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Searching for UFOs? There’s a Map for That.

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Searching for UFOs? There’s a Map for That.

Published by M. Dee Dubroff at
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It should come as no surprise to anyone that many UFO sightings are not reported. There’s something about discussing this phenomenon in front of relatives and authorities that makes people fear their friends will think that they’re drinking a bit too much.

The UFO Road Map helps the process, as you realize both that you are not alone and that the cold hard truth, however scary, is out there.

Who created the UFO map?

FindTheBest, a California-based technology company well known for its development of embeddable, interactive data visuals, created this exciting and very different database. Usually focused on amassing and interpreting all kinds of data ranging from consumer products, personal finance, and real estate to sports statistics, this is the first time this company has embarked on a project involving UFO surveillance.

Reports of UFO sightings come from every corner of the nation and total about 61,000 annually. (Considering the fact that most of them go unreported, this is an alarming figure.) FindTheBest has narrowed these sightings down to some 39,000 reports to create a unique map focusing on county-by county UFO reports by capita.

In the words of Lane Allison, product manager of FindTheBest, “We downloaded UFO sightings from the National UFO Reporting Center and took all of the locations and tried to standardize them.” While some spots may be better than others, at the very least this map represents a starting point for a potential close encounters of the sixth kind.

How does this map work?

There are two versions of this interactive map: UFO Sightings and UFO Sightings Per Capita. Both work the same way, as wherever the mouse lands, detailed information is offered about that particular place in the United States. According once again to Allison: “After we got latitude and longitude pairs, we could determine the number of UFO sightings that have been reported in counties. Then, we cross-referenced that with the American Community Survey population estimates of those counties, resulting in UFO reports per capita number.”

Some problems with the UFO map.

The biggest limitation confronting this interactive map is that not all sightings are reported. Information concerning the shapes and sizes of UFOs is dependant on witnesses. Hoaxes and false reports only serve to impede accuracy. In the words of Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center in Washington, “We have almost 108,000 cases in our database, and approximately 10,000 of those have not been posted on the website because they’ve been determined as most likely hoaxes and they don’t really contribute to the field … at all.”

What is the future of the UFO map?

UFO investigators are faced with a daunting task. Sixty to eighty percent of all reported sightings cannot be positively proven to be the real thing and between ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent of those that are reported can be explained by natural phenomena such as shooting stars. What about that remaining one percent? Who can say, but … don’t look behind you!

Check out this interesting video from 2013 featuring three well-documented UFO encounters.

 

Have you ever seen a UFO? If you did, would you report it?

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M. Dee Dubroff
M. Dee Dubroff
My name is Marjorie Dorfman and I am also known as M Dee Dubroff. I am a freelance writer and former teacher originally from Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of New York University, I taught in New York City schools for a few years before finding my true calling as a writer. I now live in Doylestown, PA with one cat named Mr. Biscuit and my significant other, a graphics artist and former designer of postage stamps, both of whom keep me on my toes at all times.