We live in a strange and sometimes baffling world. Rather than being discouraged by how little we truly understand about the universe, however, we remain ever curious, continuously searching for answers to some of life’s biggest questions.
Parapsychology is a great example of this drive to know more about the world around us. In this field alone, hundreds of published papers have appeared in dozens of credible peer-reviewed journal databases. Remote viewing is one great example of this. (source)
Other mystifying phenomena have also been captured on camera, and I thought it would be fun to take a look at some that defy our understanding and challenge us to open up to a broader view of reality. These serve as a reminder to us to keep an open mind rather than instantly dismissing things which can’t immediately be explained.
So let’s take a look at some of the most strange videos and photos that still have us scratching our heads.
STS-48 Discovery Space Shuttle Footage
The below film from the 1991 NASA STS-48 Discovery Space Shuttle mission definitely ranks as some of the best officially released and documented footage out there today. This footage has been the subject of rigorous scientific investigation by multiple researchers and institutions, and yet still remains a mystery; nobody can say with certainty what exactly is going on here. (source)(source)(source)
The video shows as many as a dozen objects moving in an unusual fashion throughout space. Apart from that, the most fascinating moment occurs when we see one object at a point near the horizon. A flash occurs, and then the object is followed by another object or stream that moves rapidly (video shows it in slow motion) across the field of view. The object then shoots off into space.
Possible explanations for this event have varied from intelligent extraterrestrial spacecraft to space weather events and more. But most of these fail to take into account the dozens of objects that are captured on film, never mind the many other strange objects that have been observed in our atmosphere ever since we were able to put cameras up there.
The Hessdalen Lights
The Hessdalen Valley in Norway has been the site of an anomalous atmospheric phenomenon for a number of years. The recurrence of this event has been well documented and observed by scientists using the Hessdalen Automatic Measurement Station.
“The behavior of the phenomenon was monitored with optical, radio, and radar techniques. The global picture of the phenomenon obtained so far shows that the phenomenon’s radiant power varies, reaching values up to 19 kW. These changes are caused by sudden surface variations of the illuminated area owing to the appearance of clusters of light balls that behave in a thermally self-regulated way. Apparent characteristics consistent with a solid are strongly suspected from the study of distributions of radiant power. Other anomalous characteristics include the capability to eject smaller light balls, some unidentified frequency shift in the VLF range, and possible deposition of metallic particles. A self-consistent definitive theory of the phenomenon’s nature and origin in all its aspects cannot be constructed yet quantitatively… .”(source)
Scientists at the University of Ostfold in Hessdalen, Norway have captured and documented many strange anomalies which seem to plague the area all the time. They work in the only official 24 hour Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) observatory in the world. Radar and cameras have tracked and filmed objects that travel up to 30,000 km per hour, faster than any known aircraft today.
Here is a great video of some of what is going on there, especially if you look at the footage starting at the 2:24 minute mark.
Scientists still have no explanation for what is happening here.
The Hook Island Sea Monster
In 1964, a couple spotted something strange swimming towards them in the lagoon near Hook Island. It was approximately 80 feet long and resembled a (quite large) tadpole. The couple who shot these stunning photographs claim that, after they took many photos of it lying still, the creature then opened its mouth and moved on.
“Wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef with his family and Australian friend Henk de Jong, Le Serrec and family had bought a motor boat and had decided to spend three months on Hook Island (one of the Whitsunday Islands). They were all crossing Stonehaven Bay on December 12th 1964, when Le Serrec’s wife spotted a strange object on the lagoon floor. It proved to be a gigantic tadpole-like creature, estimated to be about 30 ft long. They took several still photos, gradually moving closer. Eventually, Le Serrec and de Jong plucked up the courage to approach it underwater in order to film it. It proved larger than first thought, with its estimated length now increasing to 75-80 ft. It didn’t move and they suspected it might be dead, but just as Le Serrec began the filming it opened its mouth and made movements toward them. They returned to the boat and, by the time they got there, the creature had moved off.” (source)
The Solway Firth Spaceman
In 1964, a man photographing his daughter captured what appears to be a figure resembling an astronaut standing in the background. According to the photographer, Jim Templeton, nobody else was actually there at the time the photograph was taken.
The photo gained international attention and made headlines in various newspapers all over the world. Kodak, the famous technology company that concentrates on imaging products, even stated they believed it to be a genuine photo.
As with anything else like this, the photo and the claims have been subjected to piles of criticism. But even to this day, the family stands by what they experienced.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Templeton goes into more detail and even speaks of a strange “Men In Black” visit after the incident. You can read that full interview here.
The Phoenix Lights
On March 13th, 1997, something extraordinary happened — an event that sparked an onslaught of books, documentaries, and more, all attempting to explain what exactly occurred on that day. The anomaly has been dubbed “The Phoenix Lights,” and is one of the most famous UFO events of the 1990’s. Some even consider it one of the most famous UFO events ever to take place, given the fact that it was witnessed by thousands of people and caught on camera, where it was then made available to millions of people around the globe.
Fife Symington, the Governor of Arizona at the time, shares more about the incident:
780-Foot Crop Circle Appears In Wiltshire, England in 2001
This massive 780-foot (238 meters) crop circle appeared in a remote area (Milk Hill) of Wiltshire, England back in 2001. It was an extremely complex and elaborate design, composed of exactly 409 circles that form what is known as a triskelion – a motif consisting of three interlocking spirals.
The truth is, many of the complex formations are completely inexplicable, riddled with oddities that make the already confusing equation even more troublesome.
For example, some formations are comprised of corn stalks that were completely pushed down without ever having been broken. In some cases they’ve been bent just inches above the ground.
Some of these designs are so mysterious and complex that they’ve been studied in a laboratory setting. The nodes of some of the stalks appear to have been blasted out on one side, suggesting that some sort of technology would have had to be used.
It’s not conclusively known how this was done, but the effect has been replicated by highly localized microwave heating. This type of technique causes water inside to vaporize and dislodge. As a result, the stock flops completely over to one side.
This is a well known, perplexing phenomenon. Are crop circle hoaxers really blasting these stalks with highly localized microwave heating or with something else that could produce the same results?
According to University of Oregon physicist Richard Taylor, yes, they are. He believes this is the only possible explanation and has suggested that crop circle artists are using GPS devices, lasers, and microwaves to create these astonishing patterns of geometric forms.
This is what he wrote in an August 2011 issue of Physics World:
“Crop circle artists are not going to give up their secrets easily. This summer, unknown artists will venture into the countryside close to your homes and carry out their craft, safe in the knowledge that they are continuing the legacy of the most science-oriented art movement in history.” (source)
He also expressed this same belief in some of his work published in the journal Nature in 2010. (source)
Another interesting oddity about crop circles is that the electromagnetic field over the area where the crops have been laid down to create the image is often elecrostatically charged.
“There is a mounting body of evidence that suggests that a rare form of electromagnetic energy called an ionised plasma vortex (generally known as ball lighting) is involved.” – Greg Jefferys, historian (source)
You can read more about this crop circle here.