Strange and still-unexplained lights in the sky are a fairly common occurrence and most can be explained as either manmade objects or natural phenomena such as the Aurora Borealis or even shooting stars.
However, there are occasions when the phenomena persist and the mysterious lights that still materialise over Hessdalen in central-eastern Norway are one such case in point. According to various sources they started to appear in 1940 but it was in 1981 that the intensity of these phenomena increased dramatically and started to be recorded by everyday people. Records show that at certain times there have been 20 reported sightings in just one week.
Although the intensity of this mysterious phenomenon has declined over the years there are still regular sightings and various scientific and quasi-scientific study projects have been established to monitor these lights. Visually they look like small pockets of burning gas (blue or orange) but maintain their luminosity for far longer than just a simple flaming of combustible methane or hydrogen. The lights also move in a way that is similar (but slower) to reports of ball lightning but otherwise have no similarities. The Hessdalen Automatic Measurement Station was established in August 1998 and has regularly recorded inexplicable lights from 1983 until now.
Everyone has a theory as to what might be casing these phenomena. Some of the claims include UFO portals, spontaneous combustion of natural gasses, Will-o'-the-wisps, ball lightning, Scandium effects and localised Ionic charges. At times it seems as if the Hessdalen lights are used as proof of everything from divine apparitions to alien invasion. There have been several claims in the media that the mystery of the Hessdalen lights has been solved usually accompanied with a statement that these results will be released sometime in the future. We’re still waiting.