Honestly, you don't really have to be a researcher to determine whether or not an object is a UFO.
Basically, you can determine if an object is simply a normal 'identified' object by using logical observations using your unenhanced senses.
The most common object people mistake as a true UFO is a low flying plane or helicopter. Their unblinking lights will be so much brighter than the standard blinking aircraft light that the blinking lights won't be visible. So, if you don't observe the object long enough, you won't notice the blinking aircraft lights and might think it is a UFO.
Similarly, someone will observe a very high flying plane (such as a chem trail plane) and won't notice the blinking light because its so far up and their eyes aren't adjusted to the dark.
Another very common misconception is spotting a bright star or planet fairly low on the horizon. The atmosphere and variations in temperature cause the celestial body to ripple/flicker/vary in color. These bodies travel across the sky at nearly the same rate as the sun or moon does but a lot of people don't know that, so they will notice it at different spots in the sky depending on the time of night or if observed several days later and think it might be a UFO.
Lastly, some more avid yet inexperienced sky watchers will see a sattelite which looks like a moving star which will occasionally greatly/briefly increase in luminosity. This only happens within a few hours after sunset and is caused by a satellite rotating to a point where a shiny flat surface on it catches sunlight and reflects it towards you like a mirror. I fairly recently mistook this phenomenon for my second UFO sighting before I researched what I observed.
Some criteria which could potentially be real UFOs: an object which accelerates/decelerates/changes directions very quickly such as an object which is moving faster than a typical aircraft then makes a perfect right angle turn without decelerating. There is currently no (mainstream) technology which would allow an occupant to survive such a turn.
Another criteria which was from a personal observation is if a high flying object wanders around aimlessly going in no particular direction like a fish swims in the sea, then lights up extremely brightly as it approaches another similar object. Since I have no logical explanation of that phenomenon, I classified that as my first real UFO sighting.
Basically, you can determine if an object is simply a normal 'identified' object by using logical observations using your unenhanced senses.
The most common object people mistake as a true UFO is a low flying plane or helicopter. Their unblinking lights will be so much brighter than the standard blinking aircraft light that the blinking lights won't be visible. So, if you don't observe the object long enough, you won't notice the blinking aircraft lights and might think it is a UFO.
Similarly, someone will observe a very high flying plane (such as a chem trail plane) and won't notice the blinking light because its so far up and their eyes aren't adjusted to the dark.
Another very common misconception is spotting a bright star or planet fairly low on the horizon. The atmosphere and variations in temperature cause the celestial body to ripple/flicker/vary in color. These bodies travel across the sky at nearly the same rate as the sun or moon does but a lot of people don't know that, so they will notice it at different spots in the sky depending on the time of night or if observed several days later and think it might be a UFO.
Lastly, some more avid yet inexperienced sky watchers will see a sattelite which looks like a moving star which will occasionally greatly/briefly increase in luminosity. This only happens within a few hours after sunset and is caused by a satellite rotating to a point where a shiny flat surface on it catches sunlight and reflects it towards you like a mirror. I fairly recently mistook this phenomenon for my second UFO sighting before I researched what I observed.
Some criteria which could potentially be real UFOs: an object which accelerates/decelerates/changes directions very quickly such as an object which is moving faster than a typical aircraft then makes a perfect right angle turn without decelerating. There is currently no (mainstream) technology which would allow an occupant to survive such a turn.
Another criteria which was from a personal observation is if a high flying object wanders around aimlessly going in no particular direction like a fish swims in the sea, then lights up extremely brightly as it approaches another similar object. Since I have no logical explanation of that phenomenon, I classified that as my first real UFO sighting.