Summary
On the evening of 13 March 1997, thousands of people across Arizona reported witnessing unusual lights moving silently across the night sky. Many observers described a large V-shaped formation traveling slowly overhead, while others reported stationary lights near the Estrella Mountains later that night. Numerous photographs and video recordings were made, making the Phoenix Lights one of the largest mass UFO sightings in modern history. The event remains widely discussed, with various explanations proposed for different parts of the sightings.
Additional Notes
The first reports began shortly after sunset and continued for several hours. The U.S. Air Force later stated that some of the lights were military flares dropped during a training exercise. However, many witnesses believe this explanation does not account for all reported observations.
The Location Today
The Phoenix metropolitan area is now a large, developed urban region. The 1997 lights were reported from multiple viewpoints across Arizona, so there is no single confirmed ground site to visit. Public streets and viewpoints may be accessible, but individual observation locations have different ownership and access rules.
- Environment
- Urban Area
- Time of Day
- Night
- Evidence Level
- Investigated Case
- Visiting the Location
- Limited
- Ownership of the Location
- Mixed