What are transients?
Back in the 1950s—before the first satellite ever launched—astronomers at the Palomar Observatory were mapping the night sky as part of the first major photographic survey, known as POSS-I. While reviewing these old sky plates, researchers noticed something strange: dozens of bright, star-like objects that appeared once and then vanished. These weren’t stars, planets, or known celestial events. They were transients—brief flashes of light with no clear explanation.
What caused them to appear?
Curious about what might have caused these mysterious appearances, we looked at two possibilities: nuclear weapons testing and reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), what many people refer to as UFOs.
To investigate, we compiled a massive dataset covering every day from November 1949 to April 1957—over 2,700 days in total. For each day, we tracked whether a transient was spotted, whether a nuclear test occurred, and whether any UAPs were reported. Here’s what we found:
What does this suggest?
Transients were 45% more likely to appear within a day of a nuclear test. That’s a statistically significant correlation—not just a fluke. The more UAPs reported on a given day, the more transients were found in the sky survey. For every additional UAP report, the number of transients increased by 8.5%. There was also a small but meaningful link between nuclear testing and UAP reports, suggesting these events might be connected in ways we don’t yet understand.
Works as a Systems Analyst for Intermountain Health in Colorado's Western Slope area. When he's not working or taking care of the family and home, Jesse enjoys unraveling strange mysteries and discussing the nature of the universe!