jump to navigation

Norway Røros Mysterious Light Phenomena September 19, 2008

Posted by dodo in : Europe, France, Hotels, Museum, New York, Norway, Rail Pass, Sweden, Tickets, Tour, Trails, Trip , trackback

The town of Røros is inscribed on the World Heritage List because of its mining heritage. It owes this, of course, to the mineral resources of the surrounding landscape, and because it is that landscape, the natural aspect of the area, that concerns us here, this choice from the List is a little different in kind from the other entries selected for this book.

The valley of Hessdalen is situated about 19 miles (30km) northwest of Røros, reasonably close to the border with Sweden. It is sparsely populated, with fewer than two hundred inhabitants scattered in farms amid the isolated wildness of the place. Despite its remoteness, the Hessdalen area put itself ‘on the map’ because of an outbreak of extraordinary light phenomena, which commenced in the closing months of 1981 and which were witnessed on and off for a few years thereafter.

The lights appeared in the vicinity of the valley, sometimes high in the sky, at other times hovering below the crests of surrounding mountains. Their shapes included spheres, rectangles, ‘bullet’ shapes with the pointed end downwards and inverted triangular forms. The colours of the lights were predominantly white or yellow-white, although other colours sometimes were seen, especially small red flashing lights (particularly on larger lightforms). Strong localized white or blue flashes in the sky were also reported.

Travel Guidebook

The lightforms showed a wide range of movement: they could be stationary for up to an hour, move slowly or show sudden acceleration. Sometimes lights would. appear in groups. Because the movements of these lights seemed `choreographed’, locals tended to think of them as lights on objects. Most reports of lights occurred during the dark winter months, the phenomena presumably either disappearing in the summer or being less distinguishable because of the long, light days and evenings then. Concurrent with the outbreak of the lights, people also heard curious underground rumblings, discharge sounds like thunder and `deep booms’. Unusual radio and TV reception was also reported.

In March 1982, Norway’s leading UFO group, UFO-Norge, held a meeting at nearby Alen to which 130 locals came. From a survey taken at the meeting, it was revealed that 30 people there claimed sightings of all kinds of lights, but mainly yellow globes. At the end of that month the Norwegian defence department sent two air force officers to study the situation. They did not see any lights but took the reports seriously. They also claimed that reports of unusual lights had come to them from the area since 1944. What was happening now, of course, was a greatly increased incidence.

In September of that year, local miner Bjarne Lillevold and a colleague had a typical sighting of a Hessdalen light while returning from work. The two men saw a light against the mountains near Hessdalen, which eventually dropped down towards a forest near Alen. By the time the two witnesses reached Alen they could see the light hovering next to the trees. Then they saw a second light come from the direction of Hessdalen and position itself beneath the first. A short while later, when Lillevold was by himself riding his moped towards Hessdal‑skjolen, he saw a light alongside a cottage:

At first I thought the cottage itself was on fire, but then I saw something else, like an inverted Christmas tree, bigger than the cottage beside it. It was about four metres above the hill, and had a red blinking light on it: there seemed also to be a curious ‘blanket’ over the whole thing. The object moved up and down like a yo-yo for about 20 minutes; when it was close to the ground the light faded, but at the height of the manoeuver it was so bright that I could not look at it for long. When the light was near the ground I could see through it as though it was made of glass.

By 1983 hundreds of reports of light phenomena had been made. In lieu of any further official interest, Project Hessdalen was set up in June of that year by co-operation among Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish UFO groups. They raised interest among ufologists internationally, and obtained various items of equipment on loan. Field operations got under way in February 1984. They had to work in appallingly difficult winter conditions, with temperatures as low as —22°F (-30°C). Their main fieldbase was a trailer equipped with electricity, where most of the equipment was housed, with field observation positions scattered around the area. Up to 40 volunteers in all were mobilized to give as much cover as possible throughout the field research programme.

During the February period of field research, 188 lights were reported. Some of these were definitely identified as aircraft, while others were certainly unknown phenomena. Photographs were taken of the lights, although attempts at spectrum analysis were unsuccessful. The radar picked up 36 signals that were not ‘angels’, and some of the lights causing these radar returns were watched simultaneously by project members. An intriguing effect was noted in one instance when the light being observed seemed constantly luminous to’ the witnesses, yet the radar recorded it as going on and off rapidly. On two other occasions, the researchers directed a laser at observably flashing lights. In both cases, the lights repeatedly changed the frequency of their flashing when hit by the laser beam. Leif Havik, one of the project’s directors, had one of the most remarkable ’sightings’ of the field session: a small red light flashed around his feet when he left the trailer headquarters. This was also witnessed by another group member. Havik went on to see a number of lights at Hessdalen, some of which he managed to photograph.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Norway Røros Mysterious Light Phenomena

Comments»

1. Las Vegas - September 19, 2008

It is vital that you ensure that your passport is legible and intact, any sign of damage could result in a refusal of carriage or entry into your country of destination. … Las Vegas

2. Air Tours - September 19, 2008

Millions of lights will dazzle you on this tour over Las Vegas as you cruise past New York, New York, Bellagio, Paris, The Venetian, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, the Stratosphere Tower rising 1, 149 feet into the air, Fremont Street, and historic Downtown Las Vegas. … Air Tours


LogoAlexa CounterFeedBurner Counter