# The Hessdalen lights > Since late 1981 residents and visitors in the Hessdalen valley in central Norway have reported lights that hover, drift or move fast near the ground and… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-27T17:47:31+00:00 --- **MYS** 0D0NDEV84REN·Mystery · sighting # The Hessdalen lights **0** [Follow][Ask a question](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=hessdalen-lights) The Hessdalen lights ![Farms at Hessdalen in winter, from the magazine NÅ's archive at the National Archives of Norway.](https://mysteriesdept.com/media/folio/hessdalen-lights-lead) Unknown author · CC BY-SA 4.0 Where Hessdalen, a valley about 15 km long in Holtålen municipality, about 120 km south of Trondheim⁠[[2]] First modern reports Late November or December 1981⁠[[2]] Peak rate Up to 20 reports a week, late 1981 to late 1984⁠[[2]] Rate since 1985 About 10–20 reports a year⁠[[6]] First instrumented campaign 21 January – 26 February 1984; 53 visual observations recorded⁠[[1]] Automatic station Running since summer 1998; cameras upgraded in 2024⁠[[10]] Radiant power Up to 19 kW (EMBLA campaigns); 100 kW claimed for 2002, disputed⁠[[3]] Status Unexplained Questions 1 of 5 answered People [**Matteo Leone** Physicist (University of Bari at the time); author of the EMBLA 2002 rebuttal](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/people/FIG0D0NDGHY34M6/matteo-leone)[**Bjørn Gitle Hauge** Østfold University College; station and spectra](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/people/FIG0D0NDG2A4J5S/bjrn-gitle-hauge)[**Massimo Teodorani** Astrophysicist; at the CNR Institute of Radio Astronomy during the EMBLA expeditions](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/people/FIG0D0NDGA435EP/massimo-teodorani)[**Erling P. Strand** Engineer; led Project Hessdalen from 1983, Østfold University College](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/people/FIG0D0NDFTG654A/erling-p-strand) Catalog key**MYS** 0D0NDEV84REN Hessdalen is a sparsely populated valley about 15 km long, some 120 km south of Trondheim. From late 1981 its residents began to report lights in the valley, mostly white or yellow-white, sometimes with a small red light, hanging still for more than an hour, moving slowly, or moving fast, often just above the roofs of houses or below the hilltops⁠[[1]]⁠[[2]]. Reports peaked at up to 20 a week until late 1984 and then fell to around 20 a year⁠[[2]]. Unusually for a "lights" phenomenon, Hessdalen has been studied with instruments for four decades: by Project Hessdalen from 1983, by Østfold University College from 1993, by Italian radio astronomers in the EMBLA expeditions from 2000, and by French geophysicists from 2010⁠[[2]]. The instruments recorded things that are hard to dismiss. In 1984 a radar tracked one light at about 8,500 m/s, and magnetometer disturbances often coincided with sightings⁠[[3]]. The Italian campaigns estimated radiant power up to 19 kW, varying as clusters of light balls appeared and vanished⁠[[3]]. But the record is mixed with ordinary lights: one of the best-photographed recurrent lights of 2002 was identified by a sceptical physicist as car headlights on a road 11.5 km away⁠[[4]]. The phenomenon's core question is therefore still what fraction of the lights is unexplained, before any question of mechanism. Proposed mechanisms include dusty plasmas, combustion of dust containing scandium, an electrically active inversion layer, and electrochemical currents from sulphide ores acting as a natural battery⁠[[5]]⁠[[6]]⁠[[7]]⁠[[8]]. A 2024 survey mapped conductive zones under the valley⁠[[9]]; a 2026 analysis argues that such a battery is about a million times too weak to ionise air⁠[[8]]. The station's cameras were upgraded in 2024 and its images are now public, and on 31 August 2026 a camera for the first time captured a light that a witness was reporting at the same moment⁠[[10]]⁠[[11]]. Of the 5 questions on this site, 1 are answered. The most likely answer to “Do the Hessdalen lights include a natural phenomenon not yet explained, once known light sources are removed?”, not yet confirmed: no; the lights are misidentified vehicles, aircraft, astronomical objects and instrumental artefacts. ### Key questionsset by the editors [**Do the Hessdalen lights include a natural phenomenon not yet explained, once known light sources are removed?