The catalog
Sightings
Witness reports, held as-reported. Each entry keeps its source, its coordinates where the record has them, and its place in the larger pattern.
27,433 entries
October 6, 2023 · 1:00 AM · LIGHT
Sutton, WV
I was at my friend’s house out in the middle of the woods, away from main roads. I went outside to pee because they’re in the process of building their house, and through the trees I noticed this bright light in the distance moving around and getting smaller then bigger. I watched it for a minute and got scared and tried to get everyone’s attention. Nobody cared. So I went back outside and started watching the sky again, and my friend was with me. I started seeing two to six lights like stars with a glow around them, (from the clouds, coming through our atmosphere and back out, no other stars had a glow like that) moving around in one direction and then it would change and go another direction, there was some that would morph into each other, circle each other and then become one, they would go away completely and then come back in different spots. There was one that would get extremely bright, and would move around and then I could see a cloud of light then it would disappear again, then come back in a different spot and move around. I watched these in the sky for about two hours. I watch the night sky every night and have for about 3 years now. I’ve never seen anything like this. I know what Venus and Jupiter look like and where they’re at, I know what starlink looks like, I know what planes, satellites and drones look like, these were none of these things. To me, from my perspective on the ground, all I could see were lights but they maneuvered around and looked like some sort of vehicle in the sky with a bright light on them to see. They could turn these lights off and on also. There was intelligent thought in the way they maneuvered. I could tell these things were going in and out of our atmosphere extremely fast for as high up it was, and they were looking at our ground here. I know this sounds insane but I’m a fairly intelligent person and I’ve been watching the stars for a long time and I’ve never seen anything like this.
October 5, 2023 · 11:00 PM · LIGHT
Chicago, IL
On the evening of October 5th, 2023 at approximately 0400Z while flying a Citation Latitude business Jet from KTEB to KMDW, I noticed strange lights above our aircraft at approximately the 2 o'clock high position over the Lake Michigan area. We were cruising at FL430 and approximately Mach .76 when I noticed the lights; they appeared as stars but they were maneuvering rapidly, changing direction and speed in multiple planes of movement. There were approximately five lights and they would maneuver, change brightness (may have been directional lights pointing toward and away from us; unsure), and fly in what looked to be a repeated formation. This activity appeared to be cyclical in nature. This was very odd to me, as Starlink satellites and similar objects in an orbit do not change speed and direction in that manner. I observed it for several seconds before commenting to my Captain that he should take a look. He quickly gained sight of them and concurred that he had never seen anything like it. We estimated the objects altitude to be FL600 or above; it was difficult to tell as they appeared to be 50-100 miles away from us but they were definitely well above our altitude. Our position at the time of initial visual observation of the objects was east of the GSH navaid on the V451. The weather was completely clear at our altitude and above us with a layer of overcast clouds below at around FL300. The moon had not yet risen so the only lights in the sky were stars and other aircraft which were easily discernable and generally co-altitude or below us. While we could not explain the lights, I queried ATC as to whether there was any military activity in that area. They replied in the negative, so I asked more specifically if the R-6903 restricted area over Lake Michigan was active. They said that it was not. Neither my Captain nor myself could explain these lights, and we witnessed the activity for approximately 30 minutes before we began our descent into KMDW and had to focus on the arrival and approach. We discussed it as a crew and continued with our tour. Approximately three days later, on the morning of October 9th at approximately 0730Z we saw the lights again while flying east from KSJC to KLUK. We were again at FL410 and in the proximity of Peoria, IL at the time of the sighting. My captain noticed the lights first (the same captain from the previous flight) and brought them to my attention. They were in the same general region, over the Great Lakes area. Multiple pilots had commented on the light coming from Venus on guard frequency (121.5) but it was quickly explained to them that it was a planet. I made a transmission on guard asking if anyone could see the strange lights we were witnessing and got several replies. Initially they were dismissed as Starlink, but once multiple pilots admitted to seeing them there was a consensus that it was not Starlink and no explanation was offered. Pilots discussing this phenomena switched to 123.45 frequency to avoid cluttering the guard frequency. At that point, one crew admitted to seeing these lights multiple times generally in the same area. One crew could see them from the Tennesee area and another crew was in a Gulfstream at FL450 closer to the lights and said they were well above their altitude. All in all, the lights were viewed by multiple professional pilots and none could offer any explanation for them. Again, we witnessed the lights for approximately 30 minutes until we began our arrival into Cincinnati. The weather was clear that night with a rising moon later in the flight. I still have no explanation for what we saw. I have approximately 3000 hours of flight time in various aircraft, mostly military as I was an MV-22 pilot in the Marine Corps and was an instructor for Night Vision Device flying. I am aware of most atmospheric phenomena and have seen multiple Space X launches and satellites from both the ground and in flight. My Captain has over 20 years of flying experience. Neither of us had any explanation for the lights. I am confident what we saw would be classified as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
October 5, 2023 · 6:53 PM · LIGHT
Avon Park, FL
It was a small white light, and it faded out at sunset as I pulled out my phone. It was slower than a shooting star. And it did not blink or leave a trail like an aircraft.
