UFO Map

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Mystery lights

Unusual sky phenomena

Some sky phenomena have been watched by thousands of people at once. Sometimes the explanation comes quickly – as with the 2009 Norwegian spiral, which turned out to be the trail of a failed missile launch. Others, like the “miracle of the sun” at Fátima, are still interpreted in many ways: religiously, meteorologically and psychologically.

cases
7
years
1661–2009

Disputed: 2 Explained: 5

  1. 17th century

    1. 1661 Unusual sky phenomena · Explained Sevenfold Sun Miracle over Gdańsk Gdańsk, Royal Prussia (now Pomeranian Voivodeship), Poland In February 1661, more than a thousand residents of Gdańsk, including Johannes Hevelius, saw seven suns in the sky – an exceptionally rich halo display.

  2. 18th century

    1. 1780 Unusual sky phenomena · Explained New England’s Dark Day New England, northeastern United States, United States On May 19, 1780, darkness so deep fell over New England in the middle of the day that candles had to be lit – many took it for the end of the world.

  3. 19th century

    1. 1859 Unusual sky phenomena · Explained Carrington Event Richard Carrington’s observatory in Redhill, Surrey (auroras worldwide), United Kingdom The most powerful geomagnetic storm on record: auroras were seen as far as the Caribbean, and sparks flew in telegraph offices.

  4. 1910–1919

    1. 1917 Unusual sky phenomena · Disputed Miracle of the Sun at Fátima Cova da Iria near Fátima, Santarém District, Portugal On October 13, 1917, a crowd gathered at Fátima saw the sun spin, change colors, and seem to plunge toward the earth.

  5. 1970–1979

    1. 1972 Unusual sky phenomena · Explained 1972 Great Daylight Fireball Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (trajectory from Utah to Alberta), United States In August 1972, an object several meters across streaked over North America in broad daylight and, instead of falling, returned to space.
    2. 1977 Unusual sky phenomena · Disputed Petrozavodsk Phenomenon Petrozavodsk, Karelia, Russia In September 1977, a glowing “jellyfish” hung over Petrozavodsk, with rays of light pouring down from it onto the city.

  6. 2000–2009

    1. 2009 Unusual sky phenomena · Explained Norwegian Spiral Anomaly Northern Norway – Troms and Finnmark counties, Norway In December 2009, a luminous spiral unfolded in the sky over northern Norway – it turned out to be the trail of a failed Russian missile test.