Unveiling the Mystery: How 1950s UAPs and Nuclear Tests Caused Stars to Disappear

A recent study looks back at intriguing celestial events captured before the launch of Sputnik and finds some surprising links to nuclear tests and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

Since 2017, the Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project has been investigating stars that seemed to vanish or fade from view over the last century. They’ve discovered around 100 stars that have disappeared without a clear explanation.

In their latest work, the researchers concentrated on short-lived objects photographed by the Palomar Observatory from 1949 to 1957. These fleeting appearances lasted less than 50 minutes and were absent in images taken before and after their brief visibility. Some of these objects showed unusual characteristics that couldn’t be easily explained by usual phenomena like lens effects or gamma-ray bursts.

Identifying the causes of these transients is complex. The researchers believe that looking for clues related to their surroundings at the time could help explain their origins. Their hypothesis suggests a connection to nuclear tests, noting that during the period from 1951 to 1957, more than 120 above-ground nuclear tests were conducted by the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Great Britain.

They pointed out that nuclear radiation may cause temporary glows in the atmosphere, known as Cherenkov radiation. Reports indicated glowing “fireballs” observed after some nuclear tests, hinting at a potential link between these events and the transient objects.

The researchers analyzed publicly available data to catalog transients and aligned them with dates of confirmed nuclear tests and UAP sightings. Remarkably, they noted a 45% higher likelihood of transients being observed on days when nuclear tests occurred. Curiously, no more transients were recorded in test windows after a particular event in March 1956, even though tests continued.

They also found a weaker correlation between UAP sightings and transient occurrences, especially when multiple transients showed up in a single observation.

While the researchers propose different explanations, including the possibility that UAPs are drawn to nuclear tests, a more grounded notion is that these tests could trigger phenomena creating the transient objects and UAP sightings.

These findings spark further curiosity in the scientific community. According to Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, an astronomy researcher involved in the study, “Our results contribute to growing evidence that transients could be real observations, challenging the idea they are merely imperfections in the recordings.”

While this study has not yet undergone peer review and requires more investigation, it contributes to the ongoing conversation about the mysteries of our universe and the potential effects of nuclear activity on our atmosphere.

For more on the study, check the preprint publication on Research Square.

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