Paranormal Department Space Anomaly Network Paranormal Department × Space Anomaly

Category: Space Reader Stories

  • The Hudson Valley Sightings — Westchester & Putnam Counties, NY (1983–84)

    Historical case When: March 1983 – summer 1984  ·  Where: Hudson Valley, New York

    Status: Explained — state police reported that pilots flying Cessna 152s in formation had caused many of the sightings. Some reports remain unexplained to witnesses.

    From March 1983 through the summer of 1984, people across New York's Hudson Valley, including Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties and nearby Fairfield County, Connecticut, reported large objects in the sky. Residents described objects about the size of a football field, usually in a V shape or a circle, absolutely silent and outlined in brilliant white, red or green lights. Some said the objects could shoot straight up or hover for long periods. The wave is also called the “Westchester Boomerang.”

    Some of the best-known claims concerned the Indian Point nuclear power plant. A Center for UFO Studies investigator, Philip Imbrogno, said guards told him they saw a large object hover above the plant in 1984, and that guards pulled out shotguns. A security coordinator for the power authority disputed this, saying officers did not arm themselves, and state police and the authority said they believed the sightings had ordinary causes.

    State police reported that Cessna 152 aircraft had flown in tight formation with lights that could change colors, and that the pilots were amused by the confusion their prank caused. News coverage and books helped make the sightings a notable chapter in local history and UFO lore.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Hudson Valley UFO sightings

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 — Eastern Alaska (1986)

    Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 — Eastern Alaska (1986)

    Historical case When: November 17, 1986  ·  Where: Over eastern Alaska (Reykjavík–Anchorage leg)

    Status: Explained (in part) — an investigator concluded the crew likely saw the planets Jupiter and Mars, plus radar clutter. This is disputed.

    Typed FAA page with flight path plot data for the Japan Air Lines sighting
    FAA flight-path plot data page from the 1986 JAL Flight 1628 files, held by the U.S. National Archives (Record Group 237).
    Credit: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration / U.S. National Archives (1986) · Licence: Public domain (per Wikimedia Commons) · Source

    Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628 was a Boeing 747-200 flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Narita. On the Reykjavík to Anchorage leg, at 5:11 p.m. on November 17, 1986, over eastern Alaska, pilot Kenji Terauchi reported seeing three unidentified objects at 35,000 feet. Media reports quoted him calling them “two small ships and the mothership.”

    After about six minutes he radioed the FAA in Anchorage, which saw the objects on its radar and advised him to take evasive action. Terauchi descended and circled, but said the lights stayed with the plane for about 400 miles, moving quickly and stopping suddenly. At the time, news reports said the FAA saw objects near the plane even after his maneuvers.

    On later review, military radar images were dismissed as clutter, and an object seen on the FAA's screens was judged a split image of the aircraft. Fairbanks controllers saw only the 747. A United Airlines flight and a U.S. Air Force C-130 nearby reported seeing nothing, visually or on radar. FAA investigators found the crew to be professional and rational. Editor Philip Klass said that Jupiter and Mars were in the area where the two lights appeared. Some astronomers agree, though the pilot and others have rejected the explanation.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The Gulf Breeze Sightings — Gulf Breeze, FL (1987–88)

    The Gulf Breeze Sightings — Gulf Breeze, FL (1987–88)

    Historical case When: November 11, 1987 – May 1988  ·  Where: Gulf Breeze, Florida

    Status: Explained — widely suspected hoax; a reporter reproduced the photographs with a foam model found in the photographer's former house.

    Photograph of a small white saucer-shaped model displayed in a case
    The Gulf Breeze UFO model on display, photographed in 2024 by Tbrighamphd.
    Credit: Tbrighamphd (own work, 2024) · Licence: CC0 (public domain dedication, Wikimedia Commons) · Source

    The Gulf Breeze sightings began on November 11, 1987, when local contractor Ed Walters said a blue beam briefly immobilized him and he took five Polaroid photographs of an object hovering about 200 feet above the ground near his home. Photos were published in the community newspaper Gulf Breeze Sentinel.

    Walters said he made many more sightings, taking 32 photographs and some videotape over the following months, and nineteen encounters were reported by him or his family. He also claimed to have communicated with aliens. After the publicity, other residents came forward with reports of UFOs in the area. Researchers such as physicist Bruce Maccabee believed the photographs were genuine, but others strongly suspected a hoax.

    In 1990, after the Walters family had moved, the new owners of their house found a styrofoam model of a UFO in the attic. Pensacola News Journal reporter Craig Myers investigated and was able to duplicate the objects in the photographs almost exactly using the model. Walters later claimed that the model had been “planted.” The case remains a much-discussed example of how photographic evidence can be tested. The model is now on public display.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Gulf Breeze UFO incident

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The Belgian UFO Wave — Eupen and Wavre, Belgium (1989–90)

    Historical case When: November 29, 1989 – April 1990  ·  Where: Eupen and Wavre, Belgium

    Status: Corroborated as a documented event (radar, a Belgian Air Force report) — but skeptics attribute many reports to helicopters, radar artifacts and a hoax photograph.

