ARIZONA, USA — State 48 is a hotbed for unexplained aerial phenomena. Out of all 50 states, Arizona is No. 7 for the highest reports of UFO sightings in the nation, according to data from the National UFO Reporting Center.
Since 1974, the center has gathered information from across the world on unknown lights and objects in the sky. More than 170,000 reports have been processed by the center-- with almost 5,000 of those reports coming from right here in Arizona.
Recently, the center released an interactive map that shows all reported sightings across the world. Users can click on individual dots on the map to see information about the report including the date and description of the sighting. Some reports even include video and photos of the sighting.
'Most credible' and 'very interesting' sightings in Arizona
Not only does the center record each report in detail, but staff members will "highlight a small subset of what we feel to be the most credible or interesting cases."
After scrolling through reports, it seems a large portion of the highlighted cases are from sightings by pilots or military officials.
On Jan. 14, four pilots reported seeing "maneuvering lights at very high altitude views for 45 minutes" when flying over Phoenix.
"I've been an aviation profession (sic) for almost 40 years, and I've never seen nor reported something I could not explain," one of the pilots wrote in the report.
Another highlighted unexplained phenomenon that happened in Gilbert in July of 2023 may make you want to sleep with the lights on. One man reported seeing a "dark sphere the size of a smallish volleyball motionless in the hallway of my home about three feet off the ground and about two feet from the nearest wall" upon waking from a nap.
Another report from North Phoenix from July of 2023 was credible enough for the center to comment on it: "Very interesting video." In the report, a woman said she saw something strange in the sky and started recording.
"I continued recording when the object suddenly dipped down toward a lower altitude and dropped an amber teardrop-like object that I watched slowly descend towards the rooftops of distant homes, seemingly morphing into a single point of light, which disappeared behind the roofs."
There are thousands of sightings listed on the website from Arizona. Check them all out here.
The Phoenix Lights remain one of America's biggest UFO events
Nothing comes close to the Phoenix Lights phenomenon from 1997.
On March 13, 1997, almost all of Phoenix saw a wide 'V' of lights in the sky above the city. It's one of the biggest UFO sightings in the world.
The event started in Nevada when a Henderson resident reportedly saw a V-shaped object with six lights on its leading edge pass overhead, flying southeast toward Arizona.
Over the next few hours, hundreds of people called the National UFO Reporting Center to describe the lights as they passed overhead.
Fife Symington, who was Arizona's governor at the time, revealed in 2007 that he witnessed one of the UFOs during the 1997 event. Symington said in an episode of "UFO Hunters" that the U.S. military would not give him information on the bizarre lights.
In the years since the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report about the government's findings on unidentified aerial phenomena... Better known as unidentified flying objects.
The nine-page report doesn't mention the Phoenix Lights. Sorry science fiction fans, but it also doesn't say that aliens are involved.
The U.S. Air Force said the lights were likely military flares dropped during a training exercise at the Barry Goldwater Air Force Range, according to the Arizona Republic.
But whatever the lights were, they cemented Arizona's status as a hotbed for UFO activity.
