This is a list of notable reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), some of which include related claims of close encounters of the second or third kind or alien abduction. UFOs are generally considered to include any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. Upon investigation, most UFOs are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained. UFOs have been referred to using a range of terms including the more specific "flying saucer" and the more general term "unidentified anomalous phenomena" (UAP). "UAP" is sometimes used to avoid cultural associations with UFO conspiracy theories.
Although often viewed as abnormal, UFO sightings are reported frequently. During the United States' initial 1947 wave, over 800 sightings were reported in the news. The British Ministry of Defence receives hundreds of reports each year. In Brazil, pilots alone report dozens of annual sightings. A small portion of reported sightings have lasting cultural significance, interpreted through the cultural and technological expectations of the time.
Antiquity
Date Name Location Descriptionc. 1450 BCThutmose III Jebel Barkal SteleAfricaAncient Egypt; Jebel Barkal, Lower EgyptAfter a military campaign in Nubia, Thutmose III had a stele erected at the Temple of Amun, beneath the Jebel Barkal outcropping. The stele describes how "a star came down" to set fire to Thutmose's adversaries.Victory stele of Thutmose III , excavated by the Harvard University – Museum of Fine Arts Expedition in Sudan, Gebel Barkal, (19 January 1920). Assigned to the MFA, Boston (1 August 1923), 23.733. Photographs by MFA Boston. This has been cited by ufologists via the purported Tulli Papyrus, likely a fraud. This alleged translation—published in issue 41 of the Fortean Society's magazine Doubt—used such Fortean tropes as "circles of fire" and fish that "fell down from the sky".Ships in the skyEuropeRoman Republic; ItaliaSome 200 years after the event, Livy recorded prodigies in the winter sky during the build-up to the Second Punic War, including navium speciem de caelo adfulsisse ("phantom ships had been seen gleaming in the sky").Spark from a falling starAsiaRoman Republic; AsiaAccording to Pliny the Elder, a spark fell from a star and grew as it descended until it appeared to be the size of the Moon. It then ascended and transformed into a torch. Astronomer Richard Stothers interpreted the report as a description of a bolide.Flame-like wine-jars from the skyAsiaRoman Republic; Phrygia, AsiaAccording to Plutarch, a Roman army commanded by Lucullus was about to begin a battle with Mithridates VI of Pontus when "the sky burst asunder, and a huge, flame-like body was seen to fall between the two armies". Plutarch reports the shape of the object as like a wine-jar (pithos).Fiery shieldEuropeRoman Republic; ItaliaIn the Naturalis historia (II, 100), Pliny the Elder recorded that clipeus ardens ab occasu ad orientem scintillans pervolavit solis occasu ("a fiery, sparkling shield flew across from west to east at sunset").AD 64Flying shieldEuropeRoman Republic; ItaliaWriting in the fourth century AD, Julius Obsequens preserved earlier reports in his Liber de prodigiis, including the appearance of a circular object resembling a clipeus ("shield") in the sky. Since Obsequens was compiling earlier sources rather than recording eyewitness testimony, historians generally treat the account as part of the Roman tradition of reporting prodigies.AD 65Burning shieldsEuropeRoman Empire; ItaliaIn the Naturales quaestiones (I.15; VII.20.2), Seneca the Younger referred to clipei flagrantes ("flaming shields") and clipei ardentes ("burning shields") among luminous celestial phenomena, treating them as natural occurrences worthy of scientific investigation.AD 65Sky armyAsiaRoman Empire; JudaeaRomano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus reported chariots "hurtling through the clouds" prior to the First Jewish–Roman War.AD 196Angel hairEuropeRoman Empire; Rome, ItaliaHistorian Cassius Dio described a "fine rain resembling silver [that] descended from a clear sky upon the Forum of Augustus." He wrote that he was able to plate some of his bronze coins, but four days later, the silvery coating was gone.
8th–17th centuries
Date Name Location DescriptionAD c. 740Air ship of ClonmacnoiseEuropeIreland; Teltown in County Meath, and Clonmacnoise in County OffalySeveral sets of Irish annals, those of Ulster, Tigernach, Clonmacnoise, and the Four Masters, have entries to the effect that "ships with their crews were seen in the air".1561-04-141561 celestial phenomenon over NurembergEuropeHoly Roman Empire; Nuremberg, BavariaResidents of Nuremberg described an aerial battle, followed by the appearance of "something like a black spear, very long and thick" (translation: Ilse Von Jacobi). A broadsheet recorded that witness accounts of hundreds of spheres, cylinders and other odd-shaped objects that moved erratically overhead.1566-08-071566 celestial phenomenon over BaselEuropeSwitzerland; Basel, BaselA broadsheet published in 1566 depicted numerous spherical objects appearing out of the Sun. The event was recorded and depicted by Samuel Coccius, "a student of the Holy Scripture and of the free arts, at Basel". Extracted from Volume 10 of the Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Civilization in Transition (1964). Originally published as Ein Moderner Mythus: Von Dingen, die am Himmel Gesehen werden (1958). Zurich and Stuttgart.1609-09-22Gwanghaegun period UFO TurmoilAsiaJoseon (Korea); Gangwon ProvinceIn 1609, multiple witnesses in Goseong, Wonju Gangneung, Chuncheon County and Yangyang County described a Halo or washbowl that was divided in two in the sky. (Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty)
19th century
Date Name Location Description1883-08-12Bonilla observationNorth AmericaMexico; Zacatecas Observatory, Zacatecas The astronomer José Bonilla photographed hundreds of dark objects crossing the Sun while observing sunspot activity at Zacatecas Observatory. Bonilla published an account of the event three years later in L'Astronomie.1896-11-17 to 1897-04-23Mystery airshipsNorth AmericaUnited StatesNewspapers across California, and later other states, especially the Midwest, printed reports of strange airships and lights. Common elements of the descriptions included bright lights, cigar-shaped bodies, movable wings and a metallic hull..1897-04-17Aurora, Texas, UFO incidentNorth AmericaUnited States; Aurora, TexasLocal correspondent S. E. Hayden reported the crash of an airship piloted by an alien. According to Hayden, the pilot was buried in the local cemetery. Residents of Aurora embrace the story without taking it seriously.
20th century 1900–1949