# Burr 2016: Vela Incident: South Atlantic Mystery Flash in September 1979 Raised Questions about Nuclear Test > William (ed.) Burr, Avner (ed.) Cohen, 2016. 12 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The 2016 declassifications and the editors' account. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CW4WMEY25SX/vela-incident-south-atlantic-mystery-flash-in-september-1979 Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) --- [Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[1979 Vela incident](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident)Burr 2016 **0** # Vela Incident: South Atlantic Mystery Flash in September 1979 Raised Questions about Nuclear Test William (ed.) Burr, Avner (ed.) Cohen, 2016. _National Security Archive and Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, posted 8 December 2016_. Newly declassified documents from the files of Ambassador Gerard C. Smith: an October 1979 CIA-sponsored panel finding the signals "consistent with" a nuclear explosion, DIA official Jack Varona's description of the White House report as a "whitewash", Richard Garwin's 19 October 1979 letter betting 2 to 1 on a nuclear explosion (he later changed his view), State Department records of NRL hydroacoustic findings pointing to the Prince Edward Islands, and New Zealand rainwater data dismissed as a false alarm. **1979 Vela incident** Web pageChecked against the original0 ## What it's used for here The 2016 declassifications and the editors' account. ## Cited by on this site 12 records [Documents from the files of Ambassador Gerard C. Smith on the Vela event (posted 8 December 2016)](https://mysteriesdept.com/datasets/DAT0CW4X9ET4KD8/documents-from-the-files-of-ambassador-gerard-c-smith-on-the) Dataset DAT [Israel gave the United States categorical denials of nuclear-weapons cooperation with South Africa in 1977.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/evidence/EVD0CW4X7ZY65BM/israel-gave-the-united-states-categorical-denials-of-nuclear) Evidence EVD [No fission debris was collected by AFTAC air sampling, and New Zealand rainwater data proved a false alarm.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/evidence/EVD0CW4X0DR74RH/no-fission-debris-was-collected-by-aftac-air-sampling-and) Evidence EVD [The 2016 editors judge an Israeli test, possibly with South African assistance, the more likely reading.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/evidence/EVD0CW4X7R4770W/the-2016-editors-judge-an-israeli-test-possibly-with-south) Evidence EVD [Documents from Gerard C. Smith's files are published](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/events/EVT0CW4WW145A73/documents-from-gerard-c-smiths-files-are-published) EVT [Richard Garwin writes that he would bet 2 to 1 on a nuclear explosion](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/events/EVT0CW4WTAE66Y5/richard-garwin-writes-that-he-would-bet-2-to-1-on-a-nuclear) EVT [Richard L. Garwin](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/people/FIG0CW4WQCP28M0/richard-l-garwin) FIG [The 1979 Vela incident](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident) The mystery article MYS [National Security Archive, George Washington University](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/organisations/ORG0CW4WSK054GE/national-security-archive-george-washington-university) ORG [If it was a test, who conducted it?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/questions/QST0CW4WYQ270JZ/if-it-was-a-test-who-conducted-it) Question QST [Jimmy Carter: Diary entry on the day of the detection: an indication of a nuclear…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/accounts/WIT0CW4WX0C7MWA/jimmy-carter-diary-entry-on-the-day-of-the-detection-an) WIT [Richard L. Garwin: Letter stating that on the information and analysis available he…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident/accounts/WIT0CW4WXQT1BQ4/richard-l-garwin-letter-stating-that-on-the-information-and) WIT ## Cite it ``` Burr, W. (., & Cohen, A. (. (2016). Vela Incident: South Atlantic Mystery Flash in September 1979 Raised Questions about Nuclear Test. National Security Archive and Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, posted 8 December 2016. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-12-06/vela-incident-south-atlantic-mystery-flash-september-1979-raised-questions-about-nuclear-test ``` [Read it free at nsarchive.gwu.edu](https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-12-06/vela-incident-south-atlantic-mystery-flash-september-1979-raised-questions-about-nuclear-test) Key **SRC** 0CW4WMEY25SX Kind Web page Rights The publisher's Kept 28 Oct 2026, for editors Checked Against the published original Added by [apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo) The record Bibliographic records are CC0. Take this one as CSL-JSON, BibTeX or RIS. [CSL-JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CW4WMEY25SX/vela-incident-south-atlantic-mystery-flash-in-september-1979/csl.json)