Hansjürgen Köhler has been a volunteer for the Central Research Network for Anomalous Phenomena (CENAP) for more than 50 years, based in Germany's southwestern Odenwald region. He sees his work as scientific investigation but also as caring for others. Köhler is a friendly and chatty man in his late 60s who became a salesman early in life because he was not allowed to become an astronomer. His father advised him to "do something respectable," so Köhler's love of space remained a hobby, albeit one he takes very seriously. In 2023, NASA appointed its first director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), while in Germany, Hansjürgen Köhler has been investigating UFO reports for over five decades.

Köhler says CENAP has processed 13,621 reported UFO sightings since its founding in 1976 and has been able to explain almost all of them—with only 89 cases unresolved. He reports that sightings have increased annually over the past five years, with 1,348 registered in 2025 alone. Most sightings are easily explained and involve people misidentifying rockets, satellites, bright planets, or stars. Köhler cites Sirius, the brightest star in the sky located slightly above and to the left of the Orion constellation, as a classic case. Sometimes, it's a fireball or meteorite—"those really get an astronomer's heart pounding," he says.

CENAP is not the only organization looking into such cases. Germany alone has several 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). Köhler told DW that about 40% of all reported sightings can be traced back to space technology. Elon Musk's Starlink satellites have also triggered confused sightings in recent years because, according to Köhler, the satellites can exhibit "extreme flaring" in some situations, causing more people globally, including airplane pilots, to report UFO sightings.

Within the "UFO scene," Hansjürgen Köhler is a skeptic. He carefully distances himself from "UFO freaks," viewing his work as more akin to a space criminologist than someone who believes in flying saucers and little green men. He also believes there is room for improvement in society's knowledge of astronomy, noting he first recognized this phenomenon while visiting a space observatory as a youth. He is not alone in this assessment. Recently, the world's recognized authority on professional astronomy, the Paris-based International Astronomical Union (IAU), created the "Big Ideas in Astronomy" project, which defines what should be considered general astronomical understanding.

Köhler uses astronomy software, space agency information, and flight data to get to the bottom of most UFO sightings—occasionally even contacting the German military in special instances. At other times, he proceeds like a police detective. His favorite reports come in the early morning hours, between 3 and 4 a.m. He leaps out of bed on such nights, knowing it might be a spectacular meteor show prompting calls. The sooner people notify CENAP, the better, he says: "Then we can take a look at the computer and see exactly what the caller is seeing." In best-case scenarios, he and his team can resolve the issue on the spot.

Source: www.dw.com