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDN6C0EE5/do-the-hessdalen-lights-include-a-natural-phenomenon-not-yet)Most likely: no; the lights are misidentified vehicles, aircraft, astronomical objects and instrumental artefacts [**If some lights are a natural phenomenon, what produces them?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDNP02RD8/if-some-lights-are-a-natural-phenomenon-what-produces-them)No answer ahead yet [All 5 questions ](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=hessdalen-lights) ## What happened The modern series began at the end of 1981, when lights started to show up in the valley; most were reported near the ground or above the hills, some high in the sky, and they could stand still, move slowly, stop, or move fast⁠[[1]]. The rate was highest from December 1981 to the end of 1984, then fell⁠[[12]]⁠[[2]]. The automatic station's statistics from 1998 to 2002 show the lights recorded more often in winter and between 22:00 and 01:00⁠[[3]]. Witness counts gathered from the project's reports decline from double figures a year in the late 1990s to low single figures in the 2010s and early 2020s⁠[[8]]. Reports continue: in 2025 and 2026 the project posted several unexplained camera events and, on 31 August 2026, a witness report matched by camera footage⁠[[11]]. **Map of the site** [Open the full map](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/map) [Site][Region] [+][−] 1 **Vårhuskjølen, Hessdalen** Viewpoint Mapped 2 **The Blue Box automatic station, Hessdalen** Observatory Within 100 m 3 **Hessdalen community house (samfunnshus)** Building Within 1 km MappedWithin 1 kmBase map © OpenStreetMap contributors ### Timeline **Timeline** Squeezed where little happened. Each mark is a published claim, by how it stands:AcceptedMost likelyStill possibleDisputedRuled out ## The accounts The early accounts come from residents, collected by Project Hessdalen; the 1984 campaign logged 53 visual observations with times and quality indexes⁠[[1]]⁠[[3]]. Since then reports have come from visitors and from the project's field trips and science camps, and are posted on the project's observation pages by year⁠[[13]]. An amateur analysis in 2017 geocoded the reports with location certainty to map where lights are seen⁠[[14]]. The most recent documented case is typical in its detail. A witness stopped at Vårhuskjølen at 00:08 local time on 1 September 2026 saw a small white orb under the cloud to the west-south-west that "skipped" twice, growing larger and more orange each time, and faded after two to three seconds. A camera near the community house recorded a small light at the same time and direction; the witness confirmed it was what he saw, while noting that on video it looked smaller and briefer⁠[[11]]. ## What was recorded The 1984 campaign deployed radar, a spectrum analyser, a seismograph, a magnetometer, a laser, a Geiger counter, an infrared viewer and cameras with gratings⁠[[1]]. Of 23 grating photographs, only three of the light were usable; Teodorani reports that they showed a continuum with no lines⁠[[12]]⁠[[3]]. The radar and magnetometer gave the most reliable results: radar tracks were often recorded with no visual sighting, and one light visible to observers appeared on radar only on every second sweep⁠[[3]]. The EMBLA expeditions of 2000–2002 added optical photometry, VLF-ELF receivers and a low-power radar. They reported radiant power up to 19 kW, clusters of light balls that appear and disappear, ejection of smaller balls, an unidentified frequency shift in the VLF band and a possible deposit of metallic particles⁠[[3]]. The 2002 report gave up to 100 kW, a light profile unlike a plasma, and spectra with a three-peaked feature that could be artificial lighting or blended lines, possibly of silicon⁠[[15]]. Leone reanalysed the same data and identified the recurrent blinking light as car headlights on a private road about 11.5 km away; he found the photometry based on a wrong distance and the temperature calculation in error by a factor of about 10⁷⁠[[4]]. The automatic station, the "Blue Box", has run since 1998 with cameras, a video alarm system written by the Italian Institute for Radio Astronomy, alarm systems from the University of Würzburg, and an aircraft transponder receiver that logs flights⁠[[13]]⁠[[3]]. In 2024 it was re-equipped with 8-megapixel night cameras; images are stacked and posted daily to a public folder and the cameras stream live⁠[[10]]. Geophysical campaigns from 2010 surveyed the ground: about 100 km of VLF traces over 100 km² found conductive zones, mainly sulphide deposits, outlining