63% of Americans Believe in Extraterrestrial Life, Poll Shows

A poll published in June by CBS News and YouGov found that 63% of Americans believe intelligent life exists on other planets. The survey also indicated that 21% of respondents believe contact with extraterrestrials has already occurred, while 46% expect it will happen in the future. This data point reflects a measurable shift in public opinion regarding unidentified aerial objects.

The shift in public perception follows the release of previously classified government files in May of this year. Those documents, along with declassified military footage and congressional hearings, have moved the topic from fringe discussion to mainstream review. The term used in official contexts is now unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP.

Sommer Chase of Gillette has become a local focal point for this ongoing conversation. Her recent videos show three lights rotating in a triangular pattern over the sky. The clips have generated hundreds of thousands of views on social media platforms. Chase began recording these objects last year after years of observing them without a camera.

Chase's sightings date back to her childhood in rural North Dakota. She recalled a specific instance where a light trailed her grandmother's car through the fog during an early morning drive. She also remembered her father stopping his truck to shout that he had seen a UFO. These early experiences stayed quiet for most of her adult life.

The sightings returned in 2019 in Colstrip, Montana. Chase's husband, Cody Chase, was working the night shift at the Westmoreland coal mine. He called her in the middle of the night to report seeing the lights. Cody Chase's sightings began in 2019, and Sommer Chase saw them herself in 2022. The couple moved to Gillette in June with their two children.

Richard Beckwith serves as the Wyoming state director for the Mutual UFO Network. He is a former Rock Springs attorney. Beckwith reviewed Chase's footage and stated in a text message that he has no explanation for what she recorded. He noted that the objects are unidentified for now, but cautioned that current lack of explanation does not mean future understanding is impossible.

Beckwith places Chase's footage in a category of sightings that are never explained. He estimates that 5% to 10% of all reported sightings fall into this group. He added that the inability to explain an object today does not rule out a future explanation.

Chase said the lights do not travel like satellites and lack the hum associated with drones. She believes the most reasonable explanation is that humans are not alone in the universe. She stated that she is not afraid of the possibility that non-human intelligence is present.

Other unexplained sightings have been recorded in Wyoming in recent years. A man in Cody filmed nearly two dozen glowing orbs over Cedar Mountain earlier this year. In Sweetwater County, sheriff's office officials have observed drone-like objects gathering over the Red Desert and the Jim Bridger Power Plant for more than a year. They now consider these gatherings the new normal.

Chase continues to watch the sky from Sunflower School in Gillette. She said that is where the lights are most visible during evening walks. The couple still lives in the area, and Cody Chase continues to work as a coal miner.