Most UFOs – like the Chinese spy balloon – can be explained away. But what about the other 2%? | Heather Dixon

As a UFO investigator, it's my job to be sceptical and rigorous. Yet an air of mystery remains - and I hope it always will

• Heather Dixon is head of national investigations for the British UFO Research Association

Sometimes they appear in the form of an orb of light, high in the sky, that seems to pass through solid objects such as trees and buildings. Sometimes it's a strange mist that descends out of nowhere. In an increasing number of cases, an object that can't be seen with the naked eye shows up clearly in a photographic image.

These are examples of UFOs - literally, unidentified flying objects - that are spotted in UK skies every day. In the wake of the US shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, plus three other objects it has yet to identify, experts say there are going to be a lot more of these kinds of sightings. As a UFO researcher, I treat these things with scepticism and scientific rigour, but part of me hopes they will never be fully explained.