Hessdalen AMS

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Hessdalen AMS is the abbreviation for Hessdalen Automatic Measurement Station (automatic measurement station Hessdalen).

It is a station that has been working automatically since August 7, 1998 for the registration of unidentified, floating light phenomena near the Hessdalen mountain valley in Norway, the so-called Hessdalen lights . The station is equipped with several cameras and optical devices, a magnetometer , a weather station and sensors for electromagnetic radiation . The station is operated by the Østfold University .

The nature and origin of the Hessdalen phenomenon are still the subject of controversial discussions and, despite several years of research, have not yet been clarified.

background

In December 1981 unusual light phenomena were first seen in the Hessdalen area. According to the reports, the lights could hover slowly, stop, stand still for up to an hour, and accelerate to high speeds.

The lights were seen in different places: high in the sky, close to the ground, over houses, but mostly over mountains or in their vicinity. Descriptions and photos showed that the lights can take on different shapes and colors.

Investigations

Project Hessdalen (1983–1985)

To investigate the phenomenon, the Hessdalen project was founded in 1983 by Erling P. Strand, a graduate engineer for electrical engineering.

Strand coordinated the approximately 35 field investigators on site who carried out the observations and measurements. The aim of the project was to observe the objects and record them with technical devices such as cameras, radar , lasers , infrared devices and magnetometers in order to learn more about the nature of the phenomenon. The first observation phase took place from January 21 to February 26, 1984. A second phase in 1985 was unsuccessful due to difficult weather.

The project was supported by the Norwegian Defense Research Association ( Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt ) with technical equipment. Various universities and individuals were involved through advice and analysis. Contributors included O. Andreassen from the Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Jan Egeland from the Institute of Physics at the University of Oslo , J. Havskov from the Institute for Solid State Physics at the University of Bergen , J. Allen Hynek from the Astronomical Faculty at Northwestern University , JA Tellefsen from the Royal Stockholm Technical University and Harley D. Rutledge from the University of Missouri .

The result of the observations were 188 unusual sightings, of which 53 (corresponding to 28%) were not identified and classified as the "Hessdalen phenomenon". These include two sightings in which the objects behave extremely unusually with very good data. In addition to visual perception, the objects could also be detected with radar and laser, other devices provided no or inconclusive results. A conclusive explanation for the Hessdalen phenomenon could not be found, but this was not in the foreground either, but the collection of reliable data.

New Project Hessdalen (from 1995)

In 1994, ten years after the completion of Project Hessdalen , the first international workshop on unidentified atmospheric light phenomena was held in Hessdalen ( First International Workshop on the Unidentified Atmospheric Light Phenomena in Hessdalen ). 27 scientists from eight countries took part, mainly specialists in ball lightning phenomena . The workshop concluded with the result that the Hessdalen phenomenon was not about ball lightning and that the phenomenon could not be clarified with the current models. It was encouraged to further deepen the research and collect more data. As a result, the New Project Hessdalen was founded in 1995 by the Østfold University , again under the direction of Erling P. Strand. The main work of the project consisted of developing an automatic measuring station, monitoring it and evaluating the data. The Hessdalen Automatic Measurement Station , completed in 1998, is the result of this project.

EMBLA project (1999-2004)

The EMBLA project was launched in 1999 by an Italian team of scientists. The project was financed by the Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bologna ( Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna , IRA) and the Østfold University. EMBLA was to continue the Hessdalen project and investigate the phenomenon with modern equipment. The project was led by Ph.D. Massimo Teodorani, astrophysicist at the Institute of Radio Astronomy, and Gloria Nobili, physicist at the University of Bologna .

In several weeks of observation phases from 2000 to 2004, the researchers were able to confirm the data from the Hessdalen project and repeatedly document the sighting of unidentifiable atmospheric light phenomena. The EMBLA project could not provide an explanation for the phenomenon either. In the document EMBLA 2002 - An Optical and Ground Survey in Hessdalen , the authors speculate about the possibility of atmospheric plasma as the origin of the phenomenon, as well as about extraterrestrial intelligence or simple fraud. However, none of the theories are convincing. The authors consider it very difficult to make further progress in research unless significantly larger resources are available for the investigation.

In 2013, researchers at the Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bologna published the hypothesis that the phenomenon was ionized gas (plasma). Clouds of ions and electrons would arise over the valley and give off their energy in the form of light. The electricity required for ionization would be generated by the special geology of the valley. The zinc- and iron-containing rock on one side and the copper-rich rock on the other side of the valley, as well as sulphurous waters that connect the halves of the valley, would create a kind of "natural battery". The head of the Hessdalen AMS, Erling P. Strand, welcomes the hypothesis, but also sees weaknesses. The places of the appearance of the light phenomena do not correlate with the "battery hypothesis" and it is "unlikely that such a weak electric field strength can lead to these lights". Further investigations are desirable to prove or disprove the thesis.

Criticism of the investigations

Skeptics like the physicist Matteo Leone from the University of Bari question the methods of Project Hessdalen and Project EMBLA . Leone doubts that the EMLA data prove a previously inexplicable phenomenon. He suspects that the sightings are merely car headlights on a nearby street and attributes the apparently correlating measurements to errors in the operation of the devices or evaluation of the data. However, Leone also acknowledges that photographs and eyewitness accounts prove the existence of a phenomenon.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MSc.EE. Erling Strand: Project Hessdalen 1984 - Final Technical Report / 1. Introduction. Project Hessdalen, accessed on August 22, 2009 .
  2. ↑ See table under Project Hessdalen 1984 - Final Technical Report / 3.1 The lights Two cases with 10 out of 10 points oddity and 9 out of 10 points data quality. (English, accessed August 22, 2009)
  3. ↑ Bjørn Gitle Hauge: 10 years of scientific research of the hessdalen Phenomena. (PDF; 550 kB) Italian Committee for Project Hessdalen, March 2004, accessed on October 18, 2009 (English): "no one were able to explain all of the artifacts with the phenomena"
  4. ↑ MSc.EE. Erling P. Strand: Project Hessdalen. Project Hessdalen, 2000, accessed on October 18, 2009 (English).
  5. ↑ Bjørn Gitle Hauge: 10 years of scientific research of the hessdalen Phenomena. (PDF; 550 kB) Italian Committee for Project Hessdalen, March 2004, accessed on October 18, 2009 (English).
  6. ↑ Massimo Teodorani, Gloria Nobili: EMBLA 2002 - An Optical and Ground Survey in Hessdalen. (PDF; 1.2 MB) EMBLA project, 2002, accessed on August 22, 2009 (English).
  7. ↑ E. Ansbro, et al .: SETV: opportunity for European initiative in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. @nasa ads, accessed August 2012
  8. ↑ Jader Monari, Stelio Montebugnoli, Romano Serra: Hessdalen - A Perfect "Natural Battery". (PDF; 3.8 MB) Italian Committee for Project Hessdalen, March 1, 2013, accessed on May 16, 2014 (English).
  9. ^ Matteo Leone: Questioning Answers on the Hessdalen Phenomenon. (PDF; 5.8 MB) (No longer available online.) Journal of Scientific Exploration, 2006, archived from the original on January 7, 2010 ; accessed on August 22, 2009 .

Coordinates: 62 ° 55 ′ 34 ″  N , 11 ° 8 ′ 42 ″  E