a 6 × 12 km ellipse that follows the gabbro intrusion⁠[[9]]⁠[[16]]. ## The explanations Misidentification. Some recorded lights are certainly ordinary: car headlights, aircraft and stars are present in the valley's sky, and the best-studied light of 2002 has a strong case for being headlights⁠[[4]]. The station's aircraft logger and video alarms exist partly to remove such sources⁠[[13]]. Misidentification does not account for the residents' close-range reports of 1981–1984 or for the 1984 radar tracks, as Leone himself accepts for some reports⁠[[4]]⁠[[3]]. Plasma and combustion models. Paiva and Taft proposed that the lights are dusty plasmas, and extended the model to a recorded spectrum⁠[[5]]⁠[[17]]; Paiva later proposed an electrically active temperature inversion over the valley⁠[[7]]. Hauge proposed combustion of dust clouds from the valley floor containing scandium⁠[[18]]⁠[[6]]. The EMBLA team compared the light profile to the silicon-nanoparticle model of ball lightning⁠[[15]]. None of these models has been tested quantitatively against the station's records. Geology. The valley's sulphide and copper deposits have been proposed as a natural battery, with groundwater as electrolyte, supplying charge to the air⁠[[8]]. The 2024 VLF survey found the conductive bodies the idea needs and argues that near-surface structures could supply the lights' generation and explain why they occur in this valley⁠[[9]]. Against it, a geobattery delivers at most about a volt, roughly six orders of magnitude below what is needed to ionise air at any geological scale; a static source does not predict the decline in reports; and the stress-driven piezoelectric alternative was judged inapplicable because the valley's seismicity is too weak⁠[[8]]. Exotic proposals, such as micrometric wormholes, have been published as working hypotheses without physical tests⁠[[19]]. ### Published claims **Published claims and their status** | Year | Who | Claimed | Status | Reason | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1984 | Erling P. Strand (Project Hessdalen)⁠[1] | The lights are physical: radar tracked them, one at about 8,500 m/s, and magnetometer pulsations often coincided with sightings. | Still possible | The 1984 radar and magnetometer records have not been re-analysed against known sources, and the radar speed has never been repeated⁠[3]. | | 2000 | Massimo Teodorani, Stelio Montebugnoli and Jader Monari⁠[20] | Radio receivers in the valley recorded periodic VLF signals of spike-like and Doppler-like form that may be linked to the lights. | Still possible | Later campaigns reported an unidentified VLF frequency shift, but no source or link to the lights has been established⁠[3]. | | 2002 | Massimo Teodorani and Gloria Nobili⁠[15] | The recurrent blinking light of the 2002 survey was a cluster of light balls radiating up to 100 kW, with a light profile unlike a plasma. | Ruled out | Seen through a telescope the light resolved into a pair of car headlights on a road 11.5 km away, and the photometry rested on a wrong distance⁠[4]. | | 2004 | Massimo Teodorani⁠[3] | A residue of the lights is a distinct natural phenomenon: clusters of light balls radiating up to 19 kW that appear, eject smaller balls and vanish. | Still possible | Some of the same campaigns' lights proved to be headlights, and no systematic classification of the station's detections has been published⁠[4]. | | 2006 | Matteo Leone⁠[4] | The best-measured light of EMBLA 2002 was car headlights on a private road about 11.5 km away, and the survey's photometry and temperatures are in error. | Accepted | The identification rests on a telescopic observation and on the light's angles matching the road, a test anyone can repeat from the 2002 positions⁠[4]. | | 2010 | Bjørn Gitle Hauge⁠[18] | The lights involve combustion of dust clouds from the valley floor containing scandium. | Still possible | Proposed from spectra; no resolved spectrum showing scandium lines has been published since⁠[6]. | | 2010 | Gerson S. Paiva and Carlton A. Taft⁠[5] | The lights are dusty plasmas formed when air and dust in the valley are ionised. | Still possible | Extended to one recorded spectrum, but not tested against the station's records; the usable 1984 spectra showed a continuum with no lines⁠[17]⁠[3]. | | 2021 | Gerson S. Paiva⁠[7] | An electrically active temperature inversion layer over the valley produces the lights. | Still possible | Proposed on theoretical grounds; no comparison with inversion soundings