Get out your ALL CAPS-happy Comic Sans-font conspiracy theory keyboard, because it's time to figure out this missile thing. Earlier this week, a missile was spotted over California, and it's still a mystery (at least to us civilians) as to where it came from. Well, last night the mystery went bi-coastal, and around 5 p.m. a missile was spotted over Far Rockaway, Queens! more ›

We've been receiving a lot of Sad Panda sighting tips lately, and here's the latest. A reader sent us the above photo, saying: "I was just eating lunch and saw Sad Panda hanging out and still looking generally sad. It looks like they are filming Law & Order (SVU) there later today so maybe he's looking to make his acting debut." A panda and Law & Order? Sounds like a cake we once had! more ›

Just before noon today we got word that there have been multiple reports of shark sightings in Jacob Riis Park in the Fort Tilden area—they must know there are no lifeguards in that area! (Over the weekend The Man was on to them after they approached Rockaway Beach.) While there have been a handful of shark sightings after the Coast Guard issued a warning about Great Whites in the area earlier this year, there have been no reports of Great Whites... but that doesn't mean you should get your banana boat out of storage. more ›

The first time we heard of the Central Park coyote was February 2nd—since then, there have been plenty of sightings of the little guy (and there may even be more than one roaming around out there). Back on the 9th, the Parks Department had told us they plan to catch the coyote and... hopefully he won't meet the same end as Hal, who was caught in the area in 2006 and died in captivity. more ›

Are aliens checking out Manhattan? One man says he filmed a "red craft" UFO for four nights straight this month, and has some footage to back up his claim. He says he filmed from The Great Hill in Central Park, saying, "When I started filming, it hovers about then suddenly I descends near the Reservoir. Slowly and vanishes. After about 30 min, when I got home, It popped up again for about 40 more minutes and morphed into a Plane... I know its sounds crazy... Its been out for about 4 nights so far... For some reason it knows I'm filming it." more ›

There was a lot of chatter about strange lights in the sky last night, from the Bowery to Queens, with one tipster saying, "My boyfriend and I were eating dinner on our roof across from the New Museum and saw a strong point of light that slowly emitted a wash of light that grew then receded until it totally faded away. It was definitely NOT a chopper plane or anything we've ever seen." This took place around 8 p.m., prime time for an alien invasion. more ›

You may have to suspend disbelief here, but we assure you this is real life; you didn't just wake up in a 1984 Ron Howard film. Somewhat recently there were multiple mermaid sightings off the coast of Kiryat Yam (near Haifa in Northern Israel) which prompted the town to offer up a $1 million reward for anyone who could prove the mythical creature exists. Once this news traveled all the way to New York, the Brooklyn-based Mermaid Medical Association got involved. (Also: there is a Mermaid Medical Association.) more ›

We're getting word that, as of around 5:15 p.m., there was a whale spotted off the coast of Coney Island (near Nortons Point) headed westbound towards the Verrazano Bridge. Last week a humpback whale (perhaps the same whale?) took a similar journey before escaping New York unharmed. We'll update when we find out more about this latest sighting. more ›

Hey surfers and swimmers, this just in from the newswire: POSSIBLE SHARK SIGHTING*| ROCKAWAY BEACH| CLOSING SWIM AREAS AFTER REPORT FROM FISHERMAN FOR A SHARK SIGHTING. You've been warned, Queens. Though most sharks in the area turn out to be tiny, in 2005 Rockaway got a slightly larger creature. For those keeping track, the unofficial start to shark season this year was in July, when a 5-footer was spotted at Jones Beach. If this new shark has any run-ins with a banana boat, we'll update. more ›

It's shark season! The first reported spotting of the summer happened at Jones Beach yesterday, as beach-goers trying to cool down spotted a 4 or 5-foot long shark in the bathing area (the shark was noticeably smaller than the recent one spotted with surfers in Florida). more ›