THERE is no concrete proof that Earth is a tourist destination for extraterrestrials - despite increasing public acceptance of the possibility.
That being said, there are several areas across the UK and the US that have become hotbeds for UFO - or UAP - reports.
These days, UFOs are typically described as unidentified anomalous phenomena or UAPs.
It's a modern term that refers to anything seen in the sky which can't be attributed to natural phenomena or for unclassified technology.
The West has a historical relationship to UAP – Area 51 in Nevada, Roswell in New Mexico and here in Utah we have Skinwalker Ranch in the Uinta Basin.
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Manchester, UK
Home to 27 UAP reports since 2021, Manchester is one of the UK's top alien sighting hotspots, followed by London and Liverpool.
There were close to 1,000 reported UAP sightings across the UK between 2021 and 2023.
Last year, it was revealed by UFO Identified that there was a total of 54 documented sightings in Greater Manchester, followed by 52 in London and 20 in Liverpool.
In 2015, a Ryanair flight delayed its landing due to unexplained UFO sighting over the River Mersey.
One sighting of a reported UAP over Formby, Liverpool, described it as "two lights at an angle moving up and down, too far apart to be a plane or a drone."
Wiltshire, UK
Wiltshire has a long and documented history of crop circle formations and UAP sightings, dating all the way back to the 1950s.
Farmers have discovered crop circles on their land and locals claim to have seen "iridescent spheres" shooting across the sky.
There are also claims of these UAPs killing flocks of birds and causing cars to fail.
Bonnybridge, UK
A quaint Scottish town called Bonnybridge is one of the most visited places in the world for UFO sightings.
Since its first reported glimpse in 1992, an average of 300 UFO sightings are claimed every year in this sleepy village.
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The sheer number of reports has fuelled speculations that the village is a portal to another dimension.
Although, many villagers are embarrassed by the association.
Local Councillor Billy Buchanan has called on multiple Prime Ministers to investigate these strange appearances.
Buchanan even rejected an apology from the Ministry of Defence's lead UFO commentator Nick Pope, who dismissed the reports last year.
Washington, US
Washington, home to the White House, and its neighbouring Oregon, have both been revealed as two popular areas for UFO sightings, in a recent report.
Researchers at the University of Utah found that most hotspots are areas that are more open, rural and less brightly lit.
"The West has a historical relationship to UAP – Area 51 in Nevada, Roswell in New Mexico and here in Utah we have Skinwalker Ranch in the Uinta Basin and military activity in the US Army Dugway Proving Ground," says geographer Richard Medina, from the University of Utah.
"Plus, there's a robust outdoor community that recreates in public lands year-round. People are out and looking skyward."
It's no surprise the Pacific Northwest is home to many of the country's UFO sightings, thanks to our pitch-black skies and curious minds.
In 2022, Washington was named as the top state for extraterrestrial sightings according to National UFO Reporting Centre data, logging more reports per capita than any other state.
That's roughly 88 sightings per 100,000 residents — more than double the rate of reports from most states.
Then in Oregon, the Portland metro area alone had 69.7 UFO sightings per 100,000 residents between 2000 and 2023 - that's nearly 1,750 strange occurrences in the last two decades.
Nevada, US
The mythology behind Nevada's Area 51 not only pulls in the tourists, but reports of unidentified aircraft, too.
Nevada's Lincoln County had the most reported UFO sightings among US counties between 2000 and 2023, at 82.9 per 100,000 residents, according to the National UFO Reporting Centre.
The National UFO Reporting Centre is a nongovernmental organisation where people can file reports of unusual phenomena across the US.
According to Centre's chief technology officer, Christian Stepien, just a fraction of people who spot something unusual in the sky actually file a report.
"I would estimate that people who see stuff that they think is a UFO or that is an actual UFO — we think maybe five per cent report it, maybe not even that," he told Axios.
Most of the sightings are thought to be military activity, with Area 51 understood to be a highly classified United States Air Force facility.
Arizona, US
Maricopa County, Arizona had about 56 UFO sightings per 100,000 residents between 2000 and 2023, according to the National UFO Reporting Centre data.
Other parts of the state — such as counties La Paz and Gila — also report mysterious objects in the sky at an even higher rate.
That national average is roughly 34 sightings per 100,000 residents.
ewer sightings were logged in the southeast of the US, and across the central plains of the country, while credible relationships were spotted between clusters of sightings and commercial and military air traffic.
"There are many factors that can contribute to the report of anomalous objects," says geographer Simon Brewer from the University of Utah.
"By examining the spatial distribution of reports and how they relate to the local environment, we hope to provide some geographical context that may help resolve or understand reports by both the public and in military settings."