over the valley has been published⁠[7]. | | 2021 | Gianni Pascoli⁠[21] | The reported lights are a mix of real luminous events and illusions or misidentifications. | Still possible | Consistent with the proven headlight case and with lights that remain unexplained, but no classification of the station's detections has measured the mix⁠[4]⁠[11]. | | 2024 | G. N. Vargemezis and colleagues⁠[9] | Conductive sulphide zones under the valley, outlining a 6 × 12 km ellipse, could supply the lights and explain why they occur in Hessdalen. | Still possible | The conductive zones are mapped, but no spatial test of light positions against them has been made, and the energy supply is disputed⁠[8]. | | 2024 | Gianni Pascoli⁠[19] | The lights are the aerial sign of a subsoil phenomenon that may be modelled as micrometric wormholes. | Still possible | Offered by its author as a working hypothesis, with suggested experiments that have not been run⁠[19]. | | 2026 | Massimo Teodorani⁠[8] | A natural battery of sulphide and copper ores yields at most about a volt, some six orders of magnitude too little to ionise air, so it cannot drive the lights. | Most likely | The arithmetic follows standard self-potential electrochemistry, but the paper is self-published and not peer reviewed⁠[8]. | ## What would settle it The station now produces the data a decisive study needs. A catalogue of every camera detection since 2024, classified automatically against aircraft logs, road traffic, astronomical ephemerides and weather, would show what fraction of detections is unexplained and whether that fraction is real. Triangulation from two or more cameras would give distance, size and true brightness, which no single camera can. Simultaneous spectra at useful resolution would separate plasma, combustion and nanoparticle models. And mapping the geocoded reports and unexplained detections against the 2024 conductive zones would test the geological reading directly. ## Questions 1 of 5 questions are answered. **Key questions** [All 5](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=hessdalen-lights) **0** [Do the Hessdalen lights include a natural phenomenon not yet explained, once known light sources are removed?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDN6C0EE5/do-the-hessdalen-lights-include-a-natural-phenomenon-not-yet) 1 of 2 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: no; the lights are misidentified vehicles, aircraft, astronomical objects and instrumental artefacts **0** [If some lights are a natural phenomenon, what produces them?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDNP02RD8/if-some-lights-are-a-natural-phenomenon-what-produces-them) 0 of 1 sub-questions answered·0 Open: 7 answers, none ahead ## Evidence 25 findings [Do the Hessdalen lights include a natural phenomenon not yet explained, once known light sources are removed?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDN6C0EE5/do-the-hessdalen-lights-include-a-natural-phenomenon-not-yet)8 findings [Yes; a residue of the lights is a distinct natural luminous phenomenon of the valley.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDPDE0593/yes-a-residue-of-the-lights-is-a-distinct-natural-luminous)Still possible +[In 1984 a radar tracked a light at about 8,500 m/s, and magnetic disturbances often coincided with sightings.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDPN83EPV/in-1984-a-radar-tracked-a-light-at-about-8-500-m-s-and)Suggestive +[Residents reported lights hanging still for over an hour just above roofs and below the hilltops.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDPX22WJY/residents-reported-lights-hanging-still-for-over-an-hour)Suggestive +[The station recorded lights more often in winter and in late evening, a pattern from 1998–2002 statistics.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDQ4W2SJX/the-station-recorded-lights-more-often-in-winter-and-in-late)Suggestive −[The recurrent light of the 2002 survey was identified as car headlights.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDQCP6EXN/the-recurrent-light-of-the-2002-survey-was-identified-as-car)Supported [No; the lights are misidentified vehicles, aircraft, astronomical objects and instrumental artefacts.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDQMG5WVX/no-the-lights-are-misidentified-vehicles-aircraft)Most likely +[The EMBLA 2002 blinking light matches car headlights on a road 11.5 km away, seen through a telescope.