THERE have been nearly 2,000 reported sightings of unidentified flying objects in one single state along the East Coast of the US. 

Maryland joins California, Florida, New York, Washington, and twenty other states as one of the largest “alien hotspots” across the country. 

New data released by the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) reveals there have been 1,818 reports made by people claiming they saw a UFO in the Old Line State. 

The reports and sightings date back as far as May 1946 with many being as recent as September 2023. 

The sightings vary in description, size, shape and color – with some of the objects being described as “oval,” “diamond,” “fireball,” “flash,” “changing” and even “chevron.” 

Some reports describe the UFO sightings as “comets” or “shapes flying” in different formations. 

One report, from July 2023, describes the event as, “A glowing orange circle over the ocean that quickly got smaller until it disappeared.” 

“Low flying, single, non-rotary craft with 3-4 distinct solid red lights,” another from May 2022 reads. 

“Silent bright white cylinder with 3 contrails – 1 center 2 @ 45 degrees for 1 min – turned fluorescent green – then vanished w/no trace,” another from September 2022 details. 

Many of the sightings – while they reportedly occurred between the 1950s and 1990s – were not reported until decades later. 

“It’s heartening to me that so many people are coming forward now,” NUFORCd director Peter Davenport told WJZ News. 

“We are getting significantly more reports than just six months or a year ago.” 

As the reports have been increasing, Davenport indicated that he is encouraged that these events are getting more attention. 

Read Related Also: Antony Blinken Is the Patron Saint of the Military-Industrial Complex

“I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but I am encouraged that more people are coming forward and the government recognizes the UFO phenomenon that’s something worthy of their attention.”

UFOs, also commonly referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), were at the center of a July Congressional hearing where three former military officials testified about their firsthand knowledge of UAPs. 

Members of Congress have also been calling attention to the matter, particularly regarding potential security risks UAPs might bring. 

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida has joined forces with several of his Republican colleagues to also call on more information about UAPs to be released, saying the American public has “a right to know.” 

NASA has also called for more research to be conducted into UAP sightings.

There have been tens of thousands of reported sightings of unidentified objects across the United States for over 70 years. 

Since 1946, NUFORC has been collecting data, photos and videos from these reported sightings. 

For years, California has reigned as the top UFO hotspot in the entire country, with a grand total of 16,084 reported sightings. 

Florida, Texas, New York and Illinois also rank very high with 8,205, 5,834, 6,107, 4,247 reported UFO sightings respectively. 

Meanwhile, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming have all reported less than 500. 

Despite so many sightings, experts have still been left stumped over the origin of these sightings. 

NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in September that there is “a lot more to learn.” 

“The NASA Independent Study Team did not find any evidence that UAPs have an extra-terrestrial origin, but we don’t know what these UAPs are,” he said. 

Christian Stepien, the chief technology officer at NUFORC, told USA Today many of these cases are inexplicable. 

“[T]here are many, many cases that cannot be explained as something natural or man-made,” Stepien said

“The evidence of the last 70 years is incontrovertible in indicating that anomalous craft are flying at will throughout our airspace. Common sense dictates that this should be of extreme interest to the government and the public.”