Receiving recordings, sightings and experiences that are categorized as UFO / UAP by those reporting them has been one of the core activities of GEP, the German Gesellschaft zur Erforschung des UFO-Phänomens (Society for UFO Phenomenon Study) since its foundation in 1972. We have established rules for these individual case studies, which include the traceability, transparency and standardization of this work and its results. Striving for knowledge about UAP in this way is what characterizes the GEP.
The following figures and interpretations represent the evaluation of our work so far done on the reporting received in 2024. The GEP is one of several organizations, besides singular researchers and institutions such as police stations or observatories, which receive UAP reports from German-speaking citizens. It is known that different groups of reporters (who classify their experience as UAP / UFO, as a premise) turn to different institutions, but the exact correlations are still largely unexplored.
Incoming reports
In 2024, the number of reported sightings declined minimally, compared to the previous years. Thus, in the GEP, we cannot confirm a rise in reports which might be a result of the increased media coverage of the topic, especially concerning US-based events.
In 2024, around 72% of those reporting were male. One possible interpretation could be the scientific-technical nature of the interpretation of an experience as a “UFO / UAP”, which may be more likely to affect people of the male sex.
In 2024, we also received reports from Egypt, Denmark, the UK, Indonesia, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Norway, Poland, Spain, Slovakia and Turkey. German-speaking people often report from vacation or a place of residence outside Germany. However, most reports come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The red markers indicate closed cases, while the yellow ones are still under investigation.
Investigation results
Incoming reports are first categorized according to the classification of J. Allen Hynek (1972). The further investigation options are based on this. Nocturnal light phenomena and observations or images in the daytime sky also dominated in 2024.
The results of the case investigations are categorized according to the classification by Allan Hendry (1979). As usual, over 90% of the reports received can be identified with a conventional cause, compared to a small number of unexplained reports. Unfortunately, there was also a high proportion of cases with insufficient data in 2024, where the reporters often failed to respond to further inquiries
For this diagram, the individual causes of the cases examined were grouped together. Satellites, flares and the ISS dominate especially in nightly sightings, while balloons and airplanes or helicopters are typical causes for explainable daylight events. Photographic or video material with common causes often shows insects, birds, or lens flares of different kinds.
The reports and respective identifiers are mapped here to grouped population densities. In 2024, there appears to be more of a correlation with low population density at the sighting locations.
Case examples
GEP case no. 20241104 A – case closed
Nov 04, 2024, 07:00 p.m., Brilon, Germany
The 58-year-old witness, together with his wife, filmed a red flashing light in the northeastern sky, which would have moved very slowly and could be seen for a longer period of time.
Identification: manned gas balloon
GEP case no. 20240920 A - investigation in progress
Sep 20, 2024, 05:34 a.m., Friesenheim-Oberweier, Germany
The witness was outside her house and heard a loud strange noise. While searching for the cause, she saw a very bright white “wave-like” apparition in the clear southern sky. A bright “double dot” could be seen in front of the wave-like structure. After about five seconds, both the object and the noise disappeared. Her husband, who was present in the house, also perceived a noise, but described it somewhat differently. A signal was detected by the passive radar system of a GEP member at the time of the observation.
Further information
A more detailed, bilingual version of this report is available at the GEP website.
Further work with our data (considering the protection of the personal data of the reporters) is possible via our data repository on the open science platform Zenodo. Case investigations were led by Hans-Werner Peiniger, data management and analysis by Ralf van Thuyl.