    The Belgian UFO wave lasted from November 29, 1989 to April 1990. It began in the city of Eupen, and reports described a large, flat triangular craft with lights underneath, flying at low altitude. In total, 143 people claimed to have seen an object, though most of those reports were submitted more than a week after the event and after media coverage. Skeptic Brian Dunning argues the original report matches a Bell UH-1 helicopter.

    The wave peaked on the night of March 30, 1990. The Control Reporting Center at Glons received reports of three unusual lights, and radar at Semmerzake tracked an object. Two Belgian Air Force F-16s were scrambled from Beauvechain and made nine interception attempts over an hour, obtaining radar locks for a few seconds on three occasions. Neither pilot saw anything. The Air Force released a detailed report of the night.

    A widely published black triangular photograph from April 1990, the “Petit-Rechain photo,” was later said by Patrick Maréchal to be a hoax. Dunning suggests the radar locks were the jets locking onto each other and that other contacts were caused by Bragg scattering, an atmospheric effect. The wave is still cited as one of the best-known UFO episodes in Europe.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Belgian UFO wave

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The Phoenix Lights — Phoenix, AZ (1997)

    Historical case When: March 13, 1997  ·  Where: Phoenix, Arizona

    Status: Explained — attributed to A-10 aircraft in formation and flares dropped during Air National Guard training (Operation Snowbird); many witnesses dispute this.

    On the evening of March 13, 1997, between about 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. MST, lights of varying descriptions were seen over a stretch of about 300 miles, from the Nevada line through Phoenix to the edge of Tucson. Some witnesses described a huge carpenter's-square shaped craft with five round lights. There were two distinct events: a triangular formation of lights moving across the state, and a series of stationary lights in the Phoenix area.

    The sightings began at 7:55 p.m. with a Henderson, Nevada witness who reported a large V-shaped object heading southeast. Later, the Ley family, who first saw the lights from about 65 miles away, described five lights in an arc that eventually resolved into a huge dark shape passing silently overhead.

    Both events were later attributed to aircraft in Operation Snowbird, a winter pilot training program run by the Air National Guard out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. The first group of lights was identified as a formation of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft returning to base, and the second as illumination flares dropped by other A-10s on the Barry Goldwater Range. Arizona governor Fife Symington later recounted seeing the lights and called them “otherworldly.” Many witnesses still disagree with the official explanation.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Phoenix Lights

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The USS Nimitz “Tic Tac” Encounter — Off Southern California (2004)

    The USS Nimitz “Tic Tac” Encounter — Off Southern California (2004)

    Historical case When: November 14, 2004  ·  Where: Pacific Ocean, off southern California (approximate)

    Status: Corroborated — multiple Navy personnel, radar and an official video; the Pentagon calls the object “unidentified.” Explanations such as sensor artifacts and drones have been proposed.

    FLIR1 — official Department of Defense video of the November 2004 encounter, released 2020. Video: U.S. Navy via DVIDS.
    Credit: U.S. Navy / Department of Defense (via DVIDS, video ID 955825) · Licence: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Source

    On November 14, 2004, Cmdr. David Fravor of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, flying a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, investigated radar indications of a possible target off the coast of southern California. He said the cruiser USS Princeton had been tracking unusual aircraft for about two weeks before. Fravor reported a white, oval object hovering above a disturbance in the ocean and estimated it at 40 feet long. Four aircrew in two jets watched it for about five minutes. As he spiraled down to get closer, the object ascended and mirrored his path before disappearing.

    A second flight, which included weapons systems officer Lt. Cmdr. Chad Underwood, was equipped with an infrared camera. Underwood recorded the video known as “FLIR1” and coined the name “Tic Tac” for the image. He did not see the object with his own eyes. Radar and combat-system technicians have since said the strike group had tracked similar contacts for about a week.

    The video leaked in 2007 and was published by The New York Times in December 2017. The Department of Defense said in 2020 it was releasing it to clear up misconceptions, and the objects in it remain characterized as “unidentified.” Possible explanations offered include drones, camera artifacts and misinterpretation.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Pentagon UFO videos · DVIDS: FLIR1 — UAP

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The O’Hare Airport Sighting — Chicago, IL (2006)

    Historical case When: November 7, 2006  ·  Where: O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois

    Status: Unverified — the FAA called it a weather phenomenon; no radar track, and witness descriptions differ.

    At about 4:15 p.m. on November 7, 2006, federal authorities at Chicago O'Hare International Airport received a report that a group of twelve airport employees were watching a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering over Gate C-17. A ramp employee who was pushing back United Airlines Flight 446 was the first to spot it and told the crew. Pilots, airline managers and mechanics also saw it.

    Witnesses described the object as completely silent, between 6 and 24 feet across, and dark gray. Several people outside the airport also saw it. One described a disc hovering and then climbing vertically at high speed, leaving a clear blue hole in the cloud layer that seemed to close. No air traffic controller saw the object, and it did not appear on radar. At least four of the eyewitness accounts disagreed on the shape, height, movement or time.

