UFO and UAP cases: photo and video cases

48 well-documented UFO/UAP encounters of the kind “photo / video case”, 1883 to 2026: 15 disputed, 13 explained, 10 unresolved, 9 identified, 1 unassessed. Each case has its sources, timeline and the official or best explanation.

48 cases

• Bonilla observation — objects crossing the Sun 12 August 1883 · Zacatecas Astronomical Observatory, Mexico EXPLAINED
• Rhodes photographs — Phoenix 7 July 1947 · Phoenix, Arizona EXPLAINED
• McMinnville (Trent) photographs 11 May 1950 · Trent farm near Sheridan / McMinnville, Oregon DISPUTED
• Mariana film, Great Falls 15 August 1950 · Great Falls, Montana DISPUTED
• Lubbock Lights 30 August 1951 · Lubbock, Texas DISPUTED
• Barra da Tijuca — the O Cruzeiro disc photographs 7 May 1952 · Coast at Barra da Tijuca, near Pedra do Marisco, Rio de Janeiro DISPUTED
• Tremonton, Utah film 2 July 1952 · Near Tremonton, Utah DISPUTED
• Salem Coast Guard Air Station photograph 16 July 1952 · U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Salem, Winter Island, Salem, Massachusetts DISPUTED
• Trindade Island photographs 16 January 1958 · Trindade Island, South Atlantic DISPUTED
• Bahía Blanca and Espora air base sightings 11 May 1962 · Bahía Blanca and Espora Naval Air Base UNRESOLVED
• The Solway Firth “spaceman” photograph 23 May 1964 · Burgh Marsh, near Burgh by Sands, Cumberland EXPLAINED
• Gemini 4 — McDivitt’s “beer can with an arm” 4 June 1965 · In orbit, passing over Hawaii, on the 20th revolution of Gemini 4 DISPUTED
• Heflin Polaroids — Santa Ana 3 August 1965 · Myford Road near Santa Ana, California DISPUTED
• UMMO — the San José de Valderas photographs 1 June 1967 · San José de Valderas, Alcorcón, near Madrid IDENTIFIED
• Lake Cote aerial survey photograph 4 September 1971 · Laguna de Cote, Costa Rica UNRESOLVED
• Billy Meier’s “beamship” photographs 28 January 1975 · Zürcher Oberland, around Hinwil, canton of Zürich IDENTIFIED
• Paul Bennewitz and the lights over Manzano 24 October 1980 · Kirtland Air Force Base and the Manzano weapons storage area, Albuquerque, New Mexico DISPUTED
• Hannah McRoberts’ photograph — Vancouver Island 8 October 1981 · A provincial park by the Eve River bridge on Highway 19, near Kelsey Bay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia DISPUTED
• Torpo film 13 July 1986 · Mountain farm near Torpo, Hallingdal UNRESOLVED
• Gulf Breeze photographs 11 November 1987 · Gulf Breeze, Florida EXPLAINED
• Ilkley Moor photograph 1 December 1987 · Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, England DISPUTED
• Calvine photograph 4 August 1990 · Moors above Calvine, Perthshire UNRESOLVED
• Mexico City eclipse videos 11 July 1991 · Mexico City, Mexico DISPUTED
• Mexican Air Force FLIR — Campeche 5 March 2004 · Southern Campeche, Mexico EXPLAINED
• The Haiti UFO videos 15 August 2007 · Said to be Haiti, and in a second video the Dominican Republic EXPLAINED
• Norwegian spiral 9 December 2009 · Northern Norway and Sweden (seen from Troms and Finnmark) IDENTIFIED
• Harbour Mille — the “missiles” over Fortune Bay 25 January 2010 · Harbour Mille, Fortune Bay, Newfoundland DISPUTED
• The spiral over eastern Australia — Falcon 9’s first flight 5 June 2010 · Eastern Australia: New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland IDENTIFIED
• Montevideo — the photo from the national team’s homecoming 13 July 2010 · Palacio Legislativo and Avenida del Libertador, Montevideo EXPLAINED
• El Bosque Air Base — the object in the air-show video 5 November 2010 · El Bosque Air Base, Santiago DISPUTED
• The “mystery missile” off Los Angeles — an airliner’s contrail 8 November 2010 · Over the Pacific about 35 miles west of Los Angeles, north of Santa Catalina Island IDENTIFIED
• The light over the Dome of the Rock (hoax) 28 January 2011 · Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif), Old City of Jerusalem EXPLAINED
• Collahuasi mine — CEFAA’s “UFO” photographs 15 April 2013 · Collahuasi copper mine, 4,300 m up in the Tarapacá Andes UNRESOLVED
• Aguadilla thermal video (DHS) 25 April 2013 · Rafael Hernández Airport, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico EXPLAINED
• AARO’s “Southeast Asia Triangles” — fishing nets 30 August 2017 · A river in Southeast Asia (exact location withheld) IDENTIFIED
• Sendai’s white balloon 17 June 2020 · Over Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan IDENTIFIED
• Three objects on a Western U.S. military range 1 June 2021 · Military range, Western United States (withheld) EXPLAINED
• Maldonado — the UFO videos that were a festival campaign 12 August 2021 · Parque del Jagüel, Punta del Este, Maldonado EXPLAINED
• AC-130J “cold orbs” over the Gulf of Oman 8 September 2021 · Gulf of Oman (exact location withheld) UNRESOLVED
• The Navy’s night-vision image shown to Congress — drones 1 January 2022 · Naval exercise areas off the U.S. East Coast (exact place and date withheld) IDENTIFIED
• The blue spiral over New Zealand — a Falcon 9 upper stage 19 June 2022 · Across New Zealand, photographed from Queenstown, Stewart Island and Motueka IDENTIFIED
• MQ-9 "Middle East orb" 12 July 2022 · Middle East (exact location withheld) UNRESOLVED
• MQ-9 records object with "wake" — South Asia 15 January 2023 · South Asia (exact location withheld) EXPLAINED
• Colorado Springs law-enforcement videos 1 October 2023 · Colorado Springs, Colorado UNRESOLVED
• Tyndall "Tic Tac" — USCG C-144 24 April 2024 · Southeastern U.S., near Tyndall AFB, Florida UNASSESSED
• The teardrop with a pole — United Arab Emirates 1 June 2024 · United Arab Emirates (exact location withheld) UNRESOLVED
• The “misshapen ball of white light” over Syria 1 October 2024 · Syria (exact location withheld) UNRESOLVED
• Campo Largo — an influencer’s lights traced to a campsite 31 May 2026 · Rural Campo Largo, Paraná EXPLAINED

By kind of encounter

• Military encounters 37
• Close encounters 35
• Aviation encounters 31
• Mass sightings 30
• Tracked object events 22
• Radar-visual cases 20
• Landing and trace cases 17
• Recurring lights 15
• Historical accounts 6