October 5, 2023 · 11:31 AM · LIGHT
lawrence, KS
6 lights flying west to east then 2 lights split off and went in a different direction and the other 4 went in a eastern direction.
October 4, 2023 · 10:41 PM · LIGHT
Orange, CT
We have 2 ring cameras and the one at the back barely gives us warning , suddenly we had a movement, when we checked it 3 lights on the same line came from sky to ground then moved up back, we thought that they were bugs or something then we realized that we could see their lights on the ground and on trees. We might be wrong but what if we are right, if there is any movement on FAA radar that may help you, otherwise sorry for taking your time when you are watching the video
October 4, 2023 · 9:30 PM · LIGHT
PA
I saw it very clearly at first, and ran inside to get my phone. When I got back there were two, not close together. First one white, second one red. They did not remain a fixed distance apart. They were silently moving west at a slow rate of speed. By the time I got my camera on them, they had moved too far away to see the details, but they were both shaped like a regularly pulsing Christmas star, with many points, only visible when the lights pulsed. I got video as they drifted out of sight, behind the trees. I’m an aircraft enthusiast, and I’ve never seen aircraft lights like these. [NUFORC annotation: Aircraft - Possible]
October 4, 2023 · 7:05 PM · LIGHT
Arlington, VA
Local weather: KDCA 070252Z 16005KT 10SM FEW060 FEW085 BKN150 22/19 A2989 RMK AO2 SLP120 T02220194 58005 (I live about 3 miles from DCA) [DECODED Weather: Temperature: 22.2°C ( 72°F) Dewpoint: 19.4°C ( 67°F) [RH = 84%] Pressure (altimeter): 29.89 inches Hg (1012.3 mb) [Sea level pressure: 1012.0 mb] Winds: from the SSE (160 degrees) at 6 MPH (5 knots; 2.6 m/s) Visibility: 10 or more sm (16+ km) Ceiling: 15000 feet AGL Clouds: few clouds at 6000 feet AGL, few clouds at 8500 feet AGL, broken clouds at 15000 feet AGL] About me: I rent this apartment (since 2017) because of the panoramic view facing east and because of the proximity to Washington/National (DCA) airport. I am passionate about military and civilian aviation and, as a result, I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at airplanes [noting their make/model, company (owner), path, assumed route, and deviations], weather, and the sky. My Observations: On Wednesday, 04 October 2023, at approximately 1910 local, while sitting on my easterly facing balcony with a friend, talking, I was facing approximately NNE. I observed three lights that "popped into my view", suddenly, causing me to say "whoa" out loud. I did not have to point out the lights to my friend, I simply said something like what are those lights in the sky over the Kenedy Center. She observed the same lights and had no idea what they were. I observed that three dots heading together in a due north direction, at a satallite's passing overhead speed, in an open triangle formation. The three lights were on a triangle, with one light "leading" the formation to the north and two more lights all equidistant from each other to the south. These did not look like the Starlink sattelite pattern of lights so frequestly seen in the sky. Then, within a minute, they all disappeared, first the most northly, then the other two, one