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDQWA66HV/the-embla-2002-blinking-light-matches-car-headlights-on-a)Supported +[The EMBLA 2002 spectra had no resolved lines and a feature that could be artificial lighting.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDR442FM7/the-embla-2002-spectra-had-no-resolved-lines-and-a-feature)Suggestive −[Leone accepts that some anecdotal residents' reports remain unexplained.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDRBY0P7A/leone-accepts-that-some-anecdotal-residents-reports-remain)Suggestive [Both; a small number of genuine anomalous lights among many misidentifications and illusions.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDRKR052J/both-a-small-number-of-genuine-anomalous-lights-among-many)Still possible +[The 2026 skipping-orb case was matched on camera but appeared smaller and briefer on video than to the witness.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDRVJ16PV/the-2026-skipping-orb-case-was-matched-on-camera-but)Speculative [Was the recurrent blinking light of the 2002 EMBLA survey an anomalous light-ball or car headlights?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDNE61A6W/was-the-recurrent-blinking-light-of-the-2002-embla-survey-an)3 findings [An anomalous light-ball cluster radiating up to 100 kW.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDSB628TW/an-anomalous-light-ball-cluster-radiating-up-to-100-kw)Disputed +[Photometry gave up to 100 kW and a light profile unlike a plasma.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDSK06PB1/photometry-gave-up-to-100-kw-and-a-light-profile-unlike-a)Suggestive [Car headlights on a private road about 11.5 km away.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDSTT22JJ/car-headlights-on-a-private-road-about-11-5-km-away)Most likely +[Resolved by telescope into a pair of headlights; angles match a private road at azimuth about 185°.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDT2M1J4V/resolved-by-telescope-into-a-pair-of-headlights-angles-match)Supported +[The photometry assumed a wrong distance, and the temperature calculation has a unit error of about 10⁷.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDTAE6WKS/the-photometry-assumed-a-wrong-distance-and-the-temperature)Supported [If some lights are a natural phenomenon, what produces them?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDNP02RD8/if-some-lights-are-a-natural-phenomenon-what-produces-them)9 findings [Dusty plasmas formed from ionised air and dust in the valley.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDTT23NT7/dusty-plasmas-formed-from-ionised-air-and-dust-in-the-valley)Still possible +[The model was extended to account for a spectrum recorded at Hessdalen and for cluster formation.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDV1W6D2Y/the-model-was-extended-to-account-for-a-spectrum-recorded-at)Speculative −[The 1984 usable spectra showed a continuum with no lines.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDV9P5S4B/the-1984-usable-spectra-showed-a-continuum-with-no-lines)Suggestive [Combustion of dust clouds from the valley floor containing scandium.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDVHG72Y0/combustion-of-dust-clouds-from-the-valley-floor-containing)Still possible +[Proposed from spectra analysed by Hauge in 2007 and 2010.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDVSA7PGD/proposed-from-spectra-analysed-by-hauge-in-2007-and-2010)Speculative [A natural battery of sulphide and copper ores, with groundwater as electrolyte, supplies charge that drives…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDW145PFD/a-natural-battery-of-sulphide-and-copper-ores-with)Disputed +[The VLF survey found conductive zones, mainly sulphides, outlining a 6 × 12 km ellipse over the gabbro intrusion.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDW8Y2RRE/the-vlf-survey-found-conductive-zones-mainly-sulphides)Supported −[A geobattery yields at most about a volt, about six orders of magnitude short of air breakdown.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDWGR5XD1/a-geobattery-yields-at-most-about-a-volt-about-six-orders-of)Supported −[The original battery proposal (Monari and colleagues, 2013) was never published in a peer-reviewed journal.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDWRJ1P09/the-original-battery-proposal-monari-and-colleagues-2013-was)Suggestive [Stress-activated charge from rock (piezoelectric or positive-hole currents) ionises the air.