The number of sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) in Belgium increased last year compared to 2021, mainly driven by a spike as a result of space company SpaceX's launching various Starlink satellites.
The Belgian UFO hotline received 210 reported sightings of UFOs — recently renamed UAPs by US officials, referring to a perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained — in 2022, up 8% from 2021 when a total of 193 people reported having seen a UFO.
Most reports to the hotline came from Antwerp and East Flanders (55 each), followed by West Flanders (36), Limburg (28) and Flemish Brabant (21). Another six reports came from Wallonia and nine from Belgians abroad.
Meanwhile, the French-speaking COBEPS (Comité Belge pour l'Etude des Phénomènes Spatiaux) recorded 54 reports last year.
Often easily explained
The organisation stated in a press release on Monday that the quality of reported sightings had "unfortunately continued to decline over the past year."
"Despite the hotline's efforts to use an IFO (Identified Flying Object) database to better arm witnesses to self-identify the UFOs they observe, we continue to receive reports that are often very easy to explain. Stars, planets, aircraft and balloons remain the most common incentives for reporting a UFO," the statement read.
The hotline's report noted that, as was the case in 2021, SpaceX's launch of the Falcon 9 rocket with Starlink satellites on board produced a striking number of reports. On 21 April, 22 reports were received. "The reflection of sunlight on the emitted gases of a rocket engine caused confusion in 2022," the organisation stated.
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For more than a quarter of all reports (27%), no statement could be made about the origin of the phenomenon that was recorded as the organisation did not receive sufficient data about the viewing, often because the reporter does not respond to additional questions.
Just one report, concerning "a large grey oblong object" that slowly floated between two houses in Genk and disappeared behind a roof, could be described as "striking" in 2022, however, it was dismissed due to the short duration of the sighting and the limited visibility between the two flat blocks.
The report also noted that on an international level, UFOs received a lot of attention in 2022 due to the increased transparency in the Pentagon's scrutinising of the phenomenon in the coming years, and the news that NASA has assembled a team of 16 researchers who will analyse data sources on the phenomenon.
