Investigations
In-depth case studies, classic encounters revisited, and investigator follow-ups.
Anatomy of a triangle cluster
Triangular formations are the second-most-reported category we see. What separates a strong report from a confused one — and why "silent" is doing a lot of work in those descriptions.
May 29, 2026 · 7 min read
Why the Nimitz Tic-Tac Encounter Still Matters
In November 2004, F/A-18 pilots intercepted an object off Baja that didn’t follow any rule of aerodynamics. Two decades on, that case is still the cleanest data the field has.
The Phoenix Lights, 25 Years Later: What the Witness Map Still Tells Us
A look back at the 1997 Phoenix incident through the lens of modern community-driven sighting maps — and what the geometry of thousands of witness reports still tells us.
Why orb clusters keep showing up in the Sonoran corridor
The Phoenix–Tucson corridor produces more orb-category reports per capita than almost any other region in our dataset. Some of that is real. Some of it is geography. Pulling them apart.