Christine Drews Sieger
A long-dismissed theory is gaining support as experts reassess the mysterious lights observed by pilots at high altitudes since 2022.
For several years, pilots have observed a mysterious light from aircraft cockpits at high altitudes.
The observations date back to 2022 and have long fueled speculation, as the light both reflects sunlight and produces powerful flashes in the night sky.
An explanation that has long been dismissed by both pilots and experts has now moved to the forefront, DR reports.
The New Explanation
According to Benny Christen Grandahl of Scandinavian UFO Information, the observations are caused by Starlink satellites.
He points out that satellites can create optical illusions under certain viewing angles.
He believes that the satellites may pass so closely behind one another that pilots perceive them as a single moving object.
At the same time, he notes that sunlight can create reflections that cause the lights to flash and vary in brightness, according to DR.
Experts Agree
The explanation has gained support from former fighter pilot Søren Sørensen, who appears in the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) podcast Flying Saucer.
He previously dismissed satellites as an explanation for the lights but now views the matter differently. “I think this explanation holds up reasonably well,” he says in the podcast.
Astrophysicist Anja C. Andersen also points out that satellites have caused confusion in the past, citing the former Iridium satellites, which produced powerful light reflections visible from Earth.
There is still no definitive confirmation of the cause of the observations, but the satellite theory is now considered one of the most likely explanations, DR reports.
Could We Be Wrong?
The discussion surrounding the mysterious lights also highlights how difficult it can be to interpret observations from space.
While pilots have spent years trying to understand the unexplained flashes of light in the sky, we have previously reported on how scientists in another field warn of the opposite problem: that humans may be overlooking signs of life in the universe.
According to several astrobiologists, limitations in current technology and analytical methods may mean that researchers fail to detect biological signatures even when they are present.
The debate has been further fueled by studies of Mars, where scientists continue to discuss how potential signs of life can best be identified.
Sources: DR, Flyvende Tallerken
