UAP field guide

Your life is more valuable than any footage. Things can get intense, but keeping an eye on your surroundings is what matters most.

If you're driving, please pull over safely first. Trying to film while moving just isn't worth a crash. Avoid traffic, cliffs, or hazardous terrain while looking at the sky.

Do not trespass on private or restricted property. No "evidence" justifies breaking the law or risking a confrontation. If there is an immediate safety risk (fire, medical issue, or collision risk), contact 112 (EU) or 911 (U.S.) immediately.

An unexpected observation can raise stress and narrow attention. Pause the documentation process if you no longer feel safe or steady.

If you feel overwhelmed or panicked: Stop filming. Close your eyes for a moment. Breathe slowly. Focus on the physical world around you to regain control using this cycle:

5 things you see · 4 you can touch · 3 you can hear · 2 you can smell · 1 you can taste.

Disclaimer: This section is not medical advice.

Memory and interpretation can change as an event is retold. First write down what you saw and heard in plain language. Add possible explanations on a separate line.

Separate description from meaning. Later, when you or others review the case, it stays clear which parts are raw perception and which parts are theory, belief, or narrative.

This separation does not decide what happened. It keeps the record clear enough to compare with other sources later.

If the experience causes lasting distress or disrupts sleep, contact a trusted person or an appropriate health professional. For more on perception and cognitive bias, see the FAQ bias section.

Night mode, HDR, stabilization and noise reduction can change the appearance of small lights. If it is safe and easy, record one wide clip in the standard camera mode and note any setting you changed.

Distant lights and dark scenes are difficult for small camera sensors. The aim is not a dramatic close-up. It is a steady, continuous record with enough context to compare later.

1. Keep a wide, steady frame: Brace the phone against a safe fixed surface or keep your elbows close to your body. Record one uninterrupted clip if possible.

2. Avoid digital zoom: Use the normal camera lens and keep the horizon or other reference points visible. Digital zoom usually crops the image, magnifies shake and removes useful context.

3. Do not fight the camera: Focus and exposure controls vary by device. If you already know how to lock them, a distant reference may reduce visible pulsing. Otherwise, keep recording rather than losing the event in camera menus.

4. Keep spatial context: Include the horizon, buildings or trees when safe. Reference points can support later comparison, but a single video rarely establishes an object's size, distance or speed by itself.

5. Add a factual audio note: State the time, facing direction, approximate elevation, motion and any sound. Separate direct observation from interpretation.

If you want your report to be useful, angles beat vague language. Instead of "it was high" or "it moved far", write down approximate degrees above the horizon and how many degrees it traveled. The thumb rule is a simple way to estimate angles without equipment.

How to use it: Extend your arm fully (roughly 65 cm / 26 in). Keep your elbow locked. Use your hand as a reference while looking at the horizon line, then estimate the object's elevation (up from the horizon) and its travel distance (degrees across the sky).

[ MEASURING ANGLES AT ARM'S LENGTH ]


             * <--- object
             |
THUMB        |  ≈  2°
             |
FIST         |  ≈ 10°
             |
SPREAD HAND  |  ≈ 20°
             |
_______O_____|________________  horizon
    

These are approximate, but they are good enough to preserve geometry for later cross-checks (flight tracks, satellite passes, balloon drift, etc.).

Example entry (plain): "Object at ~20° elevation (about two fists above horizon), moved left ~10° in ~15 seconds, then faded."

If you can, also note direction (e.g., "NW"), wind direction, and whether motion appeared steady or erratic. Even a rough angle log helps later identification more than zoomed video alone.

Why save the original? Every time you upload a video to social media or send it via messaging apps, the file is re-encoded to save space. This creates a "digital photocopy" effect where fine details are replaced by compression artifacts.

A re-uploaded or edited video is not useless, but it is significantly harder to analyze. What might look like a physical glow or an unusual shape could simply be a mathematical error caused by the platform's compression.

Before editing or sharing, keep one untouched copy in a place you control. This preserves the best available version for later comparison.

In digital forensics, "provenance" and "chain of custody" describe the documented handling history of a file from capture onward.

In normal words: it's just "who had the original file, when, and what was done to it". Even a simple note like "recorded on my phone, copied to my PC, then I posted a trimmed clip" helps a lot.

