Orbs, shooting stars, bright lights of unknown origin -- call them what you want, but know that 60 of them have been reported in New York already this year, according to NUFORC, a reporting site for UFOs.
"Lights literally appeared out of nowhere and changed course quickly," one report from Cambridge, NY, says, while another claims, "A shooting star change directions. It was yellow, then proceeded to change directions zigzagging across the sky defying any physics." Some described triangles with three lights while another sighting says, "A sphere-like object emitted a red light intermittently and remained in the sky for about 10 minutes."
While there's no rhyme or known reason for the influx of sightings across the East Coast, FOX News reports, "The phenomenon appears to be statewide, with hot spots in urban centers like New York City as well as multiple reports from smaller towns such as Chester, Ridge and Evans Mills."
The town of Evans Mills is located near a military base, and it drew repeated reports of "orb sightings" in March, which has some wondering if it could be connected to training exercises. Others speculate the sightings could be drones, shooting stars, even fireworks.
And if you're wondering what the orbs or lights or zig zagging maneuvers looked like, you'll have to use your imagination because NUFORC has not released any photos or video.
The National UFO Reporting Center says it was founded in 1974 by noted UFO investigator Robert J. Gribble. "The Center’s primary function over the past five decades 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." Overall, the center, a non-profit operation, has processed over 180,000 reports of UFO sightings.
The center's director Peter Davenport is a graduate of Stanford and says he experienced his first UFO sighting over the St. Louis municipal airport in the summer of 1954, and investigated his first UFO case during the summer of 1965 in Exeter, New Hampshire. "He has been witness to several subsequent anomalous events, including a dramatic sighting over Baja California in February 1990, and several nighttime sightings over Washington State during 1992," his bio states.