U.S. Map of the Top UFO Hotspots and How to Report a Sighting Where is UFO country? PM went to the Center for UFO Studies' database to find out where the top counties for UFO spotting reside and how they coincide with air traffic control boundaries. Here are the top regions for UFO spots along with tips on how to report a sighting.
By Phil Patton, with additional reporting by Davin Coburn, Erin McCarthy, Joe Pappalardo and Erik Sofge Where is UFO country? To find out, PM consulted the Center for UFO Studies, which maintains a database <http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4304768.html?series=74> of sightings reported from 1947 to 2005. Illinois-based CUFOS gathers data from UFO reporting groups and public records, including Project Blue Book. (If several people report the same sighting, CUFOS registers it as a single event.) For a broad comparison, we ranked both metropolitan and more sparsely settled counties. <http://services.nirvanix.com/polldaddy/polldaddy/images/a8769832-a77f-47bb- 83cd-48a599d5901c.jpg> http://services.nirvanix.com/polldaddy/polldaddy/images/a8769832-a77f-47bb-8 3cd-48a599d5901c_sml.jpg Do you think that UFOs are alien spacecraft? Yes, and I've seen them. I want to believe. No way! View Results <javascript:PD_vote1388233(1);> Do you <http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1388233/> think that UFOs are alien spacecraft? ( surveys <http://www.polldaddy.com> ) Why did these 10 top the list? Perhaps because some are close to military training <http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4304768.html?series=74> zones called Special Use Airspace. An uptick in sightings over Santa Rosa County, Fla., could stem from the presence of an air wing that tests every fighter, bomber, unmanned aerial vehicle and -weapon in the Air Force inventory. Military refueling lanes crisscross the nation, and lights from air tankers and warplanes flying at night in close formation could appear as triangles of light from the ground. Psychology may also play a role. Westmoreland County, Pa. (pop. 362,326), which records more sightings than the metro Houston area (pop. 3.9 million), includes Kecksburg, the location of a reputed 1965 UFO crash. Residents there may be more likely to report strange lights to a UFO group. _____ What to do Before You Report a UFO By Joe Pappalardo So you've just seen some eery lights in the sky, glowing orbs that moved in strange ways. This is a UFO report waiting to happen. But before you go tell all to the MUFON <http://www.mufon.com/> it could help to check what's in the sky in your area. Here is your 3-step checklist. 1. Is it Venus? First, you might want to check with your local astronomer to determine the location of Venus. The uncanny brilliance of the planet has inspired many UFO reports, including one made by President Jimmy Carter. The remainder of February is a great time to watch for Venus because it will be at its brightest in the evening twilight sky. "In the weeks ahead, Venus will be coming closer still to Earth," the dedicated skywatchers at www.earthsky.org wrote yesterday. "But it will be showing us less and less of its lighted hemisphere as it prepares to pass between us and the sun. So now is the time of maximum brilliance." Earthsky.org <http://www.earthsky.org/> and Space.com <http://www.space.com/nightsky/> have updates on prominent celestial happenings that might explain your UFO. If you feel like spending money, programs <http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4304768.html?series=74> like Starry Night are available for download. 2. Is it a military exercise? There's no way to tell when and where the military is conducting flights, right? Wrong. The FAA needs to tell pilots when military airspace is being used to keep collisions from happening. This website <http://sua.faa.gov/sua/Welcome.do> tracks which sections of "special use airspace" will be used for military flights. This includes military operations areas and aerial refueling Missions. For a list of airbases, airports and special use airspace, also see seeandavoid.org <http://www.popularmechanics.com/www.seeandavoid.org/> , a website established by the Defense Safety Oversight Council to deter midair collisions. 3. Is it an Earthling's spaceship? Satellites and spacecraft can be tracked via NASA's <http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/> website. They use data from flight centers to track satellites and spacecraft. There is a text-based version and an 300 K appl http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4304768.html?series=74
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