Within Phoenix Lights
Why the Famous Phoenix Lights Looked Like Flares
The iconic stationary lights near Phoenix match parachute flares descending beyond the Estrella Mountains and fading one by one.
On this page
- When and where the later lights appeared
- How parachute flares can seem to hover
- What the videos show and what they cannot prove
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Introduction
The best-known images of the Phoenix Lights do not show the earlier formation of lights that travelled across Arizona. Instead, they show a later event that appeared around 10pm on 13 March 1997: a row of bright lights seen south-west of Phoenix that seemed to hover motionless and then disappear one by one. This later display is the part of the Phoenix Lights most strongly explained by military illumination flares. Multiple investigations concluded that aircraft operating on a training exercise dropped long-burning parachute flares over the Barry Goldwater Range, a vast military training area south-west of the city. Witnesses saw the lights from tens of miles away, beyond the Estrella Mountains, creating visual effects that made the flares appear mysterious and stationary.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
The flare explanation remains controversial among some witnesses because many people experienced the lights as something extraordinary. However, when the timing, location, video evidence and known military activity are examined together, the later lights fit the behaviour of parachute flares remarkably well.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
When and Where the Later Lights Appeared
A key point often lost in retellings is that the famous videos were recorded during a second event, not the earlier formation reported moving across Arizona. Around 10pm, observers in the Phoenix area saw a line or arc of bright lights in the south-western sky. Unlike the earlier reports, these lights appeared largely stationary. Numerous cameras captured them, making this the most widely documented portion of the Phoenix Lights story.[Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
The US Air Force later stated that A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft participating in Operation Snowbird training exercises had dropped LUU-2B/B illumination flares over the Barry Goldwater Range. The aircraft involved were associated with the Maryland Air National Guard, temporarily operating from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson. Reports linking the lights to these flare exercises emerged within months of the event.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
The geographical setting matters. The flare drops occurred far from central Phoenix. From many viewing locations, the lights appeared above or beyond the Estrella mountain range on the horizon. At night, observers could not easily judge distance, altitude or the shape of the terrain between themselves and the lights.[phoenixnewtimes.com]phoenixnewtimes.comthe phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery14 Mar 2014 — The “disappearance” was actually the lights dropping behind the Si…
How Parachute Flares Can Seem to Hover
Military illumination flares are designed to provide light over a target area. After release, a parachute deploys and slows the flare’s descent. Rather than streaking rapidly across the sky like a meteor, the flare can remain visible for several minutes while descending gradually. Seen from a great distance, most of that motion is directed away from the observer rather than sideways across the field of view. The result is an object that appears almost motionless.[Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
Several features of the later Phoenix Lights match this behaviour:(#endnote-1 “Endnote 1”)[Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
- The lights remained in roughly the same area of sky.
- They appeared bright and steady rather than rapidly manoeuvring.
- Individual lights faded separately rather than moving away together.
- The display lasted for a period consistent with long-burning illumination flares.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
Witnesses often interpreted the lights as belonging to a single enormous object. However, human depth perception is poor at night when there are few visual reference points. Separate lights at great distance can appear connected, especially when arranged in a loose geometric pattern. This does not mean witnesses were mistaken about seeing the lights themselves; rather, the difficulty lies in determining what those lights were attached to, if anything.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgSkeptical Inquirer Alien Lights?At Phoenix, Stephenville, and ElsewhereInvestigations show that famous nighttime “alien light” sightings were all due to objects in the s…
Why the Lights Disappeared One by One
The strongest piece of evidence for the flare explanation is the way the lights vanished.
Videos show the lights extinguishing individually rather than all at once. To many observers, this looked as though a gigantic craft was turning off its lights. Investigators reached a different conclusion: as the flares descended under parachutes, they gradually dropped behind the ridgeline of the Estrella Mountains. Because each flare occupied a slightly different position and altitude, they disappeared at different times.[Phoenix New Times]phoenixnewtimes.comthe phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery14 Mar 2014 — The “disappearance” was actually the lights dropping behind the Si…
This creates a distinctive visual sequence:
- Several bright lights appear suspended in the sky.
- The lights maintain roughly the same pattern.
- One light disappears.
- Others remain visible.
- The remaining lights vanish sequentially until none are left.
That pattern is exactly what many recordings captured. Later comparisons between known military flare drops and the 1997 footage showed striking similarities in appearance and behaviour.[Phoenix New Times]phoenixnewtimes.comthe phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery14 Mar 2014 — The “disappearance” was actually the lights dropping behind the Si…
The mountain-screening explanation also helps explain why observers from different locations sometimes described slightly different arrangements. Small changes in viewing angle can alter how distant flares line up against a horizon.[Phoenix New Times]phoenixnewtimes.comthe phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery14 Mar 2014 — The “disappearance” was actually the lights dropping behind the Si…
What the Videos Show and What They Cannot Prove
The videos are important evidence, but they have limits.