after another. The lights were a whitish (with a hint of blue) color. There was no variation in color. There was no variation in the path nor movement. The lights appeared about 35 - 45 degrees above the horizon. They appeared that they were over the surface a great distance away, guessing maybe at least 75 miles away(?) if they were even within low earth atmosphere. They were possibly operating (as I suspect they were) in space. There was no sound. I knew the sun set recently, so I first considered what I was seeing to be a reflection. I disregarded that because the lights "popped" into view versus gradually illuminating - plus, I should have seen a "reflection" well before passing so far north in the sky. (In other words, since the lights traveled south to north, perpendicular to the sun's path, I would have seen any reflection that high in the sky much, much sooner in the more southern sky.) My next thought was that I was seeing satellites - but satellites do not fly in triangle formation in "close" proximity to each other. We did see a satellite later that evening that I suspect was the space station traveling overhead from west to east and very brightly illuminated. The three lights looked completely different. I am familliar (very) with UFP/UAP history, incidents, and converasations, etc. My initial reaction was not that I was seeing a UFO/UAP, but was a "head tilting" but was a "what the heck was that" reaction. Then I concluded that, from my perspective, since it was unknown to me, it was, by definition, an unknown flying object / unknown aerial phenomena. I thought of trying to take a picture, but I know from experience that my cell phone would not have captured the lights.
October 2, 2023 · 8:25 PM · LIGHT
Albany, NY
Driving north bound on I87 between exits 5-6 in Albany NY on 10/02/23 around 8:25 PM. Large light crossed the sky starting from behind my back right shoulder and flew directly forward of me. The light was lower than planes that were actively in the sky. There was no audible sounds that were heard during the sighting. The light travelled across faster than one could say one Mississippi. The light was white, with light trails coming off the sides of the object. The object appeared triangular in shape with no light trailing directly behind, only the sides. The light vanished directly infront of me at the edge of the horizon.
October 2, 2023 · 8:02 PM · LIGHT
MS
Looking at the western night sky about an hour after sunset, I noticed an apparent meteorite or shooting star, very bright and leaving a long trail, traveling due west towards the horizon. Immediately after disappearing, from the exact point the object burnt out, a light appeared, very slowly flashing from extremely bright to completely invisible (I’d say a period of every four seconds or so, it was hard to follow across the sky because it wasn’t flashing rapidly) and after tracking it for a minute, I realized it was more or less going back in the same direction it had entered from (i.e. traveling due east). I watched it until it disappeared behind the trees in the east. It kind of looked like a satellite, but I’ve never seen a satellite that brightened and dimmed periodically, and I checked all satellite and flight trackers and nothing showed up in the area.
