Question of the Day - 19 October 2013

Why the sense of uncertainty, when clearly you already nailed it? They are UFOs, emanating from we know not where, for reasons also currently beyond our understanding, although we're confident that time will tell whether these are friendly-but-shy extraterrestrial tourists, or a scouting party in the vanguard of an intergalactic invasion, or simply curious otherworldly people-watchers, bemused by the bizarre phenomenon that is the Las Vegas Strip.

Okay, yes, we're kidding, as we presume state officials were also when, in 1996, they officially designated State Route 375, which runs close to Area 51, the "Extraterrestrial Highway," on account of the myriad and frequent alleged UFO sightings reported along its length. That's not to say there haven't been some inexplicable -- or at least very mysterious -- happenings in our night skies over time, however, and we choose to keep an open mind about such things, in the absence of any definitive proof as to what they are, just as much as there are scientific explanations as to what they aren't. While we're no conspiracy theorists, upon reading some of the official or "rational" explanations regarding various incidents, we can't help but feel as suspicious and cynical as we do when considering the more dubious and doctored photos and videos presented by the alien chasers.

During the course of researching this answer, we came across the website of the National UFO Reporting Center, and in particular the report page for Nevada, where some 2-6 or more "events" are reported each month. Here are some recent examples:

• 10/7/13 21:09 "'Y' shaped UFO sighted from voodoo lounge [sic] at Rio hotel roof traveling fast with no illumination in a SE direction." (Duration: 15 secs)
• 8/3/13 22:00 "Line of 9 light orbs hovered over Las Vegas." (Duration: 45 mins)
• 7/28/13 00:00 "Triangular shaped aircrafts [sic] with a glowing fireball affect in the sky that can hover and glide." (Location: North Las Vegas; duration: 5-15 mins)
• 6/15/13 23:40 "Upwards of 20 objects circling turning red and white at 268 degrees west." (Location: Outside Las Vegas; duration unknown)
• 2/2/13 00:40 "Red linear pulsating lights along with searchlight-like beam." (Duration: 30 secs)
• 12/24/12 21:15 "Three separate bright orange lights in the western sky traveling at very high rates of speed. (NUFORC Note: Law enforcement report.)" (Location: Sparks; duration: 5 mins)

That's just a tiny sample of the posts, each of which clicks through to a more detailed account of what was seen, whether it was recorded on film, and so on. Sometimes the web host posts a rational explanation for what was witnessed, but mostly it's just the reports, minus any comment.

When there is some kind of non-alien explanation forthcoming in the wake of a sighting of some kind, the nature is varied, but can include the following:

• What was seen was a known object/event in our solar system, like a meteor shower, or a sighting of Sirius.
• What was seen can't be confirmed, but has a plausible explanation, like a broken-off chunk of asteroid entering our atmosphere and burning up, as was the account given for a mysterious bluish-green light streaking through the Southwest skies in September 2011. A spokesman for NASA's Near-Earth Object Program explained that the blue-green color indicated the object had magnesium or nickel in it.
• Military activity is another common explanation, as when a zigzagging light formation was seen in the sky through Southern Utah and all the way to Phoenix and Las Vegas in the early hours of the morning of September 13, 2012. The formation was apparently caused by a successful missile launch at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (part of the Army Test and Evaluation Command): "All atmospheric in the way that the contrail was reflected created those colors and the shape with the wind and the high altitude and that’s why folks are seeing it from so far away," said Cammy Montoya, public affairs specialist for the range.
• Airborne wildlife activity is often the explanation given for strange happenings over the Strip, where the Luxor lightbeam is known to attract moths, which in turn attract hungry birds and bats. Still, when someone recorded extensive footage of what appear to be some very geometric moving-light formations over the south Strip in March, 2012, the explanation that this was "light reflecting off birds feasting on insects" is highly unconvincing. Even the usually businesslike and sanguine PR spokeswoman for MGM Mirage was at a loss, while confirming to the Las Vegas Sun that she actually witnessed the same spectacle live from her home three miles away. A month later, there was still no explanation forthcoming when the paper revisited the story briefly, and there's been no word since, but two other videos posted at the time by separate valley witnesses, purporting to show different angles on the same event, have since been taken down, or marked "private" -- we know not why, but it serves only to deepen the mystery and further pique our curiosity...
• No one appears to have come forward as yet with any plausible explanation for what this object is, filmed in the sky above New York-New York back in 2011 and featured by Huffington Post, despite repeated appeals to anyone who might have a clue to offer an explanation.

So, when it comes to those lights you saw, either take your pick from among the possible explanations suggested above, or else post your sighting at nuforc.org and see if someone else out there can offer a better answer than we can.

A couple of readers wrote in along the following lines and yes, that crossed our mind too (there are other parts of the valley where you'll see similar "Batman-esque" beams, but until more information is forthcoming, we're sticking with the alien explanation :-) "In response to your QoD of 10/19 (and I'm sure you have or will receive similar comments), I believe those lights are beamed to the heavens by powerful spotlights located at the corner of Autoshow Road and Gibson in Henderson. But you'd better doublecheck; I prefer your answer!!" [Ed: Even if this far-less-romantic explanation is correct, it still begs the question: "Why?"]