They clearly show bright lights in the night sky. They do not show a structured craft connecting those lights. The cameras used in 1997 lacked the resolution needed to reveal detailed shapes at such distances, especially under low-light conditions. As a result, the recordings demonstrate that lights were present, but they cannot establish the size, distance or physical nature of an object behind them.[Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
This distinction is crucial because many later documentaries and television programmes used footage of the 10pm lights while discussing witness reports from the earlier moving formation. Combining the two events can create the impression that the famous videos documented a giant V-shaped craft crossing Arizona. The available evidence suggests otherwise: the widely circulated footage primarily records the later stationary display that closely matches military flare activity.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
Why the Flare Explanation Remains Central to the Debate
Within Arizona’s UFO history, the flare explanation is significant because it addresses the most famous visual evidence associated with the Phoenix Lights. Even some researchers who remain unconvinced about every aspect of the evening’s events accept that the later lights are much easier to explain than the earlier reports of a moving formation.[Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
The debate persists largely because eyewitness testimony and video evidence point in different directions. Many witnesses sincerely believed they were observing something extraordinary. Yet the combination of documented military exercises, the location of the flare range, the behaviour of parachute flares, and the characteristic one-by-one disappearance behind the Estrella Mountains provides a coherent conventional explanation for the later display.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
For that reason, the later Phoenix Lights are often regarded as one of the strongest examples in Arizona UFO history of how a dramatic night-time sighting can be transformed by distance, perspective and the difficulty of judging lights in a dark sky. The flare explanation does not resolve every report from 13 March 1997, but it substantially explains the specific event captured in the famous 10pm videos.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
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Endnotes
1.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Phoenix Lights
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Lights
2.
Source: deseret.com
Title: flares not ufos caused light show military says
Link:https://www.deseret.com/1997/7/26/19325702/flares-not-ufos-caused-light-show-military-says/
Source snippet
Deseret NewsFlares, not UFOs, caused light show, military says26 Jul 1997 — Visiting jets from the Maryland Air National Guard were using...
3.
Source: skeptoid.com
Link:https://skeptoid.com/episodes/41
Source snippet
The Alien Invasion of Phoenix, Arizona26 Apr 2007 — The flares are typically dropped at lower altitudes, where they are not visible from...
4.
Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skepticism
5.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: The Phoenix Incident
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phoenix_Incident
6.
Source: skepticalinquirer.org
Link:https://skepticalinquirer.org/2016/11/the-phoenix-lights-become-an-incident/
Source snippet
The 'Phoenix Lights' Become an 'Incident'This was a flare drop practiced by different A-10 jets from the Maryland Air National Guard, als...
7.
Source: skepticalinquirer.org
Title: Skeptical Inquirer Alien Lights?
Link:https://skepticalinquirer.org/2015/03/alien-lights-at-phoenix-stephenville-and-elsewhere-a-postmortem/
Source snippet
At Phoenix, Stephenville, and ElsewhereInvestigations show that famous nighttime “alien light” sightings were all due to objects in the s...
8.
Source: phoenixnewtimes.com
Title: the phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825
Link:https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts-culture/the-phoenix-lights-are-no-mystery-6661825/
Source snippet
Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery14 Mar 2014 — The “disappearance” was actually the lights dropping behind the Si...
9.
Source: planeandpilotmag.com
Title: the phoenix lights
Link:https://planeandpilotmag.com/the-phoenix-lights/
10.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Phoenix Lights
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1fW1l1sh-A
11.
Source: obscurban-legend.fandom.com
Title: Phoenix Lights
Link:https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Phoenix_Lights
12.
Source: stampaday.wordpress.com
Title: the phoenix lights
Link:https://stampaday.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/the-phoenix-lights/
13.
Source: gymglish.com
Link:https://www.gymglish.com/en/gymglish/english-translation/skeptical
14.
Source: vocabulary.com
Link:https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/skeptical
Additional References
15.
Source: dictionary.cambridge.org
Link:https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/skeptical
Source snippet
English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary3 days ago — doubting that something is true or useful: Many experts remain skeptical about/of hi...
16.
Source: axios.com
Title: lights arizona ufo legend 1997
Link:https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2024/03/13/lights-arizona-ufo-legend-1997
Source snippet
Thousands of residents in the Phoenix area reported witnessing mysterious lights arranged in a "V" formation hovering silently over the V...
17.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Debunking the Phoenix Lights with Science (The Skeptic’s Guide)
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dacStPcgf6M
Source snippet
What Really Happened during the Phoenix Lights? (James Fox snippet)...
18.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/xuhht4/need_help_finding_video_that_explains_phoenix/
19.
Source: unsolved.com
Link:https://unsolved.com/gallery/phoenix-mystery-lights/
20.
Source: abcnews.com
Link:https://abcnews.com/Technology/phoenix-ufo-mystery-solved-lights-high-school-football/story?id=14884994
21.
Source: merriam-webster.com
Link:https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeptical
22.
Source: tonyortega.org
Link:https://tonyortega.org/the-phoenix-lights-20-years-later-still-the-same-set-of-planes-and-flares-over-arizona/
23.
Source: astronomyufo.com
Link:https://www.astronomyufo.com/UFO/azvideo.htm
24.
Source: wordwebonline.com
Link:https://www.wordwebonline.com/en/SKEPTICAL