Last updated on June 1, 2024

New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2020

This page aggregates and analyzes all UFO sighting reports made in New Mexico during 2020.

How many New Mexico UFO sightings were there in 2020?

  • There were 82 officially reported UFO sightings in New Mexico in 2020.
  • In 2020, New Mexico ranked #33 on the list of states with the most UFO sightings for that year.
  • Adjusted for population size, New Mexico ranks #10 in the list of states with the most reported UFO sightings in 2020, with an average of 3.87 reports per 100,000 residents.

New Mexico Cities with the most UFO Sightings in 2020

Rank City Number of Reports
1 Albuquerque, NM 18 UFO Reports
2 Santa Fe, NM 17 UFO Reports
3 Las Cruces, NM 3 UFO Reports
4 Abiquiu, NM 2 UFO Reports
5 Corrales, NM 2 UFO Reports

New Mexico UFO Sightings Analysis

We analyzed all 82 UFO sighting reports in New Mexico from 2020 to identify possible patterns and gain insight into the phenomenon:

New Mexico UFO Sighting Reports in 2020

This is a sampling of 20 New Mexico UFO reports from 2020, presented as they were submitted other than paragraph breaks added for easier readability where necessary.

You can click the 'Report' link to view the original report along with any photos that may have been submitted to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).

, NM

Full Report Text:

Cigar shape object that changed shape to a fish like object and others to appear to have landing legs. I saw an object hovering in the sky to the south while we were heading east on I 40 in New Mexico that was shaped like a cigar then it appeared to look like a fish and then changed shape again with something hanging off one end of it then it went back to the cigar shape.

12/27/20 4:30 PM

UFO Shape: changing

Lasted: 8 minutes

Report

Hondo, NM

Full Report Text:

There is a bright flashing circular object over Taos Mountain/Taos Ski valley area. it seems to get bigger and brighter then back to smaller in a repetitive pattern, it's flashing red /white sometimes a light green. There is a very high pitched sound and it feels very dense and awkward outside.

12/26/20 1:00 PM

UFO Shape: circle

Lasted: 2 hours

Report

Santa Fe, NM

Full Report Text:

Large flash through sky, exact point of origin unknown, approximate to south side of town. Flash was quick and indescribable, light projected caused a weird sensation to skin and irritation to eyes. Flash seemed almost like the “ neuralyzer” from movie MIB as crazy as that sounds it’s the best way I can explain it.

Nonetheless it was strange and unworldly.

12/25/20 8:00 PM

UFO Shape: other

Lasted: Seconds

Report

Albuquerque, NM

Full Report Text:

V shape of 7 ish lights over Abq huge V formation of lights over Nob hill area. rest of craft appears to be cloacked.

12/20/20 4:06 AM

UFO Shape: triangle

Lasted: 40 mins

Report

Albuquerque, NM

Full Report Text:

Bright light hovering at 9 mile hill Object seen western side of city around old airport/9 mile hill. The object shown brightly and hovered for roughly 10 minute before simply disappearing. Literally, it looked like someone turned it off.

12/20/20 12:23 AM

UFO Shape: circle

Lasted: 10min

Report

ranchos de taos, NM

Full Report Text:

Multicolor flickering light shines bright, moves slow up into the sky until it's too far to be seen. A Light that was shining brighter than all the other stars above the foothills to the east, (southeast?) caught my attention. I point it out to my friend and we observe that it not only is more bright it also is shining differently than surrounding stars.

We see that it is shining different colors, blue, red, green, neon-purple, white, a brilliant patchy flickering of colors. At first, it appears to be staying still, but then we see that it is moving slowly, slowly upwards. As it moves up it gets smaller and smaller until it can no longer be seen.

12/07/20 8:30 PM

UFO Shape: light

Lasted: a few hours

Report

santa fe, NM

Full Report Text:

I was walking home and through the sky I noticed a diagonal stream of twenty or more slow moving orange-ish lights blinking quickly in a sequence of farthest down to highest up as they descended west and eventually over the horizon. Occasionally they would seem to blur together and flash brighter. I don't know how long they were there before I saw them.

Another man from my neighborhood came out into the street to get a closer look.

12/05/20 7:00 PM

UFO Shape: formation

Lasted: ?

