Over 40 UFO sightings reported in Idaho in 2022? Here’s where and what people are seeing
Idaho residents reported 48 individual sightings of unidentified flying objects across the state in 2022, according to the National UFO Reporting Center.
While many people associate UFOs — Unidentified Flying Objects — with alien visitors from other planets, the term refers to any aerial phenomenon that cannot be explained. In recent years, the United States government has also begun referring to them as UAPs — Unidentified Flying Phenomenon.
Scientists and skeptic organizations eventually identify many reported UFOs as being more mundane in nature, such as atmospheric phenomena or man-made objects. A common misconception recently has come from Starlink, a group of satellites that reflect light down to Earth, creating an ominous formation of bright lights traveling across the night sky.
Still, UFO reports persist.
Boise led the way in Idaho for UFO sightings with 14 reports, followed by nine in Nampa and three in Idaho Falls, according to the National UFO Reporting Center.
In the grand scheme, Idaho isn’t a hotbed for UFO sightings. But a recent study shows that the Gem State has been the most active state in sightings per 100,000 residents over the past five years.
The study by myvision.org — a site that provides evidence-based information on eye health — analyzed the last five years-worth of reports from the National UFO Reporting Center. Idaho topped the list with 420 sightings per 100,000 residents, beating out New Hampshire (313) and Montana (223)
The study then ranked the states by most UFOs reported since 1974, putting Idaho 32nd with 1,295 UFO reports.
The latest UFO reported to the National UFO Reporting Center was on Oct. 8 in both Coeur d’Alene and Sweet, an unincorporated community about 40 miles north of Boise.
The Coeur d’Alene report states that the witness noticed what looked like “two crafts fighting in the air” for about five minutes, while the Sweet report mentioned a bright light with several different colors that moved in a straight line for about a minute before turning around and vanishing. The witness in Sweet took a picture of the light in the sky.
A group of reports was made in Nampa on Sept. 9 that detail a “ribbon of light several miles wide and several miles long moving in wave motion, visible/invisible/visible again possibly due to high clouds.”
“Saw a big explosion in the sky,” a second Nampa-based report on the same night read. “Within seconds, the 1st UFO appeared, was flying in a strange pattern and hovering. The second was seen 20 minutes later.”
The National UFO Reporting Center was founded in 1974 by noted UFO investigator Robert J. Gribble, the organization’s website states. The center has processed more than 150,000 reports.
The center’s primary function has been “to receive, record and to the greatest degree possible, corroborate and document reports from individuals who have been witness to unusual, possibly UFO-related events.”
Here is where all 48 UFO reports have been made in Idaho in 2022, according to the reporting center.
Boise: 14 reports
Nampa: 9 reports
Idaho Falls: 3 reports
Dalton Gardens: 2 reports
Pocatello: 2 reports
Coeur D’Alene: 1 report
Hayden: 1 report
Moscow: 1 report
Idaho National Forest
Hagerman
Chubbuck
Ketchum
Mountain Home
Payette
Hailey
Potlatch
Kuna
Emmett
Caldwell
Sweet
Glenns Ferry
The website UFO Stalker also provides a live map of all UFO sightings in the United States and even the occasional reported alien encounter.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
