Have you ever looked at the sky and seen something that you thought couldn’t be an airplane, bird, drone or satellite? If the answer to this is yes, then you are not alone. There are countless reports from people all over the world who have seen strange objects or lights in the sky, just type the abbreviation ‘UFO’ into YouTube. In the Netherlands, a special hotline was even set up in 2011, UFO Meldpunt Nederland, where people can make a ‘serious’ report if they have observed something inexplicable. (1)
An unidentified flying object
The name says it all, this is an object that is seen in the sky and is thought to be a spaceship from another planet. 2 In the Netherlands, people tend to use the abbreviation UFO, which stands for the English name unidentified flying object. According to the English Oxford dictionary, this name dates back to 1950. 3 Even in the Bible it seems as if unidentified flying objects are also mentioned. For example, the Old Testament (Ezekiel) describes this as follows: ‘The appearance of the wheels and their work was as the paint of a turquoise; and the four had one likeness; and their appearance and their workmanship was as it were a wheel in the midst of a wheel.’ 4
UFO Reporting Center Netherlands
If you have (presumably) seen a UFO, you can always cover up this sighting. If you still want to share or investigate your sighting, you can also choose to report it to UFO Meldpunt Nederland. This reporting center was set up (as a hobby) by Bram Roza and Alex Griffioen with the aim of gaining more understanding about observations over the Netherlands. This reporting center is not the only place where you can report UFOs, see for example the Niburu website and the Belgian reporting center for UFOs.
The steps to report to UFO Meldpunt Nederland (2018)
Below is a brief description of the steps that must be taken to report a sighting to UFO Meldpunt Nederland. The general terms and conditions of this reporting center emphasize that only serious reports will be processed by the editors.
Go to UFO Reporting Center Netherlands. A selection menu will then appear and you can select one of the following options:
- a stationary point of light;
- a stationary point of light that went out;
- a point of light moving in a straight path at constant speed;
- an orange point of light moving in an almost straight path;
- a light sphere or other shape that you saw when looking back at a photo;
- none of the above cases.
for the concrete options mentioned above (before continuing with your report). Examples of possible explanations given by UFO Meldpunt Nederland are: 5
- a drop or speck of dirt on the camera lens or a reflection of light (lens flare) in the camera lens.
- a star, planet, secondary moon, meteor or ball lightning.
- an airplane, helicopter, drone or hot air balloon.
If there is no possible explanation for what you have observed, you can continue with your report. To make the report concrete, you are asked to provide the following information:
- a ‘short description’ of your observation;
- date Time;
- the duration of the observation;
- the number of objects;
- location;
- the position of the object;
- the course of the object;
- the shape of the object;
- a report;
- any photos and videos can be downloaded.
After you have completed reporting your sighting, the editorial staff of UFO Meldpunt Nederland will process your report. Together with other visitors to the reporting center, the editors will help you explain the observation.
Example report to UFO Hotline Netherlands
Someone made a report on August 16, 2018, because this person observed a ‘red orange ball in the air that dropped something’. It involved one ball and took about two minutes. This sphere was observed in Nijmegen, Gelderland and it was moving towards the south.
Visitors’ response to notification
Most visitors think that the red orange ball is a wish balloon and that the corresponding fire starter has fallen down.
UFO alarm
At UFO Meldpunt Nederland it is also possible to set a UFO alarm. You can do this by entering your email address and the name of the city in which you live. If a report has been received from someone in your city, you will be informed immediately by email.
Social media
UFO Meldpunt Nederland is active on social media and can be followed via Facebook and Twitter. 6