Anyone in Germany who thinks they have seen an unidentified flying object (UFO) can notify the Central Research Network for Anomalous Phenomena (CENAP), a UFO research network. One of CENAP’s hotlines, run by Hansjürgen Köhler and a five-person volunteer team, is based in the southwestern Odenwald region.
Köhler, a friendly, chatty man in his late 60s, became a salesman because his father discouraged a career in astronomy. His passion for space remained a serious hobby. In 2023 NASA appointed its first director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), while Köhler has been investigating UFO reports for more than 50 years.
High percentage of ‘UFO’ sightings solved
CENAP has processed 13,621 reported UFO sightings since it was founded in 1976 and has explained almost all of them, leaving only 89 unresolved. Reported sightings have increased over the past five years, with 1,348 sightings registered in 2025 alone.
Most sightings are easily explained: misidentified rockets, satellites, bright planets or stars. A classic example is Sirius, the brightest star, often mistaken for a UFO. Sometimes sightings are fireballs or meteorites, which especially excite astronomers.
Germany has multiple UFO hotlines, including the German Society for UFO Research (DEGUFO), the German-language chapter of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON-CES), and the Society for the Study of UFO Phenomena (GEP).
About 40% of reported sightings trace back to space technology. Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites have produced confused reports because they can exhibit “extreme flaring,” leading even pilots to report UFOs. Airplanes, helicopters and drones also trigger calls—drones because of their erratic maneuvers. Mundane objects like reflective foil balloons and distant laser shows frequently cause confusion.
CENAP, the UFO hotline that never sleeps
CENAP’s hotline is manned 24 hours a day. People can report sightings via WhatsApp, e-mail, or contact forms. Köhler aims to respond within 24 hours and asks callers for date, time, location, compass direction, duration, number of witnesses, and any photos or videos.
His main office hours are from 10:00 p.m. until midnight, when most people are on their balconies looking at the night sky—often because they are out for a smoke. During busy skies, such as meteor showers, he can receive 60 to 80 calls in a single night. He particularly enjoys reports between 3 and 4 a.m., which can signal a spectacular meteor show; prompt calls allow him to check data and identify what callers are seeing. Often, he and his team resolve cases on the spot.
People generally lack knowledge of astronomy
Inside the “UFO scene,” Köhler is a skeptic and distances himself from “UFO freaks,” viewing his work more like a space criminologist than a believer in flying saucers. He thinks society’s general astronomy knowledge could improve—a view echoed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which has created a “Big Ideas in Astronomy” project to define basic astronomical understanding.
Perception also plays a role. Pareidolia—the tendency to see images or meaning in arbitrary patterns—can lead people to interpret nebulous structures or reflections as UFOs. Susceptibility varies with personality, stress or expectation.
Between forensic criminology and spiritual counseling
Köhler uses astronomy software, space agency information and flight data to investigate sightings, and occasionally involves the German military. He sometimes acts like a police detective.
One case from the 1990s involved a young woman who believed she was chasing a UFO across western Germany and into Belgium. She reported the object changing shape and size. Köhler discovered she was half blind, had lost her contact lenses and wore defective glasses; what she saw was the waxing and waning of the moon. He described the case as odd and dramatic, and believed loneliness played a part.
Callers often speak as if to an old friend, whether excited or frightened. Köhler recalls a woman who called from a barricaded apartment, convinced war had broken out when she had seen a meteor. “It helps people to call,” he says. When he can explain the phenomenon, people are often relieved and thankful.
The European Space Agency (ESA) calls, too
The European Space Agency (ESA) has been referring cases to Köhler and CENAP. In one case, a research team observing the northern lights in Norway noticed something unusual; Köhler identified the cause as a rocket launch whose fuel crystallized in the cold, creating a spectacular sight. In another, a woman in Portugal claimed aliens were appearing and disappearing on a beach; Köhler determined the site was a diving school and listed the encounter as a “night dive.”
Not to say that UFOs won’t land at some point
Does Köhler think an alien UFO will land on Earth? “They haven’t been here yet,” he says, while also believing we are unlikely to be the only life in the galaxy. “I can’t say for sure they won’t come,” he adds, but jokes that if extraterrestrials ever landed and saw what was happening on Earth, “they’ll be out of here in a hurry.”
This article was originally published in German.