The Phoenix Lights Incident : UFOs & Argumentative Speculations

Manas Saini
9 Min Read

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The Phoenix lights incident is something of a bafflement. It has been at the center of scientific and pseudo-scientific inquiries.

More than that, it has fueled the fear and curiosity about the unknown, drawing in the casual observer and civilian into this confounding matter. For those of us who still can’t get over it, the bafflement continues unabated.

On March 13, 1997, the sun had just set when hundreds of individuals in Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada saw a swarm of UFOs move about through the night sky.

The Phoenix Lights refer to the name given to this event and phenomenon, and since then, there has been much discussion on whether or not it is real. 

the phoenix lights
By: ELG21/ Pixabay. Copyrights 2020

On the day of the incident, several anxious residents clogged the phone lines of their local police department with desperate requests for information from 7:30 until about late in the evening on the day of the incident.

The widespread nature of the sighting and the sheer size of the witnesses is what gave currency to the idea that the phoenix lights incident can be deemed as an actual alien invasion or visitation.

1. Introduction

Witnesses saw floating orbs and an object with a V-shape the size of several football fields flying above Phoenix. The V-shaped object floated south, the luminous orbs stayed immobile.

Air traffic controllers in the Phoenix region were informed by pilots about what they were seeing, but none of them noticed anything unusual on their radars. The Phoenix lights then vanished as swiftly as they had come on.

Later, government representatives asserted that the objects were simply flares used in a military training exercise. The V-shaped object was explained away as a formation flight of several planes.

The Unexplained Phoenix Lights Phenomenon

2. The Phoenix Lights Encounter Begins

At around March 19, 1997, close to 6 o’clock in the evening, the first sighting of the Phoenix lights was reported. Unknown to authorities at this point, the individual claimed to have seen a V-shaped formation in the skies over Henderson, Nevada.

A former Arizona police officer was also then reported seeing what may be described as orange-colored lights in the sky at around 8:15 p.m. Using his binoculars, he had tracked these lights coming through the sky until they vanished.

2.1. The Color of the Phoenix Lights

Initially, reports adhered to a pattern of orange lights being spotted over the sky. Because of this seemingly orange color, many referred to these lights as fireballs.

However, soon other reports of a cluster of white and reddish orbs floating over Prescott, Arizona, started to come in.

Now it was starting to become clear and obvious that there were two different swarms of UFOs in the sky. One was a swarm of individual orbs, and the other was a V-shaped ship.

the phoenix lights
By: Roses_Street/ Pixabay. Copyrights 2023

2.2. The Trajectory of the UFO Sightings

The V-shaped formation, which was composed of 5 – 7 lights, slowly climbed in unison from northwest Arizona until heading almost south, according to the National UFO Reporting Center.

Reports compiled largely from eyewitness testimony claimed that one of the lights towards the back of the formation purportedly rose to the front before falling back again as the formation moved.

Famously captured on film, the V-shape appeared to have 3 lights on each prong and a light at the tip. While others said it from its point of contact the sighting was more than a mile away from ground level, conservative assessments put its length at 3 football fields.

3. Response of the Civilian Spectators

Civilians and spectators outside of their official capacities reported on the sheer size of the orbs or objects that they witnessed. The sightings supposedly caused more silence than panic.

The colors that allegedly came from what appeared to the people to be an exhaust, it was hypothesized, were somehow related to how the orbs were pushed around in the sky. 

the phoenix lights
By: 0fjd125gk87/ Pixabay. Copyrights 2016

4. The Government’s Approach

The first elected figure to publicly demand an explanation for the Phoenix lights incident was Phoenix Councilwoman Frances Barwood. However, not all political representatives shared her suspicions openly.

Fife Symington, the governor of Arizona at the time of the incident, originally made fun of the widespread worries around the Phoenix lights, but subsequently admitted that he had also seen the large objects and had thought they were not of this world.

The local authorities asked the Air Force to look into it, but the U.S. Air Force claimed that Project Blue Book, a UFO investigation service started after the 1947 Roswell crash, was shut down in 1969.

The government put forward the view that since Project Blue Book was shut down, it was forbidden from looking into any such UFO incidents.

the phoenix lights
By: applestock/ Unlimphotos.

5. Aftermath of the Phoenix Lights Incidents: Investigations and Opinions

In a scenario where the governmental response was relatively cold, the citizens turned to unofficial groups like the Mutual UFO Network.

But the public’s demand for an official explanation persisted. Initially denying knowledge of the incident, the then-governor Symington eventually held a press conference on June 19, 1997, to address it.

Bringing his costumed, chained chief of staff Jay Heiler on the stage of the press conference, Symington said the government had apprehended an alien, much to the relief of reporters and the dismay of onlookers.

Symington was of the opinion that people were taking an aberration way too seriously. His stunt with Jay Heiler was meant to allay some of the general anxiety and apprehension surrounding what people thought to be extraterrestrial encounters. 

Phoenix Lights: UFO sighting happened 25 years ago

However, despite this show of skepticism, in a personal capacity, Symington himself admitted in multiple interviews that year that he shared the belief that the UFOs were real and astonishing.

His principal aim at the press conference was to control hysteria about an event that could cause widespread panic if not complete chaos.

6. Phoenix Lights Verdict: Alien Invasion or Figment of Imagination?

As is the case with most UFO sightings, there is no black-and-white answer to the validity of the Phoenix lights phenomenon. This is because of the problems faced with checking the evidence and testimony.

Eyewitnesses may be forged. They may have a stake in what they are claiming. Eyewitnesses may also have been mistaken. Testimonies, therefore, come under the question scanner and doubt persists.

However, as this case involved not just the testimonies and speculations, but also the US Government and other associations, the matter is far more convoluted than it appears at first glance.

Read more interesting content about UFO mysteries at 12 Amazing UFO Sightings.

Last Updated on by NamitaSoren

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Manas is a Full-stack web developer & amp; he loves graphics and can get to any extent to satisfy his artistic eye, programming and developing excites me and attracts me to it. Apart from this, he is also a great writer who have equally contributed in our Icy tales.
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