Report

Santa Fe, NM

Full Report Text:

Bright lights (at least 10) in formation traveling at high altitude west to east at supersonic speed over Santa Fe, NM (seriously) No hoax here, as both my wife and I saw them. Some sort of crafts - only visible as bright white lights - equally spaced and moving at hyper speed at super high altitude. Traveling from west to east - roughly the direction of Menkalinan towards Altair.

Super fast and in perfect formation. So fast that they went horizon to horizon in less than one minute. Thought they might be fighter jets, but could see no green/red lights.

Only bright white lights. Wow. Bizarre.

12/04/20 5:45 PM

UFO Shape: light

Lasted: 30-45 seconds

Report

Santa Fe, NM

Full Report Text:

A white sphere flying from north to south over Santa Fe NM approximately 6pm 11/15/2020 A friend and I were standing in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Facing east we were remarking about a bright orange white Starlike object about 35 degrees off the horizon which we decided was probably the planet Mars. I then turn my attention to an object heading from the north headint south.

It was flying kind of like an airplane but it did not have any blinking lights it just looked like a small white light sphere. It was luminescent but not particularly bright. Unfortunately my phone battery was dead otherwise I would have filmed it.

But was almost beautiful in its simple elegance, like a polished pearl. It was siIent and produced no contrail. It was pretty high up and made very small adjustments to its trajectory but pretty much went in the same direction, north to south the whole time.

It's speed seemed pretty constant and steady the whole time but may have slowed down slightly at times. I Wanted to report this sighting in case anyone else aro! und town saw it. Would be awesome if this could be corroborated by other witnesses.

This friend and I have both seen UAP on other occasions and so we were not shocked or surprised by the presence of this orb.

11/15/20 6:00 PM

UFO Shape: sphere

Lasted: 3 mins

Report

Corrales, NM

Full Report Text:

Short cigar, cigar shaped object. Over the house, a little ways. Bright sillouettte.

11/13/20 12:00 AM

UFO Shape: cigar

Lasted: Moments

Report

Santa Fe, NM

Full Report Text:

Very bright light swinging around ascended then ejected 2 objects. On October 25th, 2020, I was in my front yard sky watching and talking to a friend on the phone. While I was talking with him, I noticed the biggest and brightest meteor I had ever seen in the western part of the sky.

After scanning the sky a bit more, I looked to my right towards the NE and saw what looked like someone was walking with a very, very bright flashlight on the top of the Eldorado Preserve about a mile from our house. Since it was 9:30pm, I could not understand why anyone would be hiking at that hour way up there. There are many things to be wary of, especially at night; cactus, coyotes, mountain lions and the steepness of the terrain.

I went and got my husband to watch the object. We sat on the bench facing the preserve, watching the light swing back and forth as if someone was walking. After about 2 minutes, I looked at the light and realized that it had lifted above the mountain.

It was ascending. The light was still swinging around but was getting dimmer and dimmer. When it was at its highest, about 45 degrees above the horizon, it dimmed until it was almost out.

At that point, my husband and I saw two objects eject from the top towards the right and fade. After that, the object completely faded also. There was no further activity that evening.

It was impossible to estimate how far away and how high the object was but due to its brightness, it seemed relatively close.

10/25/20 9:30 PM

UFO Shape: oval

Lasted: 6 minutes

Report

Roy, NM

Full Report Text:

A centipede type light/craft flying across the sky. Looked like a chem trail but was clearly not. Like a thin building with lights flying through the sky.

Disappeared after about 30 seconds into what appeared to be a black hole.

10/24/20 6:59 PM

UFO Shape: cigar

Lasted: 30 seconds

Report

San Antonio, NM

Full Report Text:

Witnessed two amber colored circular dots of light hopscotching each other horizontally across the sky and then disappear. At first we thought it was lights from an aircraft, but then we saw how they hopscotched over each other then quickly disappear, which made us both think that it was definitely not an aircraft.

10/21/20 7:50 PM

UFO Shape: light

Lasted: 45

Report

Los Alamos, NM

Full Report Text:

The craft blinked in the distance signaling one in the sky like they were blinking in a binary morse code type pattern. Then one descended on the valle caldera and disappeared into the center of the sky without making a sound. The lights it emitted are green and blue.

I know more but I'm afraid to write it here.

10/19/20 10:45 PM

UFO Shape: changing

Lasted: 2 hours

Report

Albuquerque, NM

Full Report Text:

my porch is newly sealed First I was distracted by 2 flashes to the WSW part of the sky. As I turned, I saw two lights traveling in the same direction. As they did, the light would pulse much slower than a blinking aircraft light.

both lights made hard 120-degree turns quickly. It seemed as though a light washed across a surface like a turning car's headlights across a wall. After 10 seconds I saw four more of the same flashing/pulsing "corner" lights.

