Joe McBride / Getty Images For the first time, a team of scientists has found a “statistically significant” correlation between historical UAP reports and nuclear weapons tests. The researchers analyzed historical photographs taken by the Palomar Observatory in California, and they uncovered a number of mysterious bright spots in the night sky. They observed these transient objects in images captured between 1949 and 1957, before any satellites were ever launched into Earth’s orbit. Fascinatingly, the new findings lend weight to popular notions regarding UFOs. Historically, UFO – or UAP – sightings have been linked to nuclear weapons tests. The team’s study has also gone through the peer review process, lending weight to the statistical findings. UFO reports and nuclear weapons tests For decades, anecdotal reports and pop fiction have linked UFO sightings to nuclear weapons tests. Conspiracy theorists claim intelligent aliens might be observing humanity’s weapons capabilities. Anecdotal news reports , dating back to 1947, meanwhile, have linked the sightings to secretive nuclear technology tests. Now, the new study provides a compelling statistical link between nuclear weapons tests and UFO reports. The peer-reviewed paper , published in the journal Scientific Reports, details a study performed by the Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project. The initiative analyzes archives of historical images for objects that have either disappeared in the present day or flashed only briefly (transient) in the night sky. Transients are star-like objects that appear in one photo and are gone by the time another image is captured of the same region of the sky. Though the origin of transients is unknown, scientists have proposed several theories. They could be small pieces of asteroids, for example, imaging artifacts caused by plate defects in cameras, or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). UAP is the new official name for UFOs. Empirical support for UAP phenomenon For their study, the researchers compiled a dataset of images spanning 2,718 days. They compared the image dates to those of transient sightings, above-ground nuclear tests, and UAP reports. They found that transients were 45 percent more likely to be observed within a day of a nuclear weapons test. The number of transients also increased significantly on days where there were UAP reports. To be precise, transient activity increased by 8.5 percent for every reported 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,” the researchers wrote in their paper. While the scientists don’t know what the transients are, they do claim their study practically rules out the camera plate defect theory. This is due to the extreme improbability that camera errors would correlate with specific historical dates. The transients are also unlikely to be caused by nuclear bomb debris, as they often occurred a day after nuclear tests. Debris would likely fall from the sky a short time after detonation. The new study is the first time a statistical link has been documented between UAP reports and nuclear weapons tests. The statistically significant association between UAP reports, nuclear weapons tests, and UAP reports suggests we may not be alone in the universe. RECOMMENDED ARTICLES 0COMMENT ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chris Young Chris Young is a journalist, copywriter, blogger and tech geek at heart who’s reported on the likes of the Mobile World Congress, written for Lifehack, The Culture Trip, Flydoscope and some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including NEC and Thales, about robots, satellites and other world-changing innovations. NEWSLETTER Stay up-to-date on engineering, tech, space, and science news with The Blueprint. Mail Me By clicking sign up, you confirm that you accept this site's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Source: https://interestingengineering.com/space/ufo-reports-nuclear-weapons-tests-link