UFO shapes

The shapes people and military sensors report most, from glowing orbs to black triangles, with the Pentagon's own numbers on how common each one is, famous cases, and what usually turns out to explain them.

What the military actually reports

Share of UAP reports by shape, from the Pentagon's UAP office (AARO)

Orb / round / sphere52%

"Vector"23%

Tic Tac6%

Polygon5%

Square3%

Disk2%

Triangle2%

Rectangle2%

Cylinder1%

Oval1%

Lights1%

Other1%

Source: AARO briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee, "The US Department of Defense & the UAP Mission," April 19, 2023, slide "Reported UAP Morphology." AARO's slide doesn't define "vector"; it appears to cover reports where an object was tracked moving but no clear shape was described. Read the briefing (PDF)

Orb / sphere

The most common shape by far: a round object, often white, silver or translucent, sometimes seen against the wind or at odd orientations. AARO says typical reports describe objects 1 to 4 meters across, seen between 10,000 and 30,000 feet.

Known cases: Military pilots and sensors keep recording orbs over training ranges and conflict zones; several are in the Pentagon's unresolved archive.
Common explanations: Balloons of all kinds, from party balloons to research and surveillance balloons, explain a large share of resolved orb cases. Drones and birds account for others.

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Tic Tac

A smooth, white, wingless capsule shape with no visible engines, wings or exhaust, named after the breath mint.

Known cases: The 2004 USS Nimitz encounter off San Diego, and a 2023 Navy account of four Tic Tac objects rising from the ocean, described in congressional testimony.
Common explanations: Skeptics argue some sensor footage of "Tic Tacs" shows distant aircraft, but the best-known case rests on pilots' eyewitness accounts as well as video.

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Cube in a sphere

A dark gray or black cube that appears to sit inside a clear sphere.

Known cases: Navy fighter pilots reported this shape repeatedly off the U.S. East Coast in 2014 and 2015, as former pilot Ryan Graves told Congress in 2023.
Common explanations: No official explanation has been published for the best-known reports; balloon designs are one suggestion.

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Disk / saucer

The classic "flying saucer": a flat, round craft, sometimes with a dome. It defined UFOs in pop culture, yet it's rare in modern military reports.

Known cases: The 1950 McMinnville, Oregon photos remain the most studied disk images.
Common explanations: Lens flares, lenticular clouds, thrown objects and outright hoaxes explain many disk photos.

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Triangle

A large black or dark triangle, usually with a light at each corner and sometimes one in the center. Often described as silent and slow.

Known cases: The Belgian wave of 1989–90, the Phoenix Lights in 1997, and a 2012 airman's account of a 100-foot triangle given to Congress in 2025.
Common explanations: Aircraft flying in formation, flares, and drones carrying lights are the usual explanations. Some sightings remain unexplained.

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Cylinder / cigar

A long, tube-like object with rounded or flat ends, sometimes described as a "cigar" or "rocket" shape.

Known cases: Cigar-shaped reports go back to the 1940s and still appear in pilot reports today.
Common explanations: Rocket bodies falling back to Earth, blimps and airliners seen side-on at a distance.

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Lights in formation

Several lights moving together, either in a line or a fixed pattern, with no solid shape visible.

Known cases: Starlink trains after each launch now cause waves of reports from around the world.
Common explanations: Starlink satellite trains, aircraft formations, flares and drone light shows explain most of these.

Boomerang / chevron

A V or crescent shape, sometimes with lights along the edges.

Known cases: Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting near Mount Rainier, which gave us the term "flying saucer," is thought to have involved crescent-shaped objects.
Common explanations: Birds lit from below by city lights, aircraft in V-formation and flares.

The flying saucer dominates movies, but it's one of the rarest shapes in military reports today; plain round orbs are the overwhelming majority. Saw one of these yourself? Run it through the UFO checker or watch the official footage.