Scientists rank the best places to spot UFOs in the US – but don’t hold your breath

• If you’re hunting aliens, you might want to head west.

• Western states appear to have the best conditions for detecting unidentified anomalous events (UAP).

• But don’t roll out the welcome mat just yet, there is no evidence that aliens have visited Earth.

The best place to spot a UFO in the US may be the west; According to a study, most of the observations in the United States between 2001 and 2020 appear to have come from there.

But don’t put on your tinfoil hat just yet; There are many things people can see instead of a little green man.

Here’s a map from the study showing where UFO sightings are hottest:

The West’s big, clear skies and low cloud cover provide an excellent viewing opportunity to spot any incoming alien visitors.

But the downside of these areas, according to the report, is that they are likely to be overshadowed by activity from nearby military areas and airports.

That doesn’t mean these reports should be discarded as a whole, and that’s exactly what scientists are trying to find out with this research: What can help them filter the truly groundbreaking points from the sea of ​​misinformation and confusion?

““The U.S. government (military, intelligence and civilian agencies) need to understand what is happening across their scope to ensure the safety and security of the nation and its people,” said Sean Kirkpatrick, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Georgia. and former leader of the All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), said in a statement.

“In this age of ubiquitous sensors and data availability, the unknown is unacceptable. The scientific community has a responsibility to research and educate,” said Kirkpatrick, the study’s author. said.

Did you see an alien or an ordinary satellite?

If you were in Los Angeles on Tuesday, you could be forgiven for thinking you saw an alien. As the sun was setting, an ethereal jellyfish-shaped blob was moving across the sky at an alarming speed.

What many didn’t know was that a SpaceX rocket had taken off nearby, leaving behind a vapor trail that looked rather odd to the untrained eye.

The story continues

This is an extreme example of what NASA and AARO are struggling with.

The U.S. government’s National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) takes unidentified anomalous events (UAPs) — the new term for UFOs — quite seriously.

These reports could be crucial evidence for tracking enemy technology flying under radar in US airspace, for example. And yes, if there were aliens flying around Earth, this would be where scientists would look for them, too.

But the vast majority of reports can easily be explained by something else, like a passing satellite or rocket, or clouds distorting the light. NUFORC even has a standard response form that explains how, according to research, Venus is often mistaken for an alien ship.

So how can they trust what they see?

UAP reports are valuable information, but only if they are reliable

To overcome this problem, Kirkpatrick and his colleagues conducted a study of where the observations mostly came from.

Combing through 98,724 observations recorded by NUFORC between 2001 and 2020, they found that most reports were hyperlocalized in the West.

Knowing where reports come from can help scientists pick out common environmental factors that may influence the flow of reports.

For example, if there is a strong culture of searching for aliens, this could influence reporting. In short, according to the study, “if your goal is to see a UAP, you may well see it given the opportunity.”

Western people spend more time outdoors, which gives them more opportunities to look at the sky, scientists said.

However, some data surprised scientists. One of the things they expected was that areas with more cloud cover might be behind hotspots of activity. Clouds can distort a flash of light. It turned out that this was not the case.

They said there were significantly fewer reports in California as well, and they couldn’t find a good reason for it.

“There are many factors that can contribute to the reporting of anomalous objects,” said Simon Brewer, a professor of geography at the University of Utah and co-author of the study.

“By examining the spatial distribution of reports and how they relate to the local environment, we hope to provide some geographic context that can help analyze or understand reports in both public and military settings.”

You can also use this data while we wait for undeniable evidence that our extraterrestrial neighbors are spying on us.

Hot spots for alien reports are places where the sky is wide open and it is easy to see stars. They provide valuable stargazing opportunities with the added bonus of the occasional alien thrill.

The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports in December 2023.

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