An untouched original with metadata such as time, device and location can reduce ambiguity. Metadata may be absent, incorrect or altered, so it supports an assessment but does not prove authenticity by itself.

A forum copy with no reachable source, handling history or metadata has less analytical value. Keeping the original and a simple transfer note gives a reviewer more to check.

Optional (advanced): Generate a "checksum" (hash) of your original file. A matching hash later confirms that the file still matches the version that was hashed. It does not establish how the file was created or what it depicts.

If "checksum/hash" sounds like too much: skip it. Keeping one untouched original file already gets you most of the benefit. For definitions of related terms, see the FAQ glossary.

It is surprisingly easy to accidentally destroy your original file just by trying to back it up.

Sending a video to yourself via email or messaging apps usually triggers automatic compression. The app shrinks the file to save bandwidth and strips the metadata along the way.

How to move it without breaking it:

• Cable: Copy the file directly to a computer via USB and retain the source copy until both files have been checked.
• Nearby sharing: Transfer behavior can vary by device and settings. Compare the file name and size afterward.
• Cloud drives: If you use cloud storage, upload it directly as a "file" or "document", rather than through a gallery app that might optimize it. Check that the original still exists on the source device.

Small heads-up: watch out for features like "Optimize Storage" on your phone. They sometimes leave only a compressed, lower-quality preview on your actual device while the raw original lives in the cloud.

The video itself is only one part of the data. The state of the sky at that exact moment is just as important for ruling things out later.

Historical flight and weather data often disappear behind commercial paywalls after a few days. You can capture a factual baseline right in the field with three quick screenshots on your phone:

• Flight tracker: Open a tracker app, center on your location, and screenshot the live air traffic.
• Weather app: Screenshot the current wind direction, cloud cover, and time.
• Compass / Map: Screenshot your GPS location and the direction you are facing.

In normal words: grabbing these screenshots takes 20 seconds. It saves you the headache of hunting down archived weather data or hitting 7-day limits on flight trackers later on.

Checking ordinary explanations narrows the comparison set. It may identify the observation, or it may document which checks were possible with the available data.

Time, location and facing direction can be more useful for these checks than a tightly cropped or blurry video.

Many observations initially labeled as "UAP" are eventually identified as aircraft, satellite trains (like Starlink), weather balloons, meteors, or bright planets like Venus. Even camera artifacts — like lens flares or internal reflections — can appear remarkably "anomalous" under specific conditions.

Identifying an aircraft, drone, satellite or optical artifact is a valid result. If no comparison fits, record what was checked and leave the remaining status narrow and provisional.

I keep a list of tracking tools over at: Resources → Identification tools.

If you saw blinking strobes, steady navigation lights, approach patterns, or a sound delay, check aircraft first.

Quick check (ADS-B Exchange):

• Open ADS-B Exchange and zoom to your location.
• Use the time controls (if available) to match your observation window.
• Compare direction, speed, and altitude to what you saw.

Coverage note: Global in principle, but completeness varies by region and by aircraft equipment; MLAT/receiver density can be uneven.

Tool link: Resources: ADS-B Exchange.

If it was a steady point moving smoothly across the sky (no blinking), or a "train" of lights, satellites are a common explanation.

Quick check (Heavens-Above):

• Set your location (city or coordinates).
• Check visible passes for the time window.
• If it looked like a train, check Starlink-related passes.

Coverage note: Worldwide (predictions are computed for your selected location).

Tool links: Resources: Heavens-Above · Resources: CelesTrak / Supplemental GP.

Bright "jellyfish" clouds near dawn/dusk, expanding spirals, or slow plume structures can come from rocket launches at altitude.

Quick check (launch timeline):

• Check launch windows for your date/time and region.
• Compare direction and timing with what you observed.
• Confirm candidates on provider pages (for example SpaceX, NASA, or national launch agencies).

Practical note: Use aggregator calendars as a fast filter, then verify with official launch providers before concluding.

Tool list: Resources: launch schedule cross-check.

Slow drift, high altitude, and long duration often points to balloons or radiosondes.

Quick check (SondeHub):

• Open the live map and center on your region.
• Look for a track that matches the time and direction.
• If you find a candidate, open its details and compare altitude and drift.

