UFOs are a central and pressing topic in contemporary aesthetics: as media-mediated objects, they serve as critical touchstones for examining the mechanisms of media-based reality construction. This applies both to the very possibility of engaging in discourse about UFOs—of capturing and documenting these "unidentified flying objects"—and to the dissemination of UFO-related narratives in science fiction. Against this backdrop, UFOs are understood as media-aesthetic objects through which questions of what is considered "real" are negotiated, as well as how media contribute to the construction of reality.

The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. The authors have subsequently revised the text further in an endeavor to refine the work stylistically.

Christoph Ernst, PD Dr., is a research associate in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany.

Jens Schröter is Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany.