Mysterious lights and unidentified flying objects (UAPs) have long intrigued people. Recent studies show that these phenomena might be linked to nuclear testing in the 1940s and 1950s.
Researchers, including anesthesiologist Stephen Bruehl from Vanderbilt University and physicist Beatriz Villarroel from Stockholm University, analyzed old astronomical records and eyewitness accounts of UAPs. They suggest that the changes from the nuclear age may have affected what we see in the night sky.
From 1949 to 1958, the Mount Palomar Observatory conducted the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, aiming to capture images of the entire northern sky. In these records, scientists later noticed some bright points of light that didn’t appear in subsequent observations. These fleeting lights, known as transients, were often dismissed as defects in the photographic plates used at that time.
Villarroel has been leading a project called VASCO, which examines changes in the night sky over a century. Previous research found that some transients couldn’t easily be explained by these plate defects, although not everyone agreed.
Bruehl and Villarroel wanted to see if these mysterious lights could be linked to above-ground nuclear tests. They built a dataset spanning 2,718 days, correlating the appearance of these transients with documented nuclear tests and UAP sightings recorded in the UFOCAT database.
The results were eye-opening. Transients were 45% more likely to show up around the time of a nuclear test. The biggest spike occurred a day after a nuclear test, with a staggering 68% higher likelihood. When they checked UAP sightings, they found a smaller but still notable connection. For each additional UAP report on a given day, they saw an 8.5% increase in transient appearances.
Interestingly, UAP sightings also rose during nuclear testing windows, marking a first in scientific investigations into this topic.
While these findings don’t clarify the reasons behind the connections, they hint that both transients and some UAP reports are genuine. If these transients were merely defects, you wouldn’t expect the patterns seen around specific dates.
Despite the need for more research, the study helps bolster the idea that these sky phenomena are real observations, not just artifacts from photographic processes. The associations found are significant enough to merit further exploration.
This study highlights how the past, especially the era of nuclear testing, continues to shape our understanding of the universe. As more investigations unfold, we may uncover even more about these mysterious lights in our skies.
For more details, you can read the full research in Scientific Reports here.
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