October 2, 2023 · 3:13 AM · LIGHT
Chatsworth, GA
At around 3:00 AM, I went out on the porch to let my German Shepherd out to do her thing. It was unusually clear and very bright. While I was waiting for her return, I was facing due East. There was a bright Half-Moon at around bearing 045º, and I thought it was extra bright and orange, probably at perigee...beautiful. The moon made it possible to see very well. I thought I could almost read by the light. There were also many stars visible, constellations I specifically admired because of their brightness, Pegasus, Cassiopeia, and Andromeda at bearing 075º through 085º, approximately. Clouds were thin and very sparse. I saw Alice (my dog) returning across the field in the moonlight...few things are more beautiful than a German Shepherd at a gallop. Sorry, I digress... As I turned to face due North to reach behind me for the doorknob, I noticed in my peripheral vision some movement in the sky coming from the NNW. I turned my head and looked up to see a perfectly straight (appearance-wise) line of small blueish-white lights traveling at what I thought would have been the speed of an L-1 towing a sign (I used to work for a sign-towing company), but there was no engine noise. Just the normal night sounds. It traveled in a straight line from NNW to NNE at an azimuth of 45º and I did not lose sight of it. I think when it went in front of stars, it really went in front of them, but I could be wrong. I reached for the doorknob, opened the door, and shouted for my wife to come look at this and bring one of the cell phones so I could take a picture. but she was unable to respond in time. I turned back to watch the lights, by now almost due North, still the same azimuth. No course change, no apparent altitude change, no noise, and no sign of a tow plane. No running lights, nothing. They all appeared to be of the same size, about like the medium stars, and the same brightness. Not faint, but not bright. They appeared to be evenly spaced. I didn't know what size they really were, so I was unable to estimate the actual size, speed, or altitude. They appeared to be a towed sign with no words, just dots, by something similar to a Cessna or Stearman that tows at around 65mph, at 500 ft. But there was absolutely no engine noise or anything to indicate there was an aircraft towing it. Alice did not react, but she seldom does to anything in the sky, like planes, birds, etc... I followed them to about bearing 025º, Azmuth approximately 70º, when Alice, almost to the porch, barked at something and took off after it. I followed her for a bit (visually) then looked for the lights once again. They were gone, or out of sight. Alice returned in a few minutes, we went inside and that was about it. My opinion, for what it is worth is that it was something being towed, and for some reason used no running lights (red, green, white), and the sound could not be heard, for some reason, maybe atmospheric. I don't know why anyone would be doing that, but that's what it seemed like to me. But that's probably above my pay-grade. If not that, then some sort of unusual atmospheric phenomena, maybe because of the super-bright moon and other factors. I do not know if it was reported by anyone else, picked up on radar, or anything else. I did not see it listed in the local newspaper, nor on the local Facebook page (if it's not on Facebook, how far from the pack have you strayed?). Earlier today (Oct 5), my wife told me about a similar incident in Alaska recently, so I thought if I reported this, it might help to find the actual identification. My money is still on something towed by an unseen something. I'd like to say in closing that I do not think it was any sort of manned (for lack of a better word), extraterrestrial spacecraft, or any other nonsense. I am a Skeptic. There is a normal explanation for it that doesn't involve little, green men from Mars. I used to write for a website called Hiding the Truth, and we debunked all kinds of nonsense, pseudo-science, and the like. I don't want anyone to think I am a UFO nut, because I am not. Just an aging, reasonably-well educated Hobby-Scientist. I hope this helps. Feel free to publish all or part of this, or use it any way you see fit. Thanks [NUFORC annotation: Starlink - Possible]
October 2, 2023 · 12:48 AM · LIGHT
Luray, VA
As I was sitting in my living room on my couch, I looked out of my front window which faces Northeast, and viewed two faint balls of white light that were steadily moving North up the Shenandoah Valley. When I first noticed these two lights, they were above the horizon to the immediate right of the mountaintop “Kennedy’s Peak” of the George Washington National Forest. After bringing the lights to the attention of my younger brother, we both ran over to the window and opened it it gain a better view of the lights. These lights appeared to be maintaining a constant altitude of approximately 30,000 feet AGL and traveling faster than a regular passenger aircraft- if they were at the range they appeared to be they could have been traveling at more than 800 knots. These lights were rather faint, and they maintained perfect separation of about a thumbnail on an extended arm throughout the entire duration of the sighting which lasted about ten seconds total. By the time I found a pair of binoculars to get a better view of them, the right-hand light began to fade and was quickly joined by the left-hand light before totally fading into the darkness. We watched the sky for about five minutes afterward and saw nothing out of the ordinary. FlightAware.com and FlightRadar24.com had no aircraft in the area at the time. No satellite trackers had anything in the area either. I do not believe these were Starlink satellites- I have seen them several times before, however, I have never seen just a pair traveling perfectly along the horizon. Perhaps military jets on a training exercise? Both me and my brother are lifelong aviation enthusiasts with a father who is a private pilot. I've never seen anything quite like this before.
