Original subtitles

Narrator: worldwide, 300 Million surveillance cameras

Are watching us.

On our streets... At work...

And in our homes.

They capture things that seem impossible.

It defies the laws of physics.

Man: what is... It's unbelievable, man.

Narrator: experts carry Out forensic analysis

Of these unusual events.

There's got to be some Explanation for what's going on.

[ screaming ]

Narrator: terrifying Explosions rock new york city.

Man #2: whoa [bleep]

I had this overwhelming impression

That the city could kill me at any time.

Narrator: a cop spots a strange beast

Prowling the dense forest.

If this is a wild creature,

It's not like anything You'd expect to find up here.

Narrator: surveillance cameras Track an unidentified object

Flying into an active volcano.

We have an honest-to-god mystery.

Narrator: and skycams Capture a sinister lightbeam,

Unknown to science.

This is a really bizarre light Phenomenon in the night sky.

The question really is, what is it?

[ camera shutter clicking ]

Narrator: bizarre phenomena.

Mysteries caught on surveillance.

What's the truth behind This "Strange evidence"?

Terror on a new york city sidewalk.

[ car alarm blaring ]

It's a ticking timebomb.

You don't know where the Next explosion's going to happen.

Narrator: analysts fear A coordinated attack.

Man #2: whoa [bleep]

Somebody could have been killed here.

Was it an accident, or was it intentional?

[ woman gasps ]

Narrator: new york city, january 19, 2004.

A winter day like any other...

Freezing temperatures bring An eerie silence to the city.

Then, surveillance cameras Capture a terrifying event.

A two-ton parked Vehicle blasts into the air.

New yorkers fear a strike by terrorists.

An explosion? A bomb? Some Kind of terrorist attack?

The mob? A mob hit? Somebody's been pipe-bombed?

Something potentially Fatal has just happened

In the middle of this empty... Otherwise calm... City street.

[ car alarm blaring ]

Coming out of 9/11, new york city...

It's a target place.

The first thing that comes To mind, "Is this an attack",

"What is the danger", "Where is it coming from".

Narrator: sian proctor is a Geologist of over 10 years.

She studies volatile natural Forces deep beneath the ground.

Proctor believes the blast direction

Captured in the footage May rule out terrorism.

If it was a car bomb, for instance,

You would expect the car To explode from inside-out.

♪♪

But what happens is that it's Propelled over onto its side.

So there's something else That could be going on here.

Narrator: proctor thinks The source of the explosion

Could come from underground.

If the car is over a manhole cover,

And then there was an explosion from below,

Then that's going to not only push

That manhole cover out and out,

But it's also going to propel the car over.

[ car alarm blaring ]

Narrator: a single blast Like this is bad enough.

But this is just one of Many manhole explosions

That have struck new york.

♪♪

Doorman jim quinn is all too familiar

With the terror of the blasts.

Manhole covers... I've seen a couple go up.

The worst manhole explosion I've seen

Was at east 71st street and second avenue.

I saw people looking.

I could see smoke coming up Out of one of the manholes.

When it blew, there was so much stuff.

They go up a couple of stories high,

And if you're underneath When it comes down,

It'll hit you and more Than likely kill you.

Narrator: washington and Rector, november 2, 2013.

Man #2: whoa [bleep]

Narrator: this manhole Missile shuts down the block.

-wow! -damn!

Ninth avenue, august 15, 2015.

[ woman gasps ]

Narrator: a 300-pound Manhole blasts sky-high,

Narrowly missing traffic.

Thousands of manhole Explosions rock the city every year.

Man #2: whoa [bleep]

Narrator: these blasts blow Out windows, trigger fires,

And even injure pedestrians.

Whatever's causing the manhole explosions,

It's powerful enough to Shoot a vehicle sideways.

A car weighs a few thousand Pounds... So to flip it over,

It takes a few thousand pounds Of thrust up out of the ground.

Narrator: forensic analysis reveals

The manhole cover hits the car

With the force of a small missile.

A cross-check confirms Similar explosive forces

Registering across the city.

The blasts must be connected somehow.

Material scientist matthew mcdowell

Studies the footage.

He suspects the force behind this explosion

Could come from the sewer system.

Down in a sewer, you may Have a lot of commercial

And household waste that can decompose

And create these flammable gases,

Like methane,

Which can lead to potentially Combustible situations.

