Aliens Avoided NYC This Summer, UFO Log Shows

NEW YORK — Close encounters with aliens are getting rarer in New York City. Reports of unidentified flying objects in the five boroughs dropped by more than 50 percent this summer compared to last year.

The National UFO Reporting Center logged just five sightings of UFOs — one in each borough — from June through August, down from 14 in the same period in 2017.

The sky-watchers reported seeing strange lights and objects up above. Some sightings lasted as little as three minutes while others stretched for at least 20.

But one person in Queens Village who reported seeing a "Stationary Hovering Bright Light" on Aug. 30 may have mistaken a planet for a UFO. "Probable sighting of Mars?" the Reporting Center wrote in a note with that anonymous report.

The drop reflected a broader statewide trend. Just 34 UFO sightings were reported across New York State from June through August, a 46 percent drop from last summer's 63.

The summer's sightings make for a citywide total of eight for the entire year through the end of August, continuing the local decline. City-dwellers reported 39 sightings in 2017, down from 47 in 2016.

(Lead image: A person rides the Staten Island Ferry in January 2017. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)