October 1, 2023 · 9:07 PM · LIGHT
Fort Worth, TX
Appeared as a small star but traveled very slowly, moving in an irregular pattern from west to east, lingered, then south.
October 1, 2023 · 8:47 PM · LIGHT
Hollister, MO
I arrived at home from the grocery store in Hollister, MO at 8:47PM and noticed how big the Moon appeared to be and how it was almost an orange color. I stopped to take a couple of pictures to send to my mother, who was staying about 10 minutes from me in Branson, MO at Stone Castle Inn. I continued to look at the Moon and opened my Satellite Tracker app to see what planet was close to it and saw that it was Jupiter. As I was about to walk indoors, I saw a VERY bright white, long and thin rectangle appear inbetween Jupiter and the Moon. It was moving at the pace of a pretty fast jet directly towards the Moon. It began to get even more bright white (I've never seen something this "shade" of white), it began to go faster, angling up towards the Moon and as soon as it was directly in front of it from where I was standing, it completely disappeared. It literally was there one moment and gone the next. I have never seen anything move quite like it before and the speed it reached, made no sense to me. There was no noise and for something THAT large, I do not understand why I did not hear anything. Anyways, whatever it was, was absolutely captivating and beautiful. After this event, I received a text message from my mother and she asked me if I had seen something weird by the Moon (as she went outside after I had initially sent her the two photos of the Moon). She described a very similar experience, with the only difference being that she thought she saw a smaller round shaped "something" further below this object that was moving in sync with it. I attached a photo that I sent my mother, with a circle where this object first appeared and the direction that it moved. I would love to be contacted if anyone else has reported this event.
October 1, 2023 · 2:08 PM · LIGHT
Probable conventionalNew Hartford, NY
While returning from a hike on McKeever Road, I took a photo of the trailhead sign on Route 28. It was only after we returned home later that I looked at my photos and noticed two strange clusters of lights and nearby what looks like a cloud shaped like a triangle. When I took the photo I didn't hear or see any planes or helicopters in the sky. In fact, no sounds were heard. [NUFORC annotation: Camera Anomaly - Probable]
September 30, 2023 · 10:02 PM · LIGHT
Spokane, WA
Another chilly nite last nite and at approx 22:00hrs looking to the SE bogey! and softer bright! single spark. In a typical darker yellow colour and at a high altitude. Say above 15,000ft. Waited for usual FAA indicator lights...nada. Not even an obvious 'light' source. Strobe or no. Heading mostly E and after getting zero indication of it being commercial or known military it had my rapt attention. Typical sighting for being in LA IMO. The UAP I mean. This kind of craft is so that common place in the skies above Los Angeles that I wasn't even going to report it here. However, that's LA this is not. I watched up until it did something that again, I've observed many times prior & I'm happy to have seen again. This particular kind of object or craft has demonstrated a peculiarity right before it vanishes, a trait now seen in two different states. It performs this 'flit flit...errrrrrr, flit!' action/activity immediately before it vanishes right before your eyes. If you didn't know to look for it. IMO? You'd not ever see it... -end
September 30, 2023 · 7:28 PM · LIGHT
Pasadena, MD
Driving in my neighborhood I saw bright circular lights over the houses. They began to make formations like a straight line. The lights scattered from a formation and slowly deminished one at a time. [NUFORC annotation: Flares - Possible]
September 30, 2023 · 7:21 PM · LIGHT
Madison, WI
A video tape. This light that did not blink did not change colors. Just bright white orb of that. Had a very smooth type of movement. As I was videotaping this light, I noticed there was a regular aircraft flying not far from the object. Then as it descended, it actually passed another blinking aircraft.