It's entirely possible, and Not difficult to imagine,

That this particular explosion was caused

By a pocket of gas igniting.

♪♪

Narrator: but gas doesn't Just spontaneously explode.

There needs to be some sort of trigger.

So we need to figure out What that trigger could be.

Narrator: valuable clues Lie in dramatic footage

From around the world.

This man in china has no idea

How dangerous throwing A match in a sewer can be.

♪♪

♪♪

Matthew mcdowell suspects something similar

May be happening in new york.

Somebody could have thrown A cigarette down the sewer.

Somebody could have thrown A firework down there...

Maybe shot a bullet down there.

Who knows?

Narrator: if that's the case, The surveillance tape

Should have captured the Perpetrator red-handed.

If you look in the video,

There's nobody near That source of explosion.

And so it's not like someone Dropped a cigarette down there.

There has to be something else going on.

[ car alarm blaring ]

Narrator: matthew mcdowell Analyzes the weather in the footage.

He believes the winter conditions

May help explain the explosion.

It's snowy... It's wintertime.

And in wintertime, we put salt On the roads to melt the snow.

Narrator: saltwater is highly corrosive.

And that's a major problem in this city.

New york has over 95,000 miles of live cables

Under it's streets...

The largest underground System in the world.

Well, that saltwater will Creep down into the system,

Touch those electrical wires,

Corrode the wrapping around them,

And expose them.

Narrator: these corroded cables smolder,

Releasing dangerously explosive gasses.

The pressure from these escaping Gasses builds up in the manhole.

Now all that's needed is a trigger.

[ car alarm blaring ]

♪♪

Coming up...

A terrifying creature lurks in the woods.

-what the [bleep]! -whoa! Did you see that?

An eerie light source That's new to science.

Oh, my god! This is amazing.

Narrator: can investigators Discover what sparking the blast

In new york city?

Boom!

Man #2: whoa [bleep]

Bro, look at this!

Wow!

[ car alarm blaring ]

Man #2: whoa [bleep]

Narrator: new york city is under threat

From a series of violent Manhole explosions.

[ woman gasps ]

Experts suspect damaged Cables running beneath the city

Are releasing dangerous, flammable gases...

A lethal cocktail.

What happens with exposed wires is that

If the come into contact with each other,

You can create a spark.

Narrator: sian proctor wants To test if this chain of events

Can cause the catastrophic explosions.

Okay, so what we're looking at here

Is a re-creation of new york city streets.

And of course we've got our Manhole covers right here.

And so what we can do is re-create

What happened in the video

By first adding some fuel.

Narrator: she releases a gas Similar to that generated

By the corroded cables.

Next, a spark replicates The exposed wires touching.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Wow!

Proctor: you have all of Your electrical lines

That are being corroded by saltwater,

Creating this deadly combination.

And when it comes together... Boom!

Manhole explosion.

Man: whoa [bleep]

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: authorities are Racing to replace and insulate

New york's damaged cables.

But with thousands of miles Of wiring under the city streets,

It's only a matter of time

Before another manhole Turns into a missile.

[ woman gasps ]

[ camera whirs ]

♪♪

[ police radio chatter ]

A remote stretch of highway

Deep in the forests of north georgia,

A local cop's dashcam Captures something creepy.

-what the [bleep] -what was that?

-did you see that? -yeah.

A creature darts across the road.

If this is a wild creature,

It's not like anything You'd expect to find up here.

Alexander: that was on two feet, wasn't it?

Woman: yeah.

It does appear to be something.

And it appears to be sizeable.

People call it "Bigfoot".

Narrator: lumpkin county, Georgia, may 15, 2009.

♪♪

Deputy sheriff tj alexander patrols

The ghostly chattahoochee Forest late at night.

Even on a full-moon night, it's Definitely pretty hard to see.

The only light was the light From the patrol car headlight.

It's definitely an area you Probably don't want to be in...

Around at night, on foot, especially.

'cause anything can happen out there.

Narrator: riding shotgun...

A local resident on a fact-finding mission.

Alexander: we were just kind Of talking and just kind of,

You know just shooting the breeze.

They're liable to shoot first,

Ask questions after they've got your body.

All of a sudden, this dark, hairy figure

Runs across the highway in front of me.