I could follow several as they were visible more than not. They may have been dozens or a hundred miles away. This sighting lasted 20-30 seconds in all.

I sat and watched thirty minutes longer but saw nothing more. I am an amateur astronomer and know my planets, satellites, and the ISS. This was truly unexplainable to me.

10/05/20 8:57 PM

UFO Shape: other

Lasted: 25 seconds

Report

Roswell, NM

Full Report Text:

Orange balls of light on US 285, just north of Roswel, New Mexico. At approximately 20:15 my wife, child, and I. were traveling south on US.

285. We were south of Vaughn, NM. We witnessed several orange balls of light.

They were a little bit lighter than a street light in color. These objects were about twice the size of a star. As we drove south towards Roswell, NM, we noticed them.

They would disappear for about three to four minutes at a time. They would reappear in the same way, which is to say, it was like flipping a switch off and on. As they sat in the sky, they were about the distance of your hand sideways at arm's length off of the horizon.

The objects were to the west of US. 285. This is a clear night with little air traffic.

they would reappear and multiply. At one point there was no less than six visible at a time. All of them stayed in the same general area.

They did not fall towards earth as would a flare, or fire work. When they would multiply, they would do so by moving horizontally. The hole sighting lasted ap! proximately 45 minutes .

Starting at 20:15, and ending at approximately 21:00 New Mexico time.

09/30/20 8:15 PM

UFO Shape: fireball

Lasted: 45 minutes

Report

Santa Fe, NM

Full Report Text:

On September 18th at 9:11, I was sky watching and talking to my friend in Indiana about what we were observing in the sky that evening. I noticed a satellite moving through the bottom of the Bootes constellation located off the panhandle of the Big Dipper. I continued to watch that same spot and noticed an extremely high, dull orange, fuzzy-edged, oval shaped object move through the center of the 'star ring' in Bootes.

It was impossible to estimate the height of this object but it seemed to be extremely high, possibly 40-70,000' moving very fast for that altitude. It was not bright and anyone that was not focused on that part of the sky would not have seen it. After the first object passed, I continue to watch that spot and another object exactly the same and on the same trajectory passed through also 3 seconds later.

Continuing to watch that spot, I counted 21 objects move through on exactly the same flight path, three seconds apart, except that one object ! moved through at a slightly higher flight path. I was still on the phone with my friend and counted them out loud to him. I continued to watch the Bootes constellation but no other objects passed through while I was observing.

09/18/20 9:11 PM

UFO Shape: oval

Lasted: 1 minute

Report

Abiquiu, NM

Full Report Text:

Silver flexible looking saucer silently glides up and over a cliff face, shining a bright light from its base onto the cliff. I was camping and was awoken by a bright light emanating from a silver/grey saucer, flexible almost, that was gliding up and over a cliff. The cliff was bathed in a bright soft light.

It lasted only a few seconds but I have no doubt what I saw.

09/15/20 10:00 PM

UFO Shape: disk

Lasted: 5 seconds

Report

Santa Fe, NM

Full Report Text:

Flying red donut shape, noiseless. Looked like a red donut flying with the donut center pointed to the horizon. Very clear, light evening sky.

It rotated back and forth showing the hole in the center. It was moving in a direction opposite of the cloud motion, but appeared to be much lower. Made no noise.

09/05/20 7:05 PM

UFO Shape: other

Lasted: 3 minutes

Report

Deming, NM

Full Report Text:

UFO sighting I 10 through New Mexico 32.2361000, -108.0330000.

Driving through Deming New Mexico my girlfriend noticed something stationary in the sky. She asked me to look. I pulled over to the side of the road.

All I could make out was something white in the sky. After looking for what I guess was about 30 seconds the object rotated. The rotation was slow and turned from left to right.

About midway through the turn the sun reflected off of it. I could tell it was oddly shaped for an aircraft looking square and oblong. After turning lengthways facing what I think was south, it started moving south.

The movement seemed slow at first then moved out of site. After returning to my truck we were wondering why no one else was seeing this and stopping. After driving off, it reappeared.

I stopped again looking out the window. It did this exact same maneuver I think three times over a period of about 30 minutes. Then didnt reappear.

