Originally posted by Gazrok
(...)
The following information would be helpful to know, even when reporting a sighting here on ATS…(not necessary, but the more info the better)

Date of sighting?
Time of sighting (include time zone, am or pm)?
How long did the sighting last?
City, state of sighting (or nation, province, etc.)?
How many other witnesses?
Just lights, or shape discernable?
Color of lights and/or object/s?
Number of lights and/or objects?
Apparent altitude?
Direction of travel?
Apparent brightness?
Path of travel (straight, curved, etc.)?
Any pictures or video?
Any sound?
Any aircraft around?
Can you illustrate what was seen (if no photos, video, etc.)? (even MS paint can be used to illustrate where things were during a sighting, etc.)

• The weather and/or the atmospheric pollution
  Sometimes, the weather conditions can greatly affect the possible observation or the actual perception of things. Temperature alone can play a role, in that sometimes (everyone has experienced that...) a very heated road can give the impression that at a distance it is covered with water... Also, wind, clouds, so on...
  
• The apparent speed/movement
  You don't mention speed as such? This can be related to the next topic. An estimation of the speed of the object, when possible (even if it is obviously difficult in most cases), is a precious data sometimes: it allows to dismiss some "explanations"... (e.g. the famous so called Belgian triangles could not have been the F-117 as some had speculated, because speed recorded were from hovering to near mach 2...)
  
• The size at arm's length
  You mention actually the apparent size, but it is sometimes extremely difficult to estimate it. By giving the size at arm's length, if either the altitude, distance, or actual size can be estimated more or less precisely (for example by situating the object in regard to some landscape, then it is possible to establish the actual distance or altitude), then the rest can be derived for a better description of size/altitude/distance.
  
• Proximity or not of airports or military installations
  It has often be reported that UFOs like to roam around those military installations, especially the ones containing nukes... Also, it seems that civil airports have their lot of sightings and encounters (would it only be because of their radar)
  

Often, here at ATS, many of our members report their own UFO sightings. In many cases, they are looking for explanations, or just opinions. However, not all know where they can make official reports, or what kind of info may prove helpful. To that end, here’s some information.