What the [bleep]

-what was that? -did you see that?

It runs across the road So fast and out of sight

That it's like it knows the road

And the area like the back of its hand.

My emotions went wild at that point

'cause I didn't know what this was.

Woman: what the heck was that?

That was out two feet, wasn't it?

Yeah.

I thought I was seeing things, actually.

Oh, my goodness.

Please tell me we got that on video.

My first instinct was It's definitely an animal,

But the strange thing was,

It seemed to be running across the highway

At a high speed on its back legs.

♪♪

Narrator: tj races after the animal.

I even hit the accelerator A little too hard

To get back to the spot where I saw

That object go down to the woodline there.

Do you see anything down there?

Mnh-mnh.

[ gasps ] Yes!

The passenger said that She was seeing the object

Down there swaying side to side.

Did you see that? I'm not crazy.

I seen something, didn't you?

Heck yeah, I saw it.

Narrator: tj heads into the forest,

Searching for any sign of the creature.

Alexander: I was not able to see Or hear anything at that point.

It appears that it was gone.

♪♪

Narrator: tj downloads the footage

Back at the sheriff's office.

Analysis of the dashcam Tape reveals the creature

Appears to be taller Than the average human,

And is running fast.

Alexander: we've run Across a lot of incidents

In law enforcement.

I was kind of scared

Because I didn't know What I was dealing with.

So I had to investigate further.

Narrator: coming up...

An unidentified object Flies into a volcano.

Whatever this object is Seemingly comes straight

For that very dangerous spot.

Narrator: and investigators Unravel the mystery

Behind the night walker caught on camera.

I've never seen anything like That run in front of the road.

Narrator: experts are trying To identify a mysterious beast

Caught on a cop's dashcam.

-what was that? -did you see that?

Woman: yes!

Investigator joe nickell Analyzes the footage.

He believes the creature's irregular gait

Could hold a clue.

When we slow down the Action... It's moving very fast,

It's probably on all fours,

It's scrambling, it stands almost up,

And then it drops to all fours Again before disappearing.

This would argue for a bear.

Narrator: it's a logical theory

Because bears are often seen in the area.

Local explorer matt pruitt studies bears

And their habitats.

I mean, black bear would Be the obvious candidate

Because this area's Loaded with black bears.

So it's not unusual for motorists

To see black bears crossing the roads.

Narrator: black bears Normally walk on all fours.

But the creature in the footage

Appears to walk upright, as well.

There's evidence bears do occasionally walk

On their hind legs.

There's a famous animal in New jersey, nicknamed "Pedals",

That used to walk around On two legs all the time.

Narrator: but for pruitt, there Is something about this speed

That this creature moves at that Puts the "Bear theory" in doubt.

The individual in the Footage seems to cover a lot

Of ground very quickly.

And it does that by Taking very long strides.

For something like a black bear...

If it were a walking bi-pedally,

It would take many short steps To cross that same distance.

So you can rule out a Black bear by the stride

And the speed at which It covers that highway.

Narrator: some propose an Entirely different candidate...

One better able to take big strides.

Kays: our close cousin, The apes, are better adapted

At walking around on two Legs than bears are, for example.

And gorillas in particular, Are big and black and hairy.

So could this be a gorilla?

Narrator: it's not as bizarre as it sounds.

Local historian jeffrey Wells considers if an ape

Could be loose in the wilds of georgia.

Well, of course gorillas and primates

Don't inhabit that part of north georgia

Or any part of georgia indigenously.

I do know there is a primate conservatory

There in that area, and There's a zoo in atlanta.

It could be that maybe the Individual in this footage

Is an escaped one of those gorillas.

Narrator: if it's true, this Wouldn't be the first time

An ape has gone on the rampage.

In 2000, tourists are evacuated When a gorilla escapes

Its enclosure at the los angeles zoo.

Pruitt checks the records For any ape breakouts.

There's no stories in the media

About any having escaped From a nearby haven,

Which there is.

Narrator: yet something about The creature's appearance raises

A tantalizing possibility for pruitt.

I am intimately aware of Sightings and observations

Of another potentially bi-pedal ape

That lives in northeast georgia.

[ creature growls ]

♪♪

Narrator: pruitt first encounters This elusive creature

At the age of 17.

Pruitt: some friends and I Went to explore this place,

And we start hearing These things following us

On either side... Very dense forest.