My girlfriend and myself didnt know what to make of what we had just seen. Excited and amazed at first. It just seemed so surreal.

The following day after telling a couple friends, the reality set in for me and almost had a panic attack. I took a xanax I had and it calmed me down. I know this for sure, I'm not talking about this anymore.

I know I'll never be the same, and scared to look towards the sky.

09/03/20 7:30 PM

UFO Shape: other

Lasted: 30 minutes

Report

New Mexico UFO Sightings From 2020 By Shape

This is a standardized set of shapes a UFO report can be filed under.

Shape / Appearance Sightings % Of Total
Light 19 reported sightings 23.17% of all reports
Circle 9 reported sightings 10.98% of all reports
Other 7 reported sightings 8.54% of all reports
Sphere 6 reported sightings 7.32% of all reports
Changing 6 reported sightings 7.32% of all reports
Unknown 4 reported sightings 4.88% of all reports
Cigar 4 reported sightings 4.88% of all reports
Formation 4 reported sightings 4.88% of all reports
Disk 4 reported sightings 4.88% of all reports
Triangle 3 reported sightings 3.66% of all reports
Fireball 3 reported sightings 3.66% of all reports
Rectangle 2 reported sightings 2.44% of all reports
Oval 2 reported sightings 2.44% of all reports
Teardrop 1 reported sightings 1.22% of all reports
Cross 1 reported sightings 1.22% of all reports
Egg 1 reported sightings 1.22% of all reports
Flash 1 reported sightings 1.22% of all reports

New Mexico UFO Sightings From 2020 By Month

This data point is an aggregation of all UFO reports by the month the sighting occured in.

Month Sightings % Of Total
April 16 reported sightings 19.51% of all reports
May 12 reported sightings 14.63% of all reports
January 11 reported sightings 13.41% of all reports
July 10 reported sightings 12.20% of all reports
December 8 reported sightings 9.76% of all reports
October 5 reported sightings 6.10% of all reports
September 5 reported sightings 6.10% of all reports
August 4 reported sightings 4.88% of all reports
March 4 reported sightings 4.88% of all reports
February 3 reported sightings 3.66% of all reports
November 2 reported sightings 2.44% of all reports
June 2 reported sightings 2.44% of all reports

New Mexico UFO Sightings From 2020 By Weekday

This data point is an aggregation of all UFO reports by the day of the week the sighting occured on.

Weekday Sightings % Of Total
Tuesday 22 reported sightings 26.83% of all reports
Sunday 12 reported sightings 14.63% of all reports
Saturday 11 reported sightings 13.41% of all reports
Friday 10 reported sightings 12.20% of all reports
Wednesday 10 reported sightings 12.20% of all reports
Thursday 9 reported sightings 10.98% of all reports
Monday 8 reported sightings 9.76% of all reports

New Mexico UFO Sightings From 2020 By Date (Top 5)

This data point is an aggregation of all UFO reports by the date the sighting occured on, limited to the top 5 dates with the most sightings.

Date Sightings % Of Total
05/02/20 5 reported sightings 6.10% of all reports
04/14/20 5 reported sightings 6.10% of all reports
07/28/20 3 reported sightings 3.66% of all reports
01/14/20 3 reported sightings 3.66% of all reports
12/20/20 2 reported sightings 2.44% of all reports

New Mexico UFO Sightings From 2020 By Time

This data point is an aggregation of all UFO reports by the time of day the sighting occured during. We took logical 4 hour windows in order to split the day into early morning, morning, afternoon, evening, night, and late night buckets for this analysis.

Time Of Day Hours Sightings % Of Total
Night 20:00 - 23:59 31 reported sightings 37.80% of all reports
Evening 16:00 - 19:59 22 reported sightings 26.83% of all reports
Early morning 04:00 - 07:59 13 reported sightings 15.85% of all reports
Morning 08:00 - 11:59 7 reported sightings 8.54% of all reports
Late night 00:00 - 03:59 6 reported sightings 7.32% of all reports
Afternoon 12:00 - 15:59 3 reported sightings 3.66% of all reports

All New Mexico Cities with reported UFO sightings in 2020

These are running counts of how many UFO sighting reports were filed per city in New Mexico, in 2020

