Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has called on the U.S. government to reveal definitive proof of extraterrestrial life, stating "Show the alien!" following the Trump administration's latest disclosure of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files. The files were released on Friday, June 14, 2026, and include a series of unexplained cases.
Tyson, speaking on The Fox News Rundown, argued that the extensive evidence already presented should be capped with a clear image or confirmation of an alien being. "Is it too much to ask at this point for them to just show the alien? That's all, I don't think I'm asking too much here," Tyson said. He believes that the public, conditioned by a century of alien-themed media, would not react with panic.
"We've already been told this, so to say if they rolled out an alien, we'd somehow freak out given the century of alien movies we'd been treated to and alien stories… I don't see that we'd freak out at all," Tyson stated, adding that such a revelation might be "anticlimactic."
UAP File Disclosures
The newly released materials, uploaded to the Department of War's website, include a range of unexplained phenomena. Among them is an FBI report from 2025 detailing a video captured by a citizen in the northeastern U.S. The witness described a bright, "brilliant red sphere" approximately the size of a basketball hovering over their backyard. Another video, also captured in 2025, reportedly shows a "plasma-like sphere" above a pond, exhibiting changes in shape and brightness.
These documents also include previously classified CIA files, revealing that the agency had formed a panel of scientists to investigate "flying saucers" due to concerns about military warning systems and potential mass hysteria.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth affirmed the administration's commitment to transparency, stating, "The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)." He added that the release of these declassified documents demonstrates "the Trump Administration's earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency."
The Department of War's website has reportedly seen over 1.7 billion hits worldwide since its launch on May 8, indicating significant public interest in the UAP files. Many of the newly released images and videos were submitted by citizens and captured using devices such as iPhones.
Scientific Perspective on Alien Forms
Tyson also speculated on the potential physical appearance of extraterrestrial beings. He posited that aliens would likely differ significantly from humans, potentially not sharing a common DNA structure due to the vast possibilities of biological variation across the universe.
"I would only be shocked if the alien were in fact humanoid because of just the statistics of biological variation on Earth, where we have DNA in common with all other life, and most life is not humanoid on Earth," Tyson explained. He suggested that a humanoid alien would be more surprising than an alien that looked markedly different from Earth's life forms.
