UFOs Were Spotted In NYC Far Less Often In 2018, Log Shows

NEW YORK — A year that ended with legitimate concern about aliens invading New York City actually saw a sharp drop in possible extraterrestrial encounters. Just 14 sightings of unidentified flying objects in the city were reported in 2018, less than a third of the prior year's number.

The events were logged in the National UFO Reporting Center's nationwide database of UFO sightings. Brooklyn saw five of them, including three that were reported in about 24 hours in early November.

Those were the most recent sightings recorded in the five boroughs despite the strange blue glow that appeared in the night sky last week. It turned out that a fault at a Con Edison power plant — not aliens — caused the scene.

At least one sighting was reported in each borough last year, the reporting center's log shows. Sky-watchers wrote that they saw strange lights and objects of varying shapes either hovering or moving around up above.

But at least two of the sightings had logical explanations, the reporting center noted. The "stationary, hovering, bright light" seen in August could have just been the planet Mars. And another "satellite image anomaly" from May might have been "aberrations" in a photo.

The city had far fewer sightings last year than in 2017, when there were 43 reported. That seems to reflect a statewide trend — the reporting center's database logged 100 sightings across New York in 2018, down from 179 in 2017.

(Lead image: The Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline are seen in April 2016. Photo by Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)