September 30, 2023 · 12:08 AM · LIGHT
Cuba, MO
I am a frequent stargazer. I was observing: a satellite, planet, and the harvest moon also i was trying to determine what planet it could possibly be. As I was looking a small "light" like a plane came across the sky in our atmosphere moving faster than any jet i have seen. Vanishing off in the horizon. It didn't have a tail. I was looking in an empty space with no one visible outside. It looked fairly high up but difficult to say how high because it was moving extremely fast. I can honestly say I never seen anything even close to this in my life
September 29, 2023 · 9:20 PM · LIGHT
Canton, GA
I was on the phone in my backyard and noticed a ball of light pads over a tree and disappear then another and another u til I counted 20 in total. They all were the same brightness as the stars and all disappeared in the same exact spot. We saw two of the 20 reappear and fly almost into each other and then spaced out then flew almost into each other again before fading away.
September 25, 2023 · 8:50 PM · LIGHT
Lowestoft, SUFFOLK · United Kingdom
I was in my back garden and could see 2 dark orange or orange red moving behind the tree close to my garden from right to left. The lights were silent and slow moving. The atmosphere felt unusual. I went indoors to get my phone to take a photo. The lights both faded. The front light descended and faded. The back light disappeared.
September 25, 2023 · 7:30 PM · LIGHT
Tucson, AZ
Sitting on patio facing wester sky. At approx. 7:30PM, at about a 45 degree angle at 280 degrees west, three objects began moving from the same spot in three different directions. Size approximated a bright star. Speed was faster than any satellite we've seen. And they disappeared when approx. overhead. Within a minute or two, from the same originating spot, one took off at the same speed towards the SE. We lost count but around six to eight repeated with about 30 second intervals. The last event was two pair on the same track as the others. They made no sound. My wife and I both clearly saw the objects. She thinks they were meteors - after some research on Utube, I saw nothing similar via video or by verbal description. I'm not sure what they were. Contact me if you wish.
September 25, 2023 · 6:55 PM · LIGHT
mason city clear lake area, IA
One night I returned home to watch the evening news and they were announcing a ufo had been seen traveling over the town from south to north and going down in a quarry. Around the same time-and I have the news clipping, a slow moving light was being watched as it receded over the airport by several witnesses when they got of their cars to look. I have the news clipping. One was a cop, another was a friend of mine. More recently I decided to get out my telescope-not a cheap one. I pointed it straight up and there were 6 or so large orbs moving south to north single file. I must say at satellite speed. This was before Starlink. Just looked very odd to me.
September 25, 2023 · 9:54 AM · LIGHT
Delta Township, MI
Stationary save for recording. Appeared again the next evening. Fast moving cloud also appeared with a light flash in middle
September 25, 2023 · 7:15 AM · LIGHT
Killiney Bay · Ireland
As we began the descent from Bristol Airport (UK) to Dublin Airport (Ireland), the plane turned left, and there was a glowing orb above the water. The orb was approximately 10ft above the water and was slowly circulating. After 15 seconds, the orb instantly submerged into the water (a quick 90-degree turn downwards). It didn't slow in speed; it just shot down quickly. The ball/orb was consistent in its movements, circling in a perfect circle. I can't say how large the object was, but it was large enough to be viewed from an airplane during its descent (we weren't majorly high at this period either). The object was a circular white object with a warm yellowish glow. I've run some obvious explanations through my head, and it wasn't a reflection from something inside the plane. The flight was almost empty on the flight back, so I experimented with light reflections in the window. The reflective lights didn't have the same brightness and depth as the orb. There wasn't any double/triple light that you'd get from triple-barrelled airplane windows. On the same return flight, some lights from outside the airplane reflected off the engine. That type of light wasn't what I saw above the water, nor would lights that small reflect off the water so brightly that far down. It didn't look like a regular light from the distance, how that would look. It looked more like a circle that had a slight glow orbiting it. This sighting occurred in Dublin Bay, the bay of sea close to the shore over the Dublin airport flight path. Between 7:15am and 7:30am. As I was in the middle seat next to a sleeping passenger, I didn't take any photos. The timeframe of me seeing the object and its submerging was around 10/15 seconds, so by the time I had my phone out and ready, it was gone.