by Matthew Phelan / illustration by Script & Seal POPSCI.COM•FALL 2019 11

C H A R T E D

volunteers with the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) and
the Mutual UFO Network have cataloged sightings of flying saucers,
black triangles, ringed orbs, and other baffling aerial phenomena.
Many scientists dismiss these unusual accounts, but a few researchers
analyze them to see what decades of purported encounters can teach

us. Their work has organized what others consider the result of human

error or whimsy into robust databases fit for serious study. When put

together, these reports of strange lights in the sky often tell us more

about the humans on the ground than the unidentified objects them-

selves. Here’s what these rogue scientists’ work has uncovered.

Between 2001 and 2018, there have been 2,863 UFO sightings

reported on Independence Day—more than seven times the 24-

hour average. But American alien lovers may just be over-eager,

as most Fourth of July reports turn out to stem from stray fire-

works. The data doesn’t prove that aliens have never visited on

this national holiday, but it does suggest that festive ordnance

occasionally misfires in weird and unexpected ways.

SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS

Though you might not have heard yet, the 37th

parallel passing through Area 51 is rumored to be

a veritable traffic jam of flying saucers, at least according to some UFO researchers and

the Hollywood-optioned book The 37th Parallel: The Secret Truth Behind America’s UFO

Highway. But recent data shows that the strip doesn’t see more activity than other lines

of latitude: U.S. cities bisected by the 34th parallel reported 615 UFO sightings in 2018,

while cities along the 40th saw 576. Cities across the purported highway tallied only 254.

AMERICA’S UFO HIGHWAY