# UFOs and UAPs: What Official Investigations Have Found

What AARO, NASA, and Congress have actually found on UFOs and UAPs, why most sightings turn out to be satellites, planes, or Venus, and how to report one.

Official US and Canadian investigations, including the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and NASA's independent study team, have found no verified evidence that any UFO or UAP sighting is extraterrestrial. The overwhelming majority of cases that get resolved turn out to be satellites (including Starlink "trains"), aircraft, balloons, drones, or bright planets like Venus, while a small, genuinely unexplained fraction stays open for lack of data. This guide covers what the official reports and congressional hearings actually said, what commonly fools observers, how to document a sighting well, and exactly where to report one in the US or Canada.

## What "UAP" Means and Who Investigates It

The US government now uses "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena" (UAP) rather than "UFO," a term formalized by law and covering not just aerial objects but also transmedium (air, sea, and space) and submerged phenomena ([science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs](https://science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs)). The Department of Defense's **All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)**, established in 2022, leads the government-wide effort to detect, catalog, and resolve UAP reports and reports directly to Congress each year ([AARO FY2025 report](https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/FY25%20UAP%20Annual%20Report/AARO_FY2025_Consolidated_Annual_Report_on_UAP.pdf)). NASA is a science and data partner to that effort, not an investigator of individual sightings: its own FAQ states plainly that "NASA does not actively search for UAP" ([science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs](https://science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs)).

## What AARO's Annual Reports Actually Found

AARO's **FY2024 report**, covering 757 reports received between May 2023 and June 2024, resolved 49 cases outright as balloons, birds, or drones, expected roughly 243 more to resolve the same way, archived 444 for insufficient data, and flagged only 21 cases as genuinely worth continued investigation ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/annual-ufo-report-21-cases-need-more-analysis-2024); [FY24 report, media.defense.gov](https://media.defense.gov/2024/Nov/14/2003583603/-1/-1/0/FY24-CONSOLIDATED-ANNUAL-REPORT-ON-UAP-508.PDF)). AARO director Dr. Jon Kosloski said the office found "no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technologies," and no sign of foreign adversary breakthrough technology in that batch, though about 4 percent of reports described genuinely odd sightings like a "green fireball" or "a jellyfish with multicolored flashing lights" ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/annual-ufo-report-21-cases-need-more-analysis-2024)).

The **FY2025 report**, released July 21, 2026, logged 319 newly received reports (284 from the prior year plus 35 older cases) and resolved 370 cases in total during the period, all attributed to conventional causes ([The Black Vault](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/aaro-releases-fy2025-uap-report-months-after-statutory-deadline-citing-319-new-cases-and-expanded-satellite-analysis/)). Only nine reports remained open for further intelligence and scientific analysis. Notably, AARO expanded its satellite-identification work in this cycle, analyzing 44 space-domain reports (42 from FAA civilian pilot reports and two from US Space Command ground sensors) and matching them to reflected sunlight off satellites using 3D modeling ([The Black Vault](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/aaro-releases-fy2025-uap-report-months-after-statutory-deadline-citing-319-new-cases-and-expanded-satellite-analysis/)). Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who has pushed for AARO's continued funding, called the report's continued transparency effort important even as she pressed for faster releases and public accountability ([Gillibrand statement](https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/gillibrand-statement-on-release-of-fy2025-aaro-report/)).

The consistent pattern across both years: the vast majority of resolvable cases turn out to be ordinary objects, a handful stay genuinely unresolved for lack of data or sensor quality, and no report has produced verified evidence of alien technology or a downed craft ([AARO case resolution reports](https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/UAP-Case-Resolution-Reports/)). Readers who want the same kind of primary-source data habit for the rest of the night sky, official forecasts and datasets instead of secondhand claims, can find the equivalent list of government and scientific sources on our [research hub](/research).

## NASA's Independent Study: What the Scientists Concluded

In September 2023, NASA's own **UAP Independent Study Team**, a panel of 16 scientists, aviators, and data specialists, published its final report after nine months reviewing unclassified UAP data ([NASA final report PDF](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/uap-independent-study-team-final-report.pdf)). Its central conclusion was not that UAP are alien, nor that they aren't, but that "there are currently a limited number of high-quality observations of UAP," making it "impossible to draw firm scientific conclusions" either way ([NPR](https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199451892/uap-ufo-new-nasa-report-science-roadmap)). The team recommended NASA take a bigger role by improving data collection standards, applying AI and machine learning to sift sensor noise from genuine anomalies, using its Earth-observing satellite fleet, and working to reduce the stigma that keeps commercial pilots from reporting what they see ([NASA news release](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/update-nasa-shares-uap-independent-study-report-names-director/)). NASA followed up by naming Mark McInerney its first Director of UAP Research to centralize that effort ([NASA news release](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/update-nasa-shares-uap-independent-study-report-names-director/); [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Unidentified_Anomalous_Phenomena_Independent_Study_Team)). NASA's current public position remains unchanged: "there is no evidence that UAPs are extraterrestrial" ([science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs](https://science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs)).

