Discovery theme
Mirages, luminous events, weather, astronomy and viewing conditions that shape unusual observations.
Folklore & Legends
Will-o’-the-wisp is a folklore category attached to real and misperceived lights, not one proven mechanism. New chemistry offers a plausible methane-ignition route while direct modern field measurements remain limited.
Scientific Anomalies & Natural Phenomena
Ball lightning is a label for rare luminous events reported near thunderstorms. Instrumental observations constrain some cases, while varied testimony and competing physical models leave its full scope unresolved.
Occult & Psychical Research
The Fátima crowd event is historically documented, while its cause and religious meaning remain disputed. Testimony, expectation, optics and weather must be kept distinct.
Scientific Anomalies & Natural Phenomena
The Marfa Lights combine a modern roadside observation problem with older local folklore. Headlights and atmospheric effects explain much of the repeatable display without resolving every anecdote.
Scientific Anomalies & Natural Phenomena
The Lake Nyos disaster was caused by a limnic eruption: deep water saturated with volcanic carbon dioxide overturned and released a dense, suffocating cloud.
UFOs & Aerial Phenomena
Hessdalen’s recurring lights prompted field campaigns and automatic monitoring after a wave in the early 1980s. The label covers mixed observations, not one proven phenomenon.
Scientific Anomalies & Natural Phenomena
A 1908 blast over Siberia flattened forest without leaving a classic impact crater, making Tunguska a cornerstone case in anomaly, science and myth.
UFOs & Aerial Phenomena
In February 1942, Los Angeles saw searchlights, anti-aircraft fire and rumours of enemy aircraft in a case where fear, weather and uncertainty lit up the sky.
Hoaxes, Misidentifications & Media
The Face on Mars became a classic anomaly because one low-resolution Viking image looked uncannily human until better imaging restored it to geology.