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDX0C1KJC/stress-activated-charge-from-rock-piezoelectric-or-positive)Disputed −[The 2024 survey judged seismicity in the valley too weak to sustain such a source.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDX861A2D/the-2024-survey-judged-seismicity-in-the-valley-too-weak-to)Suggestive [An electrically active temperature inversion layer over the valley produces the lights.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDXG06KZ5/an-electrically-active-temperature-inversion-layer-over-the)Still possible −[Proposed on theoretical grounds; no comparison with inversion soundings over the valley has been published.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDXQT4H1M/proposed-on-theoretical-grounds-no-comparison-with-inversion)Suggestive [New physics, such as micrometric wormholes.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDXZM383D/new-physics-such-as-micrometric-wormholes)Still possible −[Proposed as a working hypothesis without a quantitative test.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDY7E7NNW/proposed-as-a-working-hypothesis-without-a-quantitative-test)Suggestive [Do the valley's conductive sulphide zones explain where the lights appear?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDNXT125M/do-the-valleys-conductive-sulphide-zones-explain-where-the)2 findings [The lights cluster over or along the conductive zones and the gabbro ellipse.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDYQ25CBM/the-lights-cluster-over-or-along-the-conductive-zones-and)Still possible +[Conductive zones were mapped over about 100 km² and outline a 6 × 12 km ellipse.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDYYW7M87/conductive-zones-were-mapped-over-about-100-km2-and-outline)Suggestive [The location of the lights is unrelated to the conductive zones.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDZ6P1FJ2/the-location-of-the-lights-is-unrelated-to-the-conductive)Still possible +[No quantitative mechanism links sub-volt geobattery potentials to luminous discharges.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NDZEG09H6/no-quantitative-mechanism-links-sub-volt-geobattery)Suggestive [Why did reports fall from about 20 a week in 1981–1984 to about 10–20 a year?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/questions/QST0D0NDP5M4JWN/why-did-reports-fall-from-about-20-a-week-in-19811984-to)3 findings [The phenomenon itself became rarer.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NDZY472MP/the-phenomenon-itself-became-rarer)Still possible +[Witness counts within 0.1–5 km decline from double figures in the late 1990s to low single figures in the 2010s.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NE05Y4WFH/witness-counts-within-0-15-km-decline-from-double-figures-in)Suggestive [Reporting fell with media attention, fewer investigators and a shrinking local population.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/answers/ANS0D0NE0DR3959/reporting-fell-with-media-attention-fewer-investigators-and)Still possible +[The valley's population fell from about 200 in 1980 to about 120.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NE0NJ7DDQ/the-valleys-population-fell-from-about-200-in-1980-to-about)Suggestive −[Tourism has increased, which should raise the number of potential witnesses.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/evidence/EVD0D0NE0XC4ZFZ/tourism-has-increased-which-should-raise-the-number-of)Speculative ## Artifacts The films, photos, papers and objects this mystery rests on, each with its own key and its distance from the original. **Artifacts** [See all 9](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts) Document2 steps from object [Radar recordings of the 1984 field campaign](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts/ART0D0NE3KA3NPF/radar-recordings-of-the-1984-field-campaign) Erling Strand, Project Hessdalen · publisher (© Project Hessdalen) Document2 steps from object [Magnetometer charts of the 1984 field campaign](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts/ART0D0NE42Y6CFD/magnetometer-charts-of-the-1984-field-campaign) Erling Strand, Project Hessdalen · publisher (© Project Hessdalen) Photo2 steps from object [Photographs and grating spectra of the lights, 1984](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts/ART0D0NE4JJ77WS/photographs-and-grating-spectra-of-the-lights-1984) Project Hessdalen · publisher (© Project Hessdalen) Document2 steps