    The Chicago Tribune reported that the disc was visible for about five minutes. United and the FAA first said they had no information, until the Tribune filed a Freedom of Information Act request. The FAA then reviewed the matter and attributed the sighting to a weather phenomenon. Some commentators have suggested a hole-punch cloud, but the case remains an unresolved report from a large group of airline workers.

    Sources: Wikipedia: 2006 O'Hare International Airport UFO sighting

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The Stephenville Lights — Stephenville, TX (2008)

    Historical case When: January 8, 2008  ·  Where: Stephenville, Texas

    Status: Explained (officially) — the Air Force Reserve said F-16s were training in the area. Some witnesses and researchers dispute that this accounts for everything.

    In January 2008, dozens of people in and around Stephenville, Texas, reported seeing patterns of lights in the night sky. Some described a single large unidentified object, and local constable Lee Roy Gaitan, among others, gave interviews to national media as the small town became known around the world.

    The Air Force Reserve later issued a statement from NAS Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base that F-16s of the 457th Fighter Squadron had been in military airspace designated for training when people reported the lights. An FAA email later showed two groups of F-16s on radar at about 6:17 and 6:26 p.m. local time.

    MUFON collected dozens of witness reports, and independent researchers analyzed radar data and said some tracks lacked transponders. Whether the training flights fully explain the reports is still debated. The town has since embraced the attention, selling T-shirts that call Erath County the “new Roswell.”

    Sources: Wikipedia: Stephenville, Texas — Stephenville lights

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The “Gimbal” Video — U.S. East Coast (2015)

    The “Gimbal” Video — U.S. East Coast (2015)

    Historical case When: 2015 (date listed by the Navy)  ·  Where: Atlantic Ocean, off the U.S. East Coast (approximate)

    Status: Unresolved — AARO lists this as an unresolved case; explanations such as camera artifacts have been proposed.

    GIMBAL — official Department of Defense video (34 s), posted on DVIDS by AARO in 2025.
    Credit: U.S. Navy / Department of Defense (via DVIDS, video ID 956955) · Licence: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Source

    The “Gimbal” video is a 34-second infrared recording made by a Navy F/A-18 targeting camera in 2015. It is one of three videos from the Navy's 2014–2015 East Coast operations that the Pentagon officially released in 2020. Navy pilots associated with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, including Lt. Ryan Graves, said they were repeatedly unable to identify objects detected on instruments off the East Coast.

    In the video, a single heat source moves across the display and appears to rotate on its axis, which gave the clip its name. Aircrew can be heard reacting as they watch it. The footage was first published by The New York Times in December 2017 and released officially by the Department of Defense in 2020. In 2025, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) posted it on DVIDS, the department's video site.

    AARO lists GIMBAL among its unresolved cases and says available data are insufficient to determine what it shows. Other analysts have suggested explanations including a camera or lens effect, a distant aircraft or drone, or a misreading of the sensor display. The exact location was not published, so this pin is placed near the carrier group's home port region only as a general marker.

    Sources: DVIDS: GIMBAL — UAP · AARO: Official UAP imagery

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.

  • The “GoFast” Video — U.S. East Coast (2015)

    The “GoFast” Video — U.S. East Coast (2015)

    Historical case When: 2015  ·  Where: Atlantic Ocean, off the U.S. East Coast (approximate)

    Status: Resolved by AARO (2025) — assessed as showing no anomalous speed or behavior; the apparent speed is an effect of the aircraft's own motion.

    GOFAST — official Department of Defense video (34 s), posted on DVIDS by AARO in 2025.
    Credit: U.S. Navy / Department of Defense (via DVIDS, video ID 956683) · Licence: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Source

    The “GoFast” video is a 34-second infrared clip recorded by the aircrew of a Navy F/A-18F in 2015, associated with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group's operations off the East Coast. It shows a small object that seems to skim just above the sea surface at high speed while the camera tracks it, and aircrew can be heard reacting. The Pentagon released it officially in 2020.

    The clip's apparent speed made it famous, but the video alone does not show speed. In February 2025, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) published an analysis of the sensor data. It estimated that the object was at about 13,000 feet, that it appeared to move at roughly 72 to 161 mph, and that its actual speed, once wind was taken into account, was much lower, in the range of about 5 to 92 mph. AARO said the object generally moved with the wind, never against it, and that the sense of speed came from the camera's own motion relative to the object, known as parallax.

    AARO's pixel analysis suggested that the object was one meter or less across, which it described as comparable to a small drone or bird. AARO found no anomalous performance characteristics.

    Sources: DVIDS: GOFAST — UAP · AARO: Official UAP imagery

    Historical case. This is a summary written by the Department from the published sources listed above, in our own words. It is a historical case added to the map for context, not a reader submission. Reports are claims or findings as described in those sources; they are not proof of anything, and where an official or widely accepted explanation exists we say so. For entertainment and curiosity only. Spotted a mistake, or know more? Add a verification note below, or email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com.

    📍 See this case on the map. Were you nearby, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.