the idea that ancient civilizations on Earth were partly developed with the assistance of extraterrestrial beings.

Voyager spacecraft

　

The record on Voyager spacecraft contains greetings in sixty human tongues, photosof Earth and ninety minutes of music from many cultures.

However, most scientists take the notion of UFO as alien spacecraft with a pinch of salt. The reson is simple: over 95% UFO sightings can be attributed to known phenomena. Moreover, many UFO photos are either blurry, or worse still, hoaxes. Although there is no compelling evidence so far that our Earth was visited by extraterrestrial beings, astronomers do believe that we are not alone in the Universe. Our Universe is peppered with billions of galaxies, each of which may contain hundreds of billions of stars. It is therefore highly probable that among these zillion stars, some may possess planets that may harbour life. In recent years, astronomers embark on a systematic search of interstellar radio signals that may originate from extraterrestrial civilizations.

　

The new Sky Show "UFO Files" will try to unveil the mysteries of the "flying saucers". Besides examining the now infamous Roswell incident and other UFO cases, the programme will also introduce how astronomers make use of latest technologies to track down extrasolar planets, and their effort in searching for extraterrestrial civilizations.

　

The 305-metre antenna of the Arecibo radio observatory located in Puerto Rico, is the largest radio-telescope antenna in the world.

This is the decoded message transmitted by humans to space through the Arecibo radio telescope, The message begins at the top with binary numbers 1 to 10 and the atomic number of major elements, Green, white and blue represent DNA, the molecule that determines heredity, Symbols on either side of the human figure give its height and Earth's population, The Solar system is yellow, The last image represents the telescope itself.

Duration : 38 minutes
Showing from 6 December 2000 to 21 May 2001