## What Congress Has Covered in UAP Hearings

Congress has held several UAP hearings since 2023, most visibly the House Oversight Committee's November 13, 2024 joint subcommittee hearing, "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth" ([Congress.gov record](https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/LC73681/text)). Witnesses included retired Navy Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, former DoD official Luis Elizondo, former NASA associate administrator Michael Gold, and journalist Michael Shellenberger ([NPR](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5189426/ufo-uap-hearing-congress-2024)). Elizondo alleged secret crash-retrieval and reverse-engineering programs; Gallaudet described the 2015 Navy "Go Fast" video, an object with what he called flight characteristics unlike anything in the US arsenal; Shellenberger presented claims about an alleged Pentagon program called "Immaculate Constellation" ([NPR](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5189426/ufo-uap-hearing-congress-2024); [written testimony of Mike Gold](https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-Testimony-Gold.pdf)).

It is worth being precise here: these were witness claims and testimony under oath, not independently verified findings, and none of them has produced physical evidence AARO, NASA, or an independent scientific body has confirmed. The consistent recommendation across every hearing has been the same one NASA's own study team made: more transparency, less stigma around reporting, and more rigorous data collection, not confirmation of alien visitation ([NPR](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5189426/ufo-uap-hearing-congress-2024)).

## Why Most Sightings Turn Out to Be Satellites, Planes, or Balloons

The single biggest driver of modern UFO reports is a lack of context for judging distance, speed, and size in the sky, where the usual visual cues that work at ground level don't apply ([Popular Science](https://www.popsci.com/science/ufo-sightings-explained-rocket-satellite-venus/)). A few specific culprits explain a large share of reports:

- **Starlink satellite trains.** In the days after a SpaceX launch, dozens of Starlink satellites cross the sky together in a slow-moving line, bright enough to look like a formation of glowing craft; they have repeatedly triggered mass UFO reports, including a widely covered incident over Estonia and recurring waves over Texas and elsewhere in the US ([ERR News](https://news.err.ee/1610122414/starlink-trains-spotted-over-estonia-mistaken-for-ufos); [Space.com](https://www.space.com/starlink-satellite-train-how-to-see-and-track-it)). You can check upcoming Starlink passes and other satellite tracks for your own location at [heavens-above.com](https://www.heavens-above.com/); our companion guide on [Starlink satellites and astronomy](/starlink-satellites-astronomy) covers how to tell a satellite train apart from anything else in the sky.
- **Venus and Jupiter.** Venus is so bright at dawn and dusk that it is routinely reported as landing lights on an approaching aircraft, and Jupiter's steady orangey glow gets mistaken the same way; one study of misreported sightings specifically flagged both planets as chronic offenders ([Live Science](https://www.livescience.com/33766-jupiter-venus-mistaken-ufos.html); [BBC Sky at Night](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/things-mistaken-for-ufos)). A free interactive sky chart at [skyandtelescope.org](https://www.skyandtelescope.org/observing/interactive-sky-chart/) shows exactly where each planet sits relative to the stars on any given night.
- **Aircraft, drones, and military flares.** Ordinary planes, especially at odd angles or unusual lighting, and training flares that drift and appear to hover, are common triggers, and AARO's own FY2024 batch resolved dozens of cases as exactly this ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/annual-ufo-report-21-cases-need-more-analysis-2024); [BBC Sky at Night](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/things-mistaken-for-ufos)).
- **Balloons, including weather balloons.** These can rise to roughly 40 kilometers before bursting and often reflect sunlight in ways that read as metallic or disc-shaped from the ground ([BBC Sky at Night](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/things-mistaken-for-ufos)).
- **Sky lanterns.** Widely cited as the single most common cause of clustered UFO reports, since a drifting group of paper lanterns with open flames looks, from a distance, like a formation of glowing orbs ([BBC Sky at Night](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/things-mistaken-for-ufos)).
- **Rocket exhaust and reentries.** A rocket's exhaust plume can spread into a glowing, jellyfish-like cloud after reaching space, and spent rocket stages or other debris burning up on reentry can look like a fireball; both are best seen around dawn or dusk, when the ground is dark but high-altitude exhaust still catches sunlight ([Popular Science](https://www.popsci.com/science/ufo-sightings-explained-rocket-satellite-venus/)). A genuine natural fireball from a [meteor shower](/meteor-showers) burns up in a second or two and moves in a straight line, unlike the slow drift of a satellite train or balloon.