You could hear huge Branches getting snapped

And ripped off trees

And then being hit against The trunks of trees.

Then there were these kind Of menacing huffs and screams.

And a huge tree came down.

Narrator: what he sees next terrifies him.

Pruitt: in that moment, you can clearly see

Two big, almond-shaped, reflective eyes

That close and look away.

Narrator: pruitt believes He came face-to-face

With the legendary bigfoot.

Bigfoot is typically described

As being at least seven foot tall,

Walks upright, it's covered in dark hair.

It walks like a man, has Ape-like characteristics...

Yet is something completely Unknown to science.

Narrator: scientists haven't Cataloged every species

On the planet.

There are gaps in the records.

For example, in 2014, the Carcass of a dead whale

Washed up on st. George island in alaska.

And it was discovered that this was

A completely new species of whale...

Unknown to science before that.

Narrator: lyle blackburn Believes it's possible

That bigfoot could be one Of the unconfirmed species.

It's not impossible for a creature

That is above-average intelligence

That wishes to remain elusive Could exist in remote areas

And be undiscovered.

Narrator: the dashcam footage May be the smoking gun

That proves bigfoot exists.

♪♪

But local sheriff stacy Jarrard isn't convinced.

He returns to the scene to Search for physical evidence.

There was some fresh Tracks around this location.

And in this circle area here,

There was actually some Old and new beer cans.

And the beer cans told me That it was humans that was here,

Not an animal.

I had actually made the Comment to the patrol commander,

"If this was bigfoot,

Then bigfoot likes this brand of beer".

Jarrard expands the search radius.

He reaches a cluster of houses

And spots a couple of Students goofing around.

The sheriff takes a closer look...

A large fur object lies in the front yard.

They had thought it was a fun gag,

And they had been doing it a few nights.

And they discussed that with me.

They confessed to having the costume,

And stated that it would happen no more.

And we have had no more Sightings of bigfoot since.

Narrator: this time, it may not be bigfoot,

But some still believe the Elusive creature of legend

Is out there, just waiting to be found.

The search goes on.

♪♪

Pruitt: [ yelling ]

Narrator: coming up...

A bizarre object nosedives into a volcano.

What would possibly want to Cut closer to an active volcano?

Narrator: and scientists investigate

A sinister beam of light

Streaking across the northern skies.

Oh, my god! This is amazing.

It's something very, very different.

Narrator: surveillance cameras capture

A ufo in the mountains of mexico.

It's plunging into the Mouth of an active volcano.

[ indistinct radio chatter ]

What would be disappearing Into the volcano?

I can't imagine anything really on earth

That could withstand that heat.

You see a lot of lights in the sky.

Most of the time, you can explain it.

This time, we can't.

♪♪

Narrator: mexico city...

One of the world's most Densely populated centers.

Over 20 million people live here

In the shadow of a deadly volcano...

Popocatepetl.

♪♪

Volcanologist julia roberge monitors

The volcano's eruptions Of molten rock and ash.

Ash is made of glass.

So when there's ash emission,

We do need to take care of the population

Surrounding the volcano,

And make sure they don't Breathe too much ash.

What makes popocatepetl so particular

Is that it's de-gassing every day.

Narrator: this constant Threat means the volcano

Is under surveillance 24/7.

May 30, 2013, the volcano Is unusually quiet.

8:30 p.M., cameras record A strange glowing object

Racing towards the broiling inferno.

What would possibly want to Cut closer to an active volcano?

Narrator: stranger still, It appears to plunge

Into the volcano's smoldering interior.

It looks like it's changing to Go directly into the volcano.

I can't imagine anything really on earth

That could withstand that heat.

Narrator: the footage triggers A storm of speculation.

Some suspect this is evidence Of extraterrestrial activity.

It's not the first time people have spotted

Mysterious lights around this volcano.

Others question that the Footage is even genuine.

It's highly compressed, nighttime video,

But it's also pixilated.

So this could easily be faked.

Narrator: yet forensic analysis Reveals no evidence of tampering

With the footage.

The intriguing thing about This footage is that it is real...

It's not a hoax.

Something seems to be Flying over that volcano,

And we don't know what it is.

Narrator: experts face the possibility

That this could be a genuine ufo.

But closer inspection Of the footage reveals

That the object may be Something closer to home.

