Missing time is a controversial phenomenon reported by some people in connection with close encounters with UFOs and abduction phenomena. The term "missing time" refers to a gap in conscious memory relating to a specific period in time, from several minutes to several days in length. The memory of what happened during the missing time reported is often recovered through hypnosis or during dreams.

One of the most notable cases is that of the Betty and Barney Hill abduction. The Hills experienced a period of missing time after witnessing a UFO.

The issue of missing time is controversial in that apart from disbelief in the whole UFO phenomenon, it is closely tied to several other controversial issues, most notably recovered memories and hypnosis.

Possible causes of missing time

1. That the memory of the event, real or imagined, is traumatic so that the mind represses it.
2. That the event itself did not happen and the subject instead imagined as part of a hallucination caused by drugs or a seizure, or implanted during hypnosis.

Without an abduction

Time can also be missing without a real abduction. There have been multiple cases of people who affirm that they have experienced lost time just by being in the close presence of a UFO ship. This phenomenon could be explained by physics. General relativity states that time is relative, and that time runs slower in the presence of a gravitational field. The UFO ships may have a strong gravitational field and could make time dilation possible for nearby witnesses.