The National UFO Reporting Center was recently featured on ABC News Live’s 50 states in 50 weeks series to discuss Nevada, and its special place in UFO lore. Preparing for the segment reminded us of just how prolific the state is for UFO sightings. To date, NUFORC has logged over 1800 Sightings from the state, and Lincoln County, the home of Area 51, has the most sightings per capita of any county in the USA. FULL LIST
While some of these sightings may be attributable to misidentified test flights of experimental aircraft from Area 51, many of the reports are simply too incredible to be classified as human technology. That of course leads to the many conspiracy theories about recovered alien craft being reverse engineered there. We’re keeping a somewhat skeptical, but open, mind on that.
Here are some of our most interesting cases from Nevada, many from the area north of Area 51 on or near the “Extraterrestrial Highway”:
February 1952 – Nellis Air Force Base: An air traffic control witness at Nellis Air Force Base reported that he, another tower operator, and a base operations officer observed a shiny silver disc-shaped craft near Las Vegas that flew low with an unusual vapor trail, hovered near the Nellis runway for about twenty minutes, then moved off and made circular maneuvers before an incoming F-86 fighter was sent to intercept it. According to the witness, both the pilot and tower personnel saw the object, but it vanished abruptly as the jet closed in. FULL REPORT
July 1981 – I-80 east of Lovelock: A witness recalls that while driving west at twilight with three passengers, they all saw a slow-moving, silent object cross low over the highway, circle around their van, and briefly reveal an unusual tubular structure with amber and red lights before suddenly accelerating and vanishing. The experience left the group shocked and convinced they had seen something unlike any conventional aircraft. FULL REPORT
August 2007 – Near Highway 375 and Caliente: A couple driving at night in Nevada reported seeing a large orange, cigar- or disk-shaped object near Highway 375 that displayed a sequence of glowing box-like lights along its side, which lit up and faded in order before the object reappeared farther away and continued moving. They observed it again later near Caliente, where it repeated the same light pattern and then receded into the distance like an orange star. FULL REPORT
June, 2008 – Highway 375 near Groom Lake Road: A driver traveling with his wife and sister on Nevada’s Highway 375 reported multiple sightings over about half an hour of a large, distant craft with red and green strobing lights moving in erratic, butterfly-like ways that he believed no conventional aircraft could perform. They also noticed powerful intermittent light illuminating nearby mountains, which the witness interpreted as Area 51 signaling to the object, leaving the group convinced they had seen an alien craft. FULL REPORT
November 2008 – Las Vegas: A witness recalls that as a child in northwest Las Vegas, his father urgently called the family outside to watch a slow-moving, silent, black triangular craft with a flat rear edge and three dim white lights at its corners pass northward at relatively low altitude, remaining visible for some time. The sighting left a strong impression, especially because the object was clearly outlined against the city-lit night sky. FULL REPORT
July 2015 – Wells to Ely: A witness driving at night from Wells to Ely with two other passengers described a mysterious light that repeatedly appeared behind their car, moved side-to-side off the road as if hovering, vanished when other vehicles approached, split into multiple lights, and at one point came close enough to reveal what looked like a large dark cone or disk-shaped object illuminated by passing headlights before it disappeared entirely as they neared Ely. FULL REPORT
December 2017 – Highway 375: A woman and her husband visiting the Area 51 region describe an eerie nighttime experience in which they first heard an unexplained voice-like radio sound while alone near the Extraterrestrial Highway sign, then later saw a large cluster of blinking white and red lights—possibly 15 to over 50—moving in line, circle, and triangle formations for several minutes; although they recorded video, they felt it failed to capture how unusual and closely grouped the lights appeared in person, leaving them doubtful that the display came from ordinary aircraft. FULL REPORT
September 2019 – Rachel to Alamo: A witness driving back from Rachel to Alamo with a friend reported that a small orange-amber glowing orb rapidly approached from behind, matched their speed for several seconds while hovering close to the rear and side of the car as if inspecting it, then suddenly shot off into the desert just before another vehicle appeared. The witness felt the orb seemed intelligent and nonthreatening, and later heard reports from others at Alienstock of a similar orange light seen in the sky that same night, leading her to wonder whether the events were connected. FULL REPORT
March 2021 – Luning: A driver traveling with his child near Luning says they were forced by Nevada State Troopers to pull over during a coordinated highway closure and then watched a military-style convoy escort a tarp-covered object on a flatbed trailer that appeared to have a domed center and blunt triangular wings, which both he and his child interpreted as a UFO. Afterward, other stopped motorists reportedly described seeing the same thing, and the witness came away believing it was likely an advanced secret U.S. military craft rather than an alien vehicle. FULL REPORT