Mankind has been exploring Space for long enough

To have left a lot of junk up there.

Anything that's left In orbit will eventually

Get closer and closer and closer to earth.

Narrator: there are more Than half a million pieces

Of space junk orbiting the earth.

Sometimes, their orbit decays...

Most of them burn up on re-entry.

But if a piece of junk is large Enough, it falls to earth.

Man #3: oh, wow.

They come in very, very hot And maybe that could explain

What's going on in this video.

Narrator: speed-tracking analysis reveals

The object could be traveling As fast as 600 miles an hour.

♪♪

But incoming material from Space hurdles toward the ground

25 times faster.

♪♪

Local investigator carlos clemente

Has been monitoring abnormal activity

Around the volcano for 30 years.

He searches the surveillance Footage, frame by frame,

And notices a vital clue

In the movement of the object Halfway through the clip.

If clemete is right, the Strange light is flying...

Not falling...

Meaning something or Someone must be controlling it.

Image analyst mick west Believes this distinctive movement

Means only one thing.

It looks like a plane, It acts like a plane,

It's moving like a plane.

So the simplest explanation Is that it's a plane.

Narrator: further investigation Reveals an airport

Just 40 miles from the volcano.

Over 200 flights takeoff And land at puebla airport

Every day.

But it's difficult to Imagine a pilot would fly

So close to an active volcano.

You wouldn't want to be Flying in an area that is hot,

That has ash coming out of it...

It's a very dangerous place to fly.

Experts consider the Possibility an air tragedy

Is unfolding before their eyes.

Since the object seems To have changed direction,

You have to ask "Is it a manned airplane?"

And "Did it crash?"

If a plane did fly too Close to the volcano,

Roberge knows it would Be fatal for all on board.

Roberge: this is the edge of the crater.

If there's lava coming Out, the lava comes out

At 700-900 degrees celsius.

The gas looks like it's coming Out super slow... Slow motion.

But actually, it's coming out like a jet.

And it's very hot, too.

So it's impossible that Anything comes inside of this

And land inside of this.

Narrator: what's more, International air regulations

Demand that missing Aircraft must be reported.

There's just no information To back that up right now.

The idea that some manned aircraft

Crashed on the side of this volcano

That night is extremely remote.

Narrator: coming up...

A sinister light beam in the night sky.

I thought it was an Airplane contrail at first.

It was something very, very different.

Narrator: and investigators Realize all is not as it seems

In the volcano surveillance tape.

Whatever this object is, seemingly,

Comes straight for That very dangerous spot.

Narrator: scientists are trying To identify the bizarre object

On a nosedive into an active volcano.

Physicist simon foster Of imperial college london

Reviews the surveillance footage.

He suspects the craft's path Is not as it seems on the tape.

One of the key factors in this footage

Is you've got something very bright

Against something very dark,

And that makes it very easy For the eye to be tricked.

Narrator: foster builds a model Of the popocatepetl volcano

And the unidentified Object to test out a theory.

We've basically got a children's toy

That can run the ball along.

And we've got a volcano here,

Which is going to provide the horizon.

Narrator: he believes his rig will Show how the mystery craft

Is really moving.

Now, as we set our ball off,

You'll see it going along the Track and disappearing off.

And from that point of perspective

It will appear to Disappear into the volcano,

Even though it's just Running off onto the horizon.

♪♪

Narrator: foster's experiment demonstrates

How an observer's viewing perspective

Creates an illusion.

It looks like the craft is Plunging into the crater,

When in reality, it's Flying around the volcano.

And with an international Airport 40 miles away,

Foster believes he's hit upon The most likely explanation.

The scientific evidence Appears overwhelming.

The aircraft is not a Visitor from outer space,

But there are those for Whom the jury's still out

When it comes to what Kind of craft it could be.

♪♪

A sinister apparition Looms in the dead of night.

Woman #2: oh, my god!

Narrator: cameras capture A mysterious being streaking

Across the northern skies.

Ratzliff: the weirdest was Really where it was in the sky,

Reaching all the way across From horizon to horizon...

An unusual thing to see.

Narrator: nobody knows what it is

Or why it's here.

This is a really bizarre light Phenomenon in the night sky.

The question really is, what is it?

[ camera whirs ]

Narrator: alberta, canada, august 28, 2014.

