Wuerzburg Researchers Test UAP/UFO Detection Observatory on Zugspitze-Summit in the Alps

Geschrieben am 23.10.2025

von Andreas Müller

Wuerzburg (Germany) – On the terrace of the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus, located just below the summit of Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, researchers from the „Interdisciplinary Research Center for Extraterrestrial Studies“ (IFEX) at the University of Wuerzburg have installed a new AI-based camera observatory designed to detect unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The AllSkyCAM system will also serve as a test platform for potential future deployment on Mars.

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View of the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus below the summit of the Zugspitze.
Credit: Julian Mutter / IFEX, JMU

For several years, the IFEX team under Professor Hakan Kayal has developed and tested various versions of its „SkyCAM“-systems at different locations. In addition to installations at the so-called “Blue Box” in Hessdalen, Norway — a high mountain valley known for decades of recurring mysterious light and UFO sightings (the so-called Hessdalen Phenomena) — another system operates on the roof of the University of Würzburg. There, it is used to train an AI algorithm to distinguish between known and mundane aerial objects (such as insects, birds, aircraft, satellites, or meteors) and unknown anomalous objects, appearances, or phenomena.

SkyCAM-5 on the roof of a university building at the Hubland Campus, University of Würzburg.
Credit: A. Müller for grenzwissenschaft-aktuell.de

The SkyCAM-series is based on the IFEX-developed concept known as „Anomaly Detection and Observation System“ (ADEOS). This future system is intended for the detection and monitoring of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and consists of a range of different sensor types controlled via a client-server architecture. One of its key optical components is an all-sky camera operating in the visible wavelength range, which forms the system’s core. ADEOS is designed to be gradually expanded and operated at multiple locations depending on available resources.

Beyond its terrestrial stations, the Würzburg researchers are also pursuing a truly distant goal: as part of the VaMEx of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).research initiative, which is developing a German Mars mission to explore the vast Valles Marineris canyon system, IFEX is contributing concept studies and prototypes for its VaMEx 3 project „MarsSymphony“. Alongside a swarm of drone probes — designed to distribute themselves across a large area by rotating like maple seeds — the team led by Kayal is also developing the mission’s data relay unit, responsible for communication between Mars-based probes and satellites relaying data to Earth. This so-called gateway unit will also incorporate an ADEOS-based SkyCAM system to monitor the Martian sky for unidentified objects or phenomena.

Panoramic view from the terrace of the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus.
Credit: Julian Mutter / IFEX, JMU

As both an expansion of the global SkyCAM network and a testbed for potential Mars deployment, the IFEX team has now successfully installed the newest model, SkyCAM-7, on the terrace of the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus station below the Zugspitze summit.

The AllSky camera system “SkyCAM-7” installed on the terrace of the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus.
Credit: Andreas Maurer / IFEX, JMU

Resembling the headquarters of a James Bond villain, the former hotel sits at 2,656 meters above sea level and now serves as Germany’s highest research station, hosting several national scientific institutions. From the start, SkyCAM-7 will be exposed to extreme alpine weather conditions.

SkyCAM-7 under test in harsh mountain conditions at Schneefernerhaus.
Credit: Andreas Maurer and Julian Mutter / IFEX, JMU

Installed just in time before the onset of the harsh alpine winter, the SkyCAM-7 observatory represents a deliberate test version. “The system is being tested at the Zugspitze for a reason,” Prof. Kayal explains. “The AllSkyCAM system consists of several cameras that together capture the entire visible sky. Operating continuously, it assists in studying known atmospheric objects such as clouds or meteors, as well as potentially detecting new phenomena like unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).”

Initial images demonstrate that both object detection and identification (example: bird) are functioning properly.
Source: IFEX

With its installation on the Zugspitze, SkyCAM-7 is currently the world’s highest UAP observatory — and is simultaneously being tested under Mars-like extreme conditions.