READ: German UFO Sightings Spiked in 2025 — But Most Have Oridinary Explanations
In 2025, a Germany-based UFO reporting group recorded its highest number of sightings on record, logging 1,348 reports from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and several neighboring countries. The total continues a steady year-on-year rise in sightings since 2019, a trend that has accelerated as more people notice and report unusual objects in the sky. While the figures may seem extraordinary at first glance, researchers emphasize that most of these reports have ordinary, Earth-based explanations.
The data comes from the Central Research Network for Extraordinary Sky Phenomena (CENAP), a volunteer-run organization founded in 1976 to investigate reports of unidentified aerial phenomena. According to CENAP, the 2025 total significantly exceeds its typical annual range of 600 to 800 sightings, highlighting not a surge in unexplained craft, but an increase in public awareness, reporting, and familiarity with phenomena that are often misidentified as UFOs.
Despite the surge, the group’s director has been clear: none of the 2025 sightings appear to be alien spacecraft. In most cases, the mysterious lights and shapes turned out to have earthly explanations. Planets and stars like Venus, Jupiter, and Sirius can appear especially bright or unusual when low on the horizon or in close visual proximity, leading observers to misinterpret them as unknown objects. Similarly, satellites and space debris, especially strands of Starlink satellites, have been a major source of reports, with more than 120 sightings in 2025 linked to these alone. Meteors entering the atmosphere, rocket stage reflections, and other predictable astronomical phenomena also accounted for many sightings.
CENAP has now logged over 12,000 total reports since its founding, showing a long history of people trying to understand unusual sky events.
Experts emphasize that unidentified does not mean extraterrestrial. Most reports stem from the fact that people are looking up more often — and with smartphones in hand, they’re more likely to report what they see. Coupled with familiar celestial objects appearing less familiar to casual observers, it’s no surprise the numbers have climbed.
A record year for UFO sightings ultimately reveals more about human curiosity than extraterrestrial activity. In many cases, the mystery fades not because something extraordinary vanished, but because it was never extraordinary to begin with.
Original source: BERNAMA.com.