None of this means every report is explainable. AARO's own data shows a small, consistent residue of cases (21 in FY2024, 9 in FY2025) that stay open because the sensor data or witness account simply isn't good enough to resolve, which is a data-quality problem, not evidence of anything exotic ([AARO FY2025 report](https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/FY25%20UAP%20Annual%20Report/AARO_FY2025_Consolidated_Annual_Report_on_UAP.pdf)).

## How to Document a Sighting Properly

A well-documented sighting is far more useful to investigators, and far more likely to get correctly identified, than a shaky phone video. If you see something you can't identify:

1. **Note the exact time and your exact location** (coordinates if you have them) immediately, before memory fades.
2. **Note the direction and approximate altitude** in the sky (compass bearing and rough degrees above the horizon), duration of the sighting, and direction of travel, rather than just "it was up there."
3. **Check flight and satellite trackers before assuming the unexplained.** A flight-tracking app can rule out aircraft, and [heavens-above.com](https://www.heavens-above.com/) can confirm whether a known satellite or the International Space Station was passing overhead at that exact time and place.
4. **Avoid relying on digitally zoomed photos or video.** Zoom on a phone camera amplifies sensor noise and can turn a distant plane or planet into a fuzzy, ambiguous blob; a wider, unzoomed shot that also captures a horizon or landmark for scale is far more useful for later analysis.
5. **Get a second observer if you can.** Multiple independent witnesses at different vantage points let investigators triangulate position and rule out a purely local or optical explanation.
6. **Write down what you saw before discussing it with others**, so your account isn't shaped by someone else's interpretation.
7. **Report it promptly** through an official channel (below) rather than only posting to social media, since a report tied to a specific time and place is what lets AARO or other investigators cross-check it against satellite, radar, and flight data.

## How to Report a UAP Sighting in the US

AARO's public reporting form is currently restricted to **current or former US government employees, service members, or contractor personnel** with firsthand knowledge; it is explicitly not open to the general public yet, and AARO says it will announce a public reporting mechanism when one exists ([AARO Submit A Report](https://www.aaro.mil/Submit-A-Report/)). Active-duty and DoD personnel should report through their normal command chain instead.

For members of the public, the long-running civilian option is the **National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC)**, a nonprofit hotline and online reporting database operating since 1974 that is independent of the government but is the most established civilian intake point in the US ([NUFORC](https://nuforc.org/); [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_UFO_Reporting_Center)). Commercial and private pilots can also report through the FAA's normal channels, which is how many of AARO's own space-domain reports (42 of 44 in the FY2025 cycle) actually originate ([The Black Vault](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/aaro-releases-fy2025-uap-report-months-after-statutory-deadline-citing-319-new-cases-and-expanded-satellite-analysis/)).

## How to Report a UAP Sighting in Canada

Canada does not yet have a single, dedicated public UAP reporting channel. The federal **Sky Canada Project**, run by the Office of the Chief Science Advisor, was launched in fall 2022 specifically to study how Canada handles UAP reports, and its full report (published July 2025, after a January 2025 preview) found that reports are currently scattered across Transport Canada (which serves as a repository for pilot-reported sightings), the RCMP, the Department of National Defence, NAV CANADA, the Canadian Space Agency, and Environment and Climate Change Canada, with no unified intake or tracking system ([Sky Canada Project overview](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project); [New Space Economy](https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2025/07/31/sky-canada-project-a-national-effort-to-study-aerial-phenomena/)). The project's own survey found that only about 10 percent of Canadians who saw something unexplained actually reported it, and 40 percent said they simply didn't know who to contact ([The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/international/5404623-canada-uap-ufo-reporting-office/)). The Office of the Chief Science Advisor is explicit that it is not itself a reporting intake point; it directs questions to data.donnees@ocsa-bcsc.gc.ca and has recommended Ottawa create a dedicated lead agency and a public app or portal, which had not been stood up as of this writing ([Sky Canada Q&A](https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project/questions-and-answers-about-sky-canada-project); [The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/international/5404623-canada-uap-ufo-reporting-office/)). In practice, a Canadian pilot's sighting is best reported through Transport Canada or NAV CANADA, while a member of the public without a clear agency contact can still document the sighting thoroughly (see above) and submit it to NUFORC's international database, which accepts reports from Canada, pending a dedicated domestic channel.

## What to Watch Next

Keep an eye on our [nightly news](/nightly-news) coverage for satellite passes, launches, and aurora activity that regularly get mistaken for UAP in the days they happen, and see our [learn hub](/learn) for the plain-language physics behind the sky's other bright surprises, from the aurora to meteor fireballs. If you already know you're looking at a Starlink pass rather than something unexplained, our [Starlink satellites and astronomy](/starlink-satellites-astronomy) guide covers viewing times and how to track them in advance.