from object [EMBLA 2002 optical recordings of the recurrent blinking light](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts/ART0D0NE5A01RXX/embla-2002-optical-recordings-of-the-recurrent-blinking) Massimo Teodorani and colleagues · publisher Video1 step from object [Station camera recording of the "skipping orb", 31 August 2026](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts/ART0D0NE61E6K9V/station-camera-recording-of-the-skipping-orb-31-august-2026) Project Hessdalen · publisher (© 2026 Project Hessdalen) Document1 step from object [Witness observation reports, 1967–2023](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts/ART0D0NE6H22VAE/witness-observation-reports-19672023) Project Hessdalen · publisher (© Project Hessdalen) [See all 9 artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights/artifacts) ## See also [ **Ball lightning** Glowing spheres reported in thunderstorms and recorded by instruments once, in 2012. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning) [ **Marfa lights** Lights seen at night over Mitchell Flat, east of Marfa in west Texas, reported since at least 1945. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights) [ **Phoenix Lights, 13 March 1997** A V of lights and a row of flares seen by thousands over Arizona on 13 March 1997. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/phoenix-lights) [ **Loch Ness** A Scottish loch where over a thousand people have reported a large animal since 1933. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/loch-ness) ## References 1. 1.[Strand, E. 1984. Project Hessdalen 1984: Final Technical Report, Part 1. Project Hessdalen (web edition on hessdalen.org).](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0ND9Z01DKN/project-hessdalen-1984-final-technical-report-part-1)cited 11 times here**SRC** 0D0ND9Z01DKN 1. 2.[Strand, E., Hauge, B., Zlotnicki, J. et al. 2014. 30 years of research on the Hessdalen phenomena (abstract, CAIPAN workshop, CNES Paris, 8–9 July 2014). GEIPAN / CNES.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDDCC5EXB/30-years-of-research-on-the-hessdalen-phenomena-abstract)cited 7 times here**SRC** 0D0NDDCC5EXB 1. 3.[Teodorani, M. 2004. A long-term scientific survey of the Hessdalen phenomenon. Journal of Scientific Exploration 18(2), 217–251.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDAEM2WKB/a-long-term-scientific-survey-of-the-hessdalen-phenomenon)cited 8 times here**SRC** 0D0NDAEM2WKB 1. 4.[Leone, M. 2006. Eine Widerlegung des EMBLA 2002-Berichts zur optischen Luftraumüberwachung in Hessdalen (A rebuttal of the EMBLA 2002 report on the optical survey in Hessdalen). Zeitschrift für Anomalistik 6, 58–115.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDAY87S08/eine-widerlegung-des-embla-2002-berichts-zur-optischen)cited 13 times here**SRC** 0D0NDAY87S08 1. 5.[Paiva, G., Taft, C. 2010. A hypothetical dusty plasma mechanism of Hessdalen lights. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 72(16), 1200–1203.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDBDW7W4K/a-hypothetical-dusty-plasma-mechanism-of-hessdalen-lights)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2010.07.022)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D0NDBDW7W4K 1. 6.[Caron, E., Faridi, P. 2016. To investigate or not to investigate? Researchers' views on unexplored atmospheric light phenomena. Frontiers in Earth Science 4, 17.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDCWR27WJ/to-investigate-or-not-to-investigate-researchers-views-on)[doi](https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00017)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D0NDCWR27WJ 1. 7.[Paiva, G. 2021. Hessdalen lights produced by electrically active inversion layer. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics 133(4), 1447–1454.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDBXG3W3Q/hessdalen-lights-produced-by-electrically-active-inversion)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-021-00819-9)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D0NDBXG3W3Q 1. 8.[Teodorani, M. 2026. On the 'Natural Battery' hypothesis for the Hessdalen lights: a quantitative reassessment. hessdalen.org (old site, reports).](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDCMY7GSG/on-the-natural-battery-hypothesis-for-the-hessdalen-lights-a)cited 15 times here**SRC** 0D0NDCMY7GSG 1. 9.[Vargemezis, G., Zlotnicki, J., Hauge, B. et al. 2024. Contribution of VLF electromagnetic survey to the investigation of Hessdalen lights (Norway). Journal of Applied Geophysics 226, 105398.