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UFO sightings will be documented and publicly available in Brazil, according to an announcement this week by the government. The photo shows plastic artist Peter Coffin's 'Flying Saucer' art installation at Ipanema beach, on May 23, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro. (Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty Images)
UFO sightings made in Brazilian air space must be documented and the data will be made accessible to researchers as well as the public, according to media reports this week.
Air force pilots, civilian pilots, and commercial pilots are encouraged to register all sightings of UFOs with the Aerospace Defense Command, according to BBC News, who cited an official decree made by the Brazilian government.
The sightings will be stored in Brazil's Historic Documentation Center located in Rio De Janeiro, where it will be made publicly available for people interested in the subject.
The decree, which was signed on Tuesday, does not mean that the air force will go out and actively seek UFOs, but will record sightings if they see them.
"Air force command does not have a specialized structure to carry out scientific experiments on these phenomena and will limit itself to recording any events" the Brazilian air force said in a statement, reported by the BBC.
There has been a fairly large amount of UFO sightings in the past several decades in Brazil, including by high-level officials and possibly even the president.
"I have heard of ministers and even a president who said they had seen a UFO,” an anonymous air traffic controller told the BBC.