Coverage note: Global dataset, but practical visibility depends on local receiving stations and what is being captured.

Tool link: Resources: SondeHub.

If it was extremely bright, lasted seconds, and possibly left a trail or fragmented, check fireball logs.

Quick check (IMO / AMS):

• Search fireball events/reports around your date and local time.
• Check whether multiple witnesses reported it in your region.
• If you saw it, consider submitting a report (helps triangulation).

Coverage note: International program with reports from many countries; density varies by region.

Tool links: Resources: IMO fireball program · Resources: AMS fireball logs.

Venus and Jupiter can look surprisingly bright and "close". If the "object" stayed fixed relative to the horizon, check the sky map.

Quick check (Stellarium):

• Set location, date, and time to match your observation.
• Point to the direction you were facing.
• Check whether a bright planet/star was in that position.

Coverage note: Worldwide (it simulates the sky for the location/time you set).

Tool link: Resources: Stellarium Web.

The human eye and brain are easy to trick at night. Before concluding a light is moving anomalously, consider common illusion patterns.

Autokinetic effect: staring at a single bright stationary point can create perceived motion.

Size vs. distance: without reference points, scale and distance estimates become unreliable.

Parallax: while you are moving (driving/walking), distant objects can appear to match your speed or move "too fast".

Many "impossible" shapes or motions come from how cameras and sensors work, not from the object itself. A few recurring patterns:

• Autofocus hunting – focus shifts back and forth, making lights pulse, smear, or change size as the camera searches for contrast.
• Digital zoom distortion – heavy digital zoom enlarges pixels and noise, turning small lights into blocks, blobs, or apparent "craft" silhouettes.
• Rolling shutter – fast motion or strobes get sliced line‑by‑line, producing slanted, stretched, or segmented shapes in single frames.
• Infrared blooming – hot or very bright sources bleed into neighbors on IR sensors, creating halos, flares, or apparent extra objects.
• Parallax shift – nearby foreground (window reflections, insects, wires) appears to move against distant backgrounds in ways that feel non‑intuitive.
• Starlink trains – lines or curves of evenly spaced lights crossing the sky shortly after sunset or before sunrise are often satellite constellations.
• Atmospheric refraction – temperature layers can bend and shimmer light, making distant aircraft or stars wobble, jump, or change color.

When you evaluate footage from others (viral clips, historical cases, or submissions), you cannot verify the original capture conditions. The goal shifts from documentation to triage: what is verifiable, what is missing, and what remains uncertain.

Initial review (first pass):

1. Provenance: Who uploaded it, and can you trace it to an original source such as the filmer, a news outlet, or an official release? Reuploads reduce analytical value because metadata and chain of custody are often lost.
2. When/where: Can the claimed date, time, and location be checked independently? Vague attributions reduce value even if the footage looks impressive.
3. Corroboration: Are there independent angles, witness notes, or matching sensor/context data from the same window?
4. Compression check: Blocky edges, banding, smeared light sources, or unstable detail may indicate heavy re-encoding rather than object structure.

Metadata extraction (if you have the file):

• Technical data: Check creation date, codec, resolution, and frame rate. A mismatch between the claimed history and the file record is a warning sign.
• Geolocation: If GPS data exists, compare it against the claimed location. Terrain, street layout, and landmarks can sometimes be cross-checked separately.

Tool: exiftool (command line) or an online EXIF viewer. Many platforms remove metadata on upload, so absence alone is not proof of manipulation.

Frame-level inspection:

• Object consistency: Does shape, lighting, and motion remain coherent across frames, or does it flicker and deform in ways that suggest generation, editing, or compression artifacts?
• Scene consistency: Do motion blur, parallax, reflections, and lighting fit the claimed environment and camera movement?
• Audio context: Does the sound match the scene, timing, and distance, or does it feel detached from the footage?

When to flag as "unverifiable":
If there is no original file, no reliable metadata, no reachable source, and no independent corroboration, label the footage as "claim only" and move on. High visual fidelity without provenance is often a warning sign, not a validation.

Reference: For synthetic media and authenticity checks, see FAQ: Visual fidelity vs. authenticity.

For immediate safety issues, use emergency services first. For non-emergency sightings, start with the most official public-facing channel available: aviation safety reporting, meteorology/astronomy reporting, or a dedicated national program (if one exists).