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDC5A579W/contribution-of-vlf-electromagnetic-survey-to-the)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2024.105398)cited 7 times here**SRC** 0D0NDC5A579W 1. 10.[Project Hessdalen 2026. Project Hessdalen website: the Blue Box, cameras, image archive. hessdalen.org.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDDW04H2J/project-hessdalen-website-the-blue-box-cameras-image-archive)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0D0NDDW04H2J 1. 11.[Project Hessdalen 2026. Skipping Orb (observation from 1 September 2026). hessdalen.org.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDEBM78KE/skipping-orb-observation-from-1-september-2026)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0D0NDEBM78KE 1. 12.[Strand, E. 1984. Hessdalen: spectrographic records (fieldwork of January–February 1984). hessdalen.org.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDA6T56YX/hessdalen-spectrographic-records-fieldwork-of)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0D0NDA6T56YX 1. 13.[Project Hessdalen, Østfold University College 2024. Hessdalen automatic measurement station: technical description and picture archive 1998–2024. old.hessdalen.org.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDE3T170W/hessdalen-automatic-measurement-station-technical)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D0NDE3T170W 1. 14.[Aamodt, T. 2017. Hessdalen Database Analysis. hessdalen.org (old site, reports).](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDDM62S6K/hessdalen-database-analysis)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D0NDDM62S6K 1. 15.[Teodorani, M., Nobili, G. 2002. EMBLA 2002: an optical and ground survey in Hessdalen. Project Hessdalen / CNR Istituto di Radioastronomia.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDAPE52BQ/embla-2002-an-optical-and-ground-survey-in-hessdalen)cited 9 times here**SRC** 0D0NDAPE52BQ 1. 16.[Vargemezis, G., Zlotnicki, J., Hauge, B. et al. 2018. Near surface conductive zones in Hessdalen valley (Norway) inferred by preliminary VLF surveys. 24th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics (EAGE).](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDCD44QGT/near-surface-conductive-zones-in-hessdalen-valley-norway)[doi](https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.201802511)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D0NDCD44QGT 1. 17.[Paiva, G., Taft, C. 2012. A mechanism to explain the spectrum of Hessdalen Lights phenomenon. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics 117(1–2), 1–4.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDBNP4K7V/a-mechanism-to-explain-the-spectrum-of-hessdalen-lights)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-012-0197-5)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D0NDBNP4K7V 1. 18.[Hauge, B. 2010. Investigation and analysis of transient luminous phenomena in the low atmosphere of Hessdalen valley, Norway. Acta Astronautica 67(11–12), 1443–1450.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDB627RN1/investigation-and-analysis-of-transient-luminous-phenomena)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2010.01.019)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D0NDB627RN1 1. 19.[Pascoli, G. 2024. The Hessdalen lights seen as the aerial counterpart of an unsuspected subsoil phenomenon. Is the Earth harboring a multimouth wormhole?. Journal of Scientific Exploration 38(2), 273–287.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDD4J7Z06/the-hessdalen-lights-seen-as-the-aerial-counterpart-of-an)[doi](https://doi.org/10.31275/20242965)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D0NDD4J7Z06 1. 20.[Teodorani, M., Montebugnoli, S., Monari, J. 2000. The EMBLA 2000 Mission in Hessdalen. Project Hessdalen / CNR Istituto di Radioastronomia.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDFAW09NY/the-embla-2000-mission-in-hessdalen)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D0NDFAW09NY 1. 21.[Pascoli, G. 2021. Are the Hessdalen lights a reality, an illusion, or a mix of the two?. Journal of Scientific Exploration 35(3), 590–622.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0NDEKE1AP5/are-the-hessdalen-lights-a-reality-an-illusion-or-a-mix-of)[doi](https://doi.org/10.31275/20212171)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D0NDEKE1AP5 Last edited 27 Oct 2026