Reported UFO Sightings, 1906 to 2014

[media=https://youtu.be/iCPsgCHpPYc]
It’s interesting to see how the number of reported sightings has exploded in recent decades. It’s also interesting that reports of UFO sightings are heavily concentrated in only a handful of countries.

The video was created by ESRI – “an international supplier of geographic information system (GIS) software, web GIS, and geodatabase management applications.”

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

ElwoodBlues · M

Looks like the vast majority of UFO sightings happen in the USA. This suggests two major possibilities:
(1) Aliens just love the USA, stick withing our borders
(2) It's an American cultural phenomenon

Occam's razor implies (2) is more likely, but I'm keeping an open mind.

Here's a map of the US with UFO sightings per capita. They are more common in rural states; of course light pollution could influence this. sorry, it's webp format; doesn't seem to work inside an S/W image link.

[media=https://i.insider.com/5d139a1b9c510107bb3206c3?width=600&format=jpeg&auto=webp]

Rutterman · 46-50, M

@ElwoodBlues The reported sightings are heavily concentrated in the US, but I'd add that southern Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands-Belgium area have had quite a few as well, at least according to ESRI.

My mind is open too, but I suspect less exotic and more mundane things (e.g., satellites, test balloons, lenticular clouds, meteors, upper-atmospheric lightning, and Fata Morgana mirages) account for what people typically see when they report UFOs.

Interesting map. Thanks for sharing it.