City Number of Reports View Reports
Albuquerque 18 UFO Reports Albuquerque UFO Sightings in 2020
Santa Fe 17 UFO Reports Santa Fe UFO Sightings in 2020
Las Cruces 3 UFO Reports Las Cruces UFO Sightings in 2020
Abiquiu 2 UFO Reports Abiquiu UFO Sightings in 2020
Corrales 2 UFO Reports Corrales UFO Sightings in 2020
Deming 2 UFO Reports Deming UFO Sightings in 2020
Los Lunas 2 UFO Reports Los Lunas UFO Sightings in 2020
Rio Rancho 2 UFO Reports Rio Rancho UFO Sightings in 2020
Lovington 1 UFO Reports Lovington UFO Sightings in 2020
Loving 1 UFO Reports Loving UFO Sightings in 2020
Moriarty 1 UFO Reports Moriarty UFO Sightings in 2020
Carlsbad 1 UFO Reports Carlsbad UFO Sightings in 2020
San Antonio 1 UFO Reports San Antonio UFO Sightings in 2020
Dixon 1 UFO Reports Dixon UFO Sightings in 2020
Roy 1 UFO Reports Roy UFO Sightings in 2020
Truth or Consequences 1 UFO Reports Truth or Consequences UFO Sightings in 2020
Quay 1 UFO Reports Quay UFO Sightings in 2020
Peralta 1 UFO Reports Peralta UFO Sightings in 2020
Los Alamos 1 UFO Reports Los Alamos UFO Sightings in 2020
Aztec 1 UFO Reports Aztec UFO Sightings in 2020
Hondo 1 UFO Reports Hondo UFO Sightings in 2020
Jal 1 UFO Reports Jal UFO Sightings in 2020
ranchos de taos 1 UFO Reports ranchos de taos UFO Sightings in 2020
Tucumcari 1 UFO Reports Tucumcari UFO Sightings in 2020
Cochiti Pueblo 1 UFO Reports Cochiti Pueblo UFO Sightings in 2020
Roswell 1 UFO Reports Roswell UFO Sightings in 2020
Taos 1 UFO Reports Taos UFO Sightings in 2020
Alburquerque 1 UFO Reports Alburquerque UFO Sightings in 2020
Hobbs 1 UFO Reports Hobbs UFO Sightings in 2020
Arrey 1 UFO Reports Arrey UFO Sightings in 2020
Mesquite 1 UFO Reports Mesquite UFO Sightings in 2020
Albquerque 1 UFO Reports Albquerque UFO Sightings in 2020
Las Vegas 1 UFO Reports Las Vegas UFO Sightings in 2020
Lad Cruces 1 UFO Reports Lad Cruces UFO Sightings in 2020
Cerrillos 1 UFO Reports Cerrillos UFO Sightings in 2020
Alamogordo 1 UFO Reports Alamogordo UFO Sightings in 2020
Tome 1 UFO Reports Tome UFO Sightings in 2020
Elephant Butte 1 UFO Reports Elephant Butte UFO Sightings in 2020
Socorro 1 UFO Reports Socorro UFO Sightings in 2020

Other Years with Reported UFO Sightings in New Mexico

These are running counts of how many UFO sighting reports are filed per year in New Mexico.

Year Number of Reports View Reports
2024 11 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2024
2023 52 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2023
2022 53 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2022
2021 50 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2021
2020 82 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2020
2019 89 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2019
2018 60 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2018
2017 83 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2017
2016 79 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2016
2015 78 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2015
2014 110 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2014
2013 90 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2013
2012 72 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2012
2011 35 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2011
2010 38 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2010
2009 51 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2009
2008 59 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2008
2007 49 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2007
2006 61 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2006
2005 33 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2005
2004 40 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2004
2003 45 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2003
2002 46 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2002
2001 29 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2001
2000 36 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 2000
1999 32 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1999
1998 26 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1998
1997 23 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1997
1996 10 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1996
1995 12 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1995
1994 9 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1994
1993 5 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1993
1992 4 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1992
1991 9 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1991
1990 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1990
1989 4 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1989
1988 7 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1988
1987 2 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1987
1986 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1986
1985 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1985
1984 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1984
1983 2 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1983
1982 2 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1982
1981 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1981
1980 2 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1980
1979 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1979
1978 6 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1978
1977 6 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1977
1976 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1976
1975 5 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1975
1974 3 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1974
1973 4 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1973
1972 2 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1972
1971 1 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1971
1970 1 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1970
1969 1 UFO Reports New Mexico UFO Sightings in 1969