The problem of UFO luminosity is an important one. Of all of the features of the UFO pattern, UFO emissions of visible light are among the most notable and characteristic. An analysis of photographs can reveal important features of UFO luminosity, given that the photos are authentic.

In addition, there appears to be a close correlation between luminosity and behavior. The luminosity brightens, dims, changes color, and flashes, often showing a direct relationship to behavior.

Are They "Lights"? - Types Of Luminosity And Their Characteristics[1]

• There are several categories of UFO luminosity: a) Full body, b) Patchy body, c) Rim lighting, d) Point sources, e) Beams, f) Ejected.

• Full body luminosity is usually observed on objects in flight. In rare cases it is observed in a landed or hovering UFO, however, in those cases, the object usually almost immediately engages in flight. Occupants are (I believe) never observed near UFOs in the full body state (in fact, landed UFOs rarely emit luminosity, except in a few cases where emissions from the base of the UFO are seen to continue as the UFO hovers). In some cases, the full body luminosity flashes on and off in a way frequently compared to a flourescent light startup (this was reported at Levelland, 1:15 AM). The Selma, AL case of 10/29/57 represents a good example of full body luminosity with variations. Further the Levelland case may indicate some relationship between full body luminosity and vehicle interference effects (the witness observed the intensity of his headlights varied inversely with the brightness of the UFO luminosity, this may have been a brightness effect or may have been an actual response to the cause of the luminosity variations).

• Patchy body light is usually observed on slow flying or hovering objects. Sometimes this is exhibited as a full body covering which displays different colors on different portions of the object's geometry (i.e. a dome which differs in color from the body of the object. Other times, as in the Tulsa, OK photo, there are areas of darkness between the lighting patches, and the patches can be seen to be fairly well delimited.

• Rim lighting can be part of a patchy body light or can be the only lighting displayed by an object. This is sometimes perceived as "portholes" and sometimes as a solid band. It has also been seen to flash in sequence and in unison. Sometimes the rim lighting is seen to provide the illusion of rotation. As shown in the Moreland case, it seems this is distinct from the sequential flashing of the sort observed in the Exeter case, and actually represents some form of movement around the rim of distinct plasma sources. The Moreland case, among others, also suggests that as with the previous two categories, these "lights" are actually some sort of plasma, probably a cold plasma, and, further, that the generation of this plasma is distinct from that produced by combustion, in that insufficient turbulence exists at the boundary layer to produce the typical loud noise that such "flames" would be expected to generate.

• To the best of my knowledge, there are few close observations of point source lighting. If the Villas Boas case is to be believed, his observation indicates that these are bright areas of the surface of the object rather than incandescent lights as we know them. Further, assuming the validity of the Petit-Rechain photo from Belgium, we can see that the tips of a triangular UFO show lights which may also be attributable to a plasma phenomenon. In that photo, one can observe interesting striations of density in the light, and wisps which appear to be partly detached from the source. The example of what the Moreland case revealed about the rim lighting of UFOs makes me cautiously willing to consider that point sources are, like the rest of UFO lighting, plasma manifestations of some energetic phenomenon near the surface of the UFO.

• Beams appear to fall into two classes - normal and slow. Normal light beams behave like searchlights or lasers, and are likely to be just such phenomena (though one may note that a laser can be produced from a plasma, and it is possible that UFOs simply control their plasmas in such a way as to cause lasing of various sorts). Slow beams, as observed at Trancas, Argentina, seem, on the other hand, in view of their slow propagation, to certainly be some sort of plasma phenomenon.

• Ejected luminosity, as shown in the Robert Campbell photos from August 2, 1965, is sometimes reported. Material remains luminous for some time after falling away from the object. If this material is a plasma then a) it is heavier than air, and b) it is cohesive enough to survive a fall through the air and retain its luminosity. It seems more likely that this is a luminous or molten liquid.

Now, in looking at the various cases, one can come to some tentative conclusions:

• Most photos of luminosity show some form of limb darkening, strengthening the idea that UFO luminosity is a plasma. (See, for instance, the Tulsa, OK photo).

• UFOs must input energy into the near surface area to generate an atmospheric-ionization style luminosity. This energy does not appear to be heat energy (since UFOs emit relatively low levels of heat in close encounters), and thus is more likely to be the result of the injection of electrons (or other particles), UV light, x-rays, or gamma rays into the near surface area. Because of the difficultly of creating plasmas at atmospheric density and temperature, it is also possible (especially in light of the luminosity of some reported submarine UFOs that UFOs create an area of lower atmospheric density near their surface.

• UFOs could maintain the near surface area ionization by emitting energy into the near surface area across the entire surface of the object, or from localized areas (the rim being a likely suspect for disc shaped UFOs, the points for spindle shaped or elliptical UFOs). Further, it is possible that maintaining this ionization even when not in the full body state would make it easier to go to the full body state.

• The maintenance of this ionization might also benefit from the injection of ionized atoms or molecules into the sheath, much as a gas laser sometimes requires replacement or refreshing of its contents. This may explain the occasional chemical odors and the occasional presence of apparently chemical-related burns and rashes in close encounter cases. On the other hand, these odors and substances may be a by-product of the dissipation of energy injected into the sheath (for instance, could formaldehyde, a frequently reported smell, be produced by chemical reactions in an atmospheric plasma without the injection of potential reactors into the sheath?).

• Given these ideas, it is possible that the point source lighting may well represent the localized injection of energy or energetic atoms / molecules into critical locations of the sheath area when the UFO is in the non-full body state. Some cases suggest these even may be visible in the full body state when the full body emission wavelengths are sufficiently different from those near these localized sources. On the other hand, they may also represent random or sporadic lasing of specific areas of the sheath under certain conditions of energy emission or local plasma state. I am skeptical that these represent lighting in the sense of our aircraft lighting. I am further skeptical that most if not all of the luminosity represents a by product of a propulsion system, since UFOs clearly can fly while in the completely darkened state. Thus, I suspect, that these are manifestations of an air sheath for ensuring laminar flow over the UFO body at high speeds.

One other interesting point - a few UFO photos show small detached points and elongated spikes of luminosity. It is possible that these represent the reaction of moisture with the electrical and magnetic field of the sheath.

I also consider it possible that UFO luminosity represents a laser-type phenomenon, in the sense that an energy population inversion might be necessary to allow UFO luminosity to propagate from the base to the edge of the sheath. I am currently attempting to find some mathematical tools which will allow me to calculate some related information:

The amount of energy needed to create a luminous plasma at various densities and pressures from atmospheric gases.

What controls the ability of photons to make it from the inside of the plasma to the outside and how can we interpret limb darkening in an attempt to derive the density of the UFO sheath.

Comments and suggestions are welcomed by the author.

Detailed Studies

• Luminosity near the UFO surface - a detailed description of the Tulsa image.

• Other luminous structures in UFO photos.

• The Belgian sightings of 1989-1990 included an incident (Petit-Rechain) which resulted in a single photo that shows some fascinating luminous structures at the points of a triangular object.

• The Robert Campbell photos from August 2, 1965 show the ejection of luminous material from a UFO.

Non-Photographic Cases With Special Luminosity Observations

Footnotes

1. Thanks to Kevan Farmer for putting the question which prompted this summary. Thanks to John Sheldon for asking questions which caused a major revision and elaboration of this material.