Landmark case · 1997Phoenix, Arizona, USA
The Phoenix Lights
March 13, 1997
On one evening, large numbers of people across Arizona reported unusual lights in the sky, in what witnesses and researchers describe as two separate events.
What is on the record
- Around 8:00 p.m. on March 13, 1997, many witnesses reported a large formation of lights, often described as a V-shape, moving across the sky from north to south.
- A second event later that evening involved a row of stationary lights over the Estrella Mountains southwest of Phoenix that faded out one by one.
- The Maryland Air National Guard confirmed that A-10 aircraft dropped high-intensity illumination flares over the Barry M. Goldwater Range that night.
The ordinary explanation / open question
The later row of lights is widely attributed to the military flares, which the Air National Guard confirmed; the earlier moving formation remains debated, with proposed explanations including high-flying aircraft.
Later lights attributed to Air National Guard flares; earlier formation unresolvedView the location on the atlas map →
Sources
A documented event, presented with sources — not a claim about its cause. Where a mundane explanation exists it is noted above; where the record is genuinely open, that is said plainly.