UFOs are getting their day in court
Lots of formerly confidential information is getting spilled so let's bring it back to geography!
This is turning into a very space-heavy week for me! Fresh off publishing part one of our podcast on the space race, here I am about to write all about unidentified flying objects, perhaps better known as UFOs. And the reason why I’m writing about them today is because of the rather unusual congressional hearing where previous military and governmental officials are testifying under oath about what they’ve experienced in the past. If you haven’t been paying attention it’s been pretty wild. Here’s some of what’s been said already, as paraphrased by CBS News:
Fravor recounted his 2004 encounter with an object off the California coast. He told the subcommittee that he and another pilot spotted the smooth, seamless oval-shaped object hovering over the water before it rapidly climbed about 12,000 feet in the air. It then accelerated and disappeared. It was detected roughly 60 miles away less than a minute later. Fravor returned to an aircraft carrier and mentioned the object to other pilots who were getting ready to take off, and they managed to get it on video.
and
Graves was an F-18 pilot stationed in Virginia Beach in 2014 when his squadron first began detecting unknown objects. He described them as "dark grey or black cubes … inside of a clear sphere, where the apex or tips of the cubes were touching the inside of that sphere."
He said a fellow pilot told him about one incident about 10 miles off the coast, in which an object between 5 and 15 feet in diameter flew between two F-18s and came within 50 feet of the aircraft. He said there was no acknowledgement of the incident or way to report the encounter at the time.
It’s some pretty wild stuff from people who appear to be fairly credible. I encourage you to go read some of the original articles covering it if you’re interested because now we’re going to head back into the wonderful world of geography!
The geography of UFOs in the U.S.
UFO sightings are not exactly rare. They span the entire world covering every single continent, through most cultures cultures, and basically every time zone. And each come with its own unique circumstance and interpretation largely based on the background of the person who is witnessing it. But the United States, in particular, has been a particular hotbed for such sightings, fueling both public interest and scientific investigation. And this is largely because of the myths and legends that have come from the Roswell, New Mexico “UFO" crash landing” event that occurred in 1947. That’s not to say that sightings didn’t occur before, but this event definitely seems to have kicked off the phenomenon in popular culture.
Overview of UFO Sightings in the U.S
Historically, UFO sightings have been reported across all 50 states in the U.S. These sightings vary in descriptions, from simple lights moving across the sky to more complex occurrences involving what could be classified as spacecraft all the way up to what can only be called unidentified phenomena. According to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) and Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), the most active states for UFO sightings are California, Florida, Texas, Washington, and New York, respectively.
Now here’s where things get a little sticky because, for those who are adept at reading data-heavy maps, you might notice something in the listing of the most active states above as well as in the map above. Go on… take a quick look and then continue on.
If you haven’t noticed, the map above is just a population map disguised as something else. That’s not to say the data isn’t real. People very well may be seeing “something” all over the country. But when things line up so closely with just where people are, regardless of the data, it’s hard to pull any significant trends out. Case and point, the map above.
But there are some interesting patterns
A closer look at the geographical distribution of UFO sightings across the U.S reveals several interesting patterns. As already covered, states with a high population generally tend to report a higher number of sightings. This pattern may be attributed to the simple fact that more people equate to more potential observers. So with California, Texas, New York and Florida being the four states with the most people, it makes sense there might be more sightings in those states.
Washington stands out as a little interesting as it’s not one of the most populous states (it’s #13), but it does have a strong aeronautics industry. Boeing and other companies are located within or near Seattle, as well as a huge air force base nearby, it’s feasible that there are specific aircraft being tested that might look abnormal compared to traditional airplanes. In fact, the presence of military installations seems to correlate with an increased number of sightings all over the country, not just Washington.
One other interesting thing though is that sightings seem to occur more frequently near the coastlines. This could be due to UFOs being attracted to areas without obvious life such as cities. That would seem to make sense. However, this pattern could equally be due to the fact that coastlines have clear, unobstructed views that make it easier to see the sky in a great distance. And when people view the horizon, with the vast ocean, it’s easy to see things that might be more illusion than anything material.
Now despite everything I’ve just run through, I’m not a UFO skeptic necessarily. I believe strongly there’s something else out there. Whether they have visited us remains a mystery. The UFO hearings show that there may be something more than just individual sightings. But the fact remains that the geography of UFO sightings is mostly just where people live and that’s not very convincing data.