## Quick answers

**Has AARO or NASA found evidence of aliens?** No. AARO's FY2024 and FY2025 reports found no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology, and NASA's independent study team and current FAQ both state there is no evidence UAP are extraterrestrial ([AARO FY2025 report](https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/FY25%20UAP%20Annual%20Report/AARO_FY2025_Consolidated_Annual_Report_on_UAP.pdf); [science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs](https://science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs)).

**What percentage of UFO sightings get explained?** In AARO's FY2024 batch, roughly 292 of 757 cases (about 39 percent) were resolved or expected to resolve as balloons, birds, or drones, with only 21 (about 3 percent) flagged as genuinely worth further study; the rest lacked enough data to analyze ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/annual-ufo-report-21-cases-need-more-analysis-2024)).

**Why do Starlink satellites get mistaken for UFOs?** A freshly launched batch crosses the sky together as a slow-moving line of bright dots, which looks like a coordinated formation rather than what it actually is: dozens of individual satellites still climbing to their operational orbit ([Space.com](https://www.space.com/starlink-satellite-train-how-to-see-and-track-it); [ERR News](https://news.err.ee/1610122414/starlink-trains-spotted-over-estonia-mistaken-for-ufos)).

**Can I report a UFO sighting directly to the US government?** Only if you are a current or former government employee, service member, or contractor with firsthand knowledge; AARO has not yet opened a public reporting channel, though civilians can use the independent NUFORC database in the meantime ([AARO Submit A Report](https://www.aaro.mil/Submit-A-Report/); [NUFORC](https://nuforc.org/)).

**Does Canada have an official UFO reporting agency?** Not a dedicated one yet. Reports currently go to whichever of several agencies (Transport Canada, the RCMP, NAV CANADA, or the Department of National Defence) happens to be relevant, and the Sky Canada Project has recommended Canada create a single lead agency and public reporting tool ([Sky Canada Project](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project); [The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/international/5404623-canada-uap-ufo-reporting-office/)).

**What is the single most common cause of clustered UFO reports?** Sky lanterns, a drifting group of small paper lanterns with open flames, are widely cited as the number one cause of multi-witness UFO reports, since from a distance they read as a formation of glowing, silent orbs ([BBC Sky at Night](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/things-mistaken-for-ufos)).

## Sources
- [aaro.mil](https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/FY25%20UAP%20Annual%20Report/AARO_FY2025_Consolidated_Annual_Report_on_UAP.pdf)
- [media.defense.gov](https://media.defense.gov/2024/Nov/14/2003583603/-1/-1/0/FY24-CONSOLIDATED-ANNUAL-REPORT-ON-UAP-508.PDF)
- [cbsnews.com](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/annual-ufo-report-21-cases-need-more-analysis-2024)
- [theblackvault.com](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/aaro-releases-fy2025-uap-report-months-after-statutory-deadline-citing-319-new-cases-and-expanded-satellite-analysis/)
- [gillibrand.senate.gov](https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/gillibrand-statement-on-release-of-fy2025-aaro-report/)
- [aaro.mil](https://www.aaro.mil/Submit-A-Report/)
- [aaro.mil](https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/UAP-Case-Resolution-Reports/)
- [science.nasa.gov](https://science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs)
- [nasa.gov](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/update-nasa-shares-uap-independent-study-report-names-director/)
- [science.nasa.gov](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/uap-independent-study-team-final-report.pdf)
- [npr.org](https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199451892/uap-ufo-new-nasa-report-science-roadmap)
- [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Unidentified_Anomalous_Phenomena_Independent_Study_Team)
- [congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/LC73681/text)
- [npr.org](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5189426/ufo-uap-hearing-congress-2024)
- [oversight.house.gov](https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-Testimony-Gold.pdf)
- [space.com](https://www.space.com/starlink-satellite-train-how-to-see-and-track-it)
- [news.err.ee](https://news.err.ee/1610122414/starlink-trains-spotted-over-estonia-mistaken-for-ufos)
- [popsci.com](https://www.popsci.com/science/ufo-sightings-explained-rocket-satellite-venus/)
- [skyatnightmagazine.com](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/things-mistaken-for-ufos)
- [livescience.com](https://www.livescience.com/33766-jupiter-venus-mistaken-ufos.html)
- [heavens-above.com](https://www.heavens-above.com/)
- [skyandtelescope.org](https://www.skyandtelescope.org/observing/interactive-sky-chart/)
- [ised-isde.canada.ca](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project)
- [science.gc.ca](https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project/questions-and-answers-about-sky-canada-project)
- [thehill.com](https://thehill.com/policy/international/5404623-canada-uap-ufo-reporting-office/)
- [newspaceeconomy.ca](https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2025/07/31/sky-canada-project-a-national-effort-to-study-aerial-phenomena/)
- [nuforc.org](https://nuforc.org/)
- [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_UFO_Reporting_Center)

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Canonical: https://darkskiesdirectory.com/ufos-uaps-what-we-know
Updated: 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z