If no official route fits, an independent reporting service may be an option. Check who operates it, what it publishes, how it handles personal data and whether reports can be corrected or removed. The resources page keeps a short, reviewed list of entry points.

Start with the most official public-facing channel in your country. The canonical, most up-to-date list is maintained under Resources → International.

A few key examples include:

• France: GEIPAN (CNES)

  A public-facing national program for witness reports.

• Chile: SEFAA (DGAC)

  An aviation-safety-focused channel that invites pilots and citizens to report.

• Canada: CADORS (Transport Canada)

  A public aviation occurrence database. OCSA's "Sky Canada Project" describes how UAP reports are managed, but is not a direct intake form.

• Germany: IFEX / GEP e.V.

  IFEX is the official academic partner of the Federal Aviation Office for pilot reports. GEP e.V. investigates civilian sightings.

If there is an immediate safety issue (medical emergency, fire, collision risk), treat it like any other emergency and call 911 first.

1) Civilian, non-emergency sightings:
The U.S. does not currently provide one single federal public "UAP sightings" intake for general civilian reports. If your report is safety-relevant (especially near aviation), route it through aviation safety channels rather than trying to find a "UAP hotline".

2) Aviation safety (pilots / near-airport / near-aircraft):
If you are airborne, treat it as an aviation safety observation: follow normal procedures and advise ATC. FAA air traffic procedures include internal escalation when UAP/unexplained phenomena are reported or observed by ATC personnel.

After the event (civil, non-classified):
Consider filing a NASA ASRS report for safety-relevant observations (near-miss, unusual traffic behavior, UAS/drone conflict, etc.). ASRS is designed to capture structured safety reports and protect data quality better than social media posts.

3) U.S. Government / contractor program knowledge (AARO):
AARO's public reporting form is intended for current or former U.S. Government employees, service members, or contractor personnel with direct knowledge of U.S. Government UAP-related programs or activities (historical scope), and it is not intended for general public sighting reports.

AARO also states: do not submit classified or sensitive information via the public form, do not submit hearsay/secondhand reporting, and do not use the form for current operational sighting reports encountered during official duties (use your agency/service process).

Links are maintained under AARO submit/reporting channel, NASA ASRS safety reporting, and FAA ATC UAP reporting procedure.

This is not aviation advice. If you experienced a near-miss (UAP/aircraft within safe separation distance) or airspace conflict, report it via official aviation channels first (ATC, ASRS, national equivalent) — this is a safety issue, not just a UAP sighting.

Direct links: FAA ATC UAP procedure · NASA ASRS submit (ERS) · ECCAIRS 2 reporting portal (EU).

Social media is great for sharing, but it is aggressive toward data: platforms compress files and often strip metadata.

Idea: try to save the original, untouched file first. If a clip is reuploaded repeatedly, provenance is lost and analysis becomes harder.

Easiest ways: leave the original file untouched on your phone, then copy it to a PC (cable) or upload it to a cloud drive as-is. Messengers and social apps often reduce quality automatically.

Privacy: blur faces and plates, avoid doxxing, and avoid revealing sensitive locations. Separate what you observed from what you think it means.

This is not a requirement. It is a "best possible" structure that tends to make reports easier to review and compare. Many reporting workflows are essentially "who/what/where/when + clear narrative". (Example: NASA ASRS explicitly asks for WHO/WHAT/WHERE/WHEN/WHY/HOW in the narrative.) ASRS example.

• When: Local time + timezone + duration.
• Where: Country/region (or "redacted"), environment; add facing direction + elevation if known.
• What (observation first): Shape/light, motion, sound, changes over time; keep interpretation separate.
• Conditions: Clouds, visibility, wind, lighting; any known aircraft/satellite checks you did (optional).
• Witnesses: Count + positions (optional).
• Recording: Device, settings if relevant, and whether originals/metadata are intact.
• Files: Prefer original, untrimmed files; note any edits/re-uploads.

For a copyable template and a short clean example, see Send. For the full field workflow (capture → preserve → identify → report/share), see Handbook. For analytical background on reading and evaluating reports, see the FAQ method section.

If you submit to official programs, follow their exact process and forms (some require a dedicated questionnaire and may request attachments). GEIPAN example.