🇺🇸 United StatesThe Phoenix Lights
The Story
On March 13, 1997, a triangular formation of lights spanning miles passed over Arizona from Nevada to Tucson. Governor Fife Symington later admitted seeing the craft. The US Air Force attributed later lights to A-10 flare drops at Barry Goldwater Range, but many witnesses distinguish the earlier V-formation as a separate event.
Images
Timeline
Witnesses across Nevada and Arizona report a V-shaped light formation.
Later lights appear south of Phoenix; USAF later attributes these to flares.
Former Governor Symington describes seeing the craft on its ten-year anniversary.
Known Evidence
How well-documented and physically verified the case evidence is.
- Thousands of independent witness reports across a 300-mile corridor.
- Video and photographic records of both the V-formation and later light patterns.
- Governor Symington's 2007 statement describing a massive structured craft.
- USAF explanation of LUFlares over the Barry Goldwater Range for a subset of reports.
Unresolved
What We Still Don't Know
- Whether the V-formation and flare drops are the same event or two phenomena.
- The size, altitude, and nature of the silent V-shaped formation.
- Why flares would appear as a connected moving structure to multiple observers.
Hypotheses
Theories
Ranked by plausibility — highest first.
Mixed Flare and Formation Events
A-10 training flares explain some lights; a separate unexplained V-formation occurred earlier.
Large Structured Craft
A single massive aerial object with lights passed over Arizona at low altitude.
Nearby on the map