(NewsNation) — Scientists found a correlation between discontinuous photographs and reported UFO events, according to a study first reported on by “Reality Check with Ross Coulthart.”
Scientists at the Palomar Observatory studying photos from the 1950s discovered unusual, starlike flashes that appeared and disappeared within an hour. The transient objects were captured years before the first man-made satellite was launched, the scientists added.
Transients have been described as starlike objects that appear in one photo but vanish by the time the next photo of the same region of sky has been taken.
“We’ve ruled out some of the prosaic explanations, and it means we have to at least consider the possibility that these might be artificial objects from somewhere,” said Stephen Bruehl of Vanderbilt University.
Researchers said they examined digitized astronomical plates from the first Palomar Observatory Sky Survey conducted from 1949 to 1957. Astronomical plates used glass plates to capture images of the night sky.
Other research by the scientists included compiling a dataset spanning over 2,700 days to compare the dates for transient sightings with the dates of above-ground nuclear tests and the number of UAP reports.
They concluded the amount of transient activity increased by 8.5% for every additional UAP sighting.
“Our findings provide additional empirical support for the validity of the UAP phenomenon and its potential connection to nuclear weapons activity, contributing data beyond eyewitness reports,” scientists added.
The study was peer-reviewed in October, but NewsNation’s “Reality Check” spoke with one of the researchers in August after the study was first released. She said a specific sighting in the early 1950s was the inspiration for the study.
“That’s how, for example, Stephen came up with the idea of ‘let’s check this,'” Beatriz Villarroel, an astronomer for the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, told NewsNation’s Ross Coulthart in August. “If it’s true that these transients correlate with UFO events you will see the correlation, and he finds it, he sees it in the data.”
She came back on the show in October when the study was peer reviewed.
NewsNation to present a new special, “Reality Check with Ross Coulthart: Underwater UFOs” on Saturday, December 6TH at 8 p.m. ET. Need to know which channel on your tv? Click here to find NewsNation on your television.