Photographer chris ratzliff heads out

For a night under the stars.

His mission... To capture a spectacular,

Cosmic lightshow... The aurora borealis.

It's a patient man's Game, and when... If...

The aurora shows up, You'll be looking at the sky

And "Oh, my god, this is amazing".

You'll be very excited ...And then it'll die.

Then you start watching the data again,

Hoping that you'll get another gust of wind

That'll kick the aurora up again.

Narrator: the aurora is a well-studied

And understood phenomenon.

But three hours into his night watch,

Ratzliff's camera captures something else

That's out of this world.

Then I saw this very, very faint Light spreading across the sky.

It was something very, very different,

And very, very pink... Pink, very light purple.

Narrator: ratzliff considers what

This weird illumination could be.

I thought it was an Airplane contrail at first.

I took a picture of it,

And I could see that it was lit up.

Narrator: but contrails from airplanes

Don't usually show up at night.

And whatever this beam is, It's generating it's own light.

♪♪

Ratzliff shares his images With the aurora chasers...

A social-media group of amateur Photographers and sky watchers.

They turn their cameras To the northern skies,

Hoping to capture the unfamiliar beam.

Ratzliff: we started Photographing it a lot.

What we saw was Stretching quite separate...

Quite itself from the aurora.

Very distinct, very narrow ...Not rippling across the sky

In the way that aurora normally would.

Narrator: ratzliff may have stumbled

On a bizarre new feature Of the northern lights.

But the eerie light source

Could be something much more threatening.

♪♪

Narrator: photographer chris ratzliff

Discovers an alien column Of light in the night sky.

He has no idea what he's captured on film,

Or if it poses a threat.

Scientists don't even have A name for the lightbeam.

Ratzliff comes up with his own.

Ratzliff: I'm a little bit sarcastic...

I'm a little bit facetious sometimes.

And I said, "Well, let's call it 'steve'".

Narrator: ratzliff posts The footage online,

Sending scientists into A frenzy of speculation.

Ratzliff: it was pretty exciting.

The rest of the world Started to pick up on it,

And then the story went kind Of a little bit crazy after that.

Narrator: many believe the eerie light

Could be an unknown energy source

Within the aurora borealis.

Physicist jonathan nichols

Of the university of leicester england

Is a 20-year veteran of aurora research.

He's built a rig replicating How the sun's energy

Triggers the northern lights

As it hits the earth's magnetic field.

We've got big bowl, which is the sun...

A small ball, which is the earth...

And that has a magnet inside of it.

Now the sun throws out Not only heat and light,

But also something called the solar wind,

Which is a stream of charged particles

Which flows away from The sun in all directions.

It's about a million miles an hour.

Narrator: when charged particles From the solar wind collide

With oxygen and nitrogen In the earth's atmosphere,

They release energy as colored light.

We can simulate that in this Jar by putting a voltage...

About 300 volts... Between The earth and the sun.

And you can see the effect...

They get deflected to The north and the south.

And you end up with two,

Glowing patches high up in the atmosphere.

Narrator: nichols' experiment Mimics the aurora,

But it doesn't create Chris ratzliff's lightbeam.

Astronomer vivian white Examines the footage.

She's studied the aurora for over 15 years.

She notices something about the Shape of the strange phenomenon.

White: so while the two Phenomena look quite similar,

The aurora borealis, if you notice,

Has a bit of a different Look in that its wavy,

Kind of curtains of light,

While this is more of a column of light.

It was very quiet compared to the aurora...

The aurora moves a lot...

This was very stable, Very still, if you will.

Narrator: some suggest it may Be another type of aurora,

Called the "Proton arc",

A rare phenomenon usually only Visible under ultraviolet light.

Experts at the university of Calgary analyze the footage.

They notice something about The intensity and shape of "Steve".

It was very immediate for me, you know,

When I saw the photograph... It took me, like, a nanosecond.

Well, that's not proton aurora...

Like, it's not...

It's too bright, it's too narrow.

A proton arc is going To be a very, very wide,

Fuzzy green thing...

Greenspace in front of the main aurora,

It's probably not even Visible to the naked eye.

Narrator: if a proton arc is Only visible in the uv spectrum,

Then "Steve" has to be something else.

That didn't mean I knew what it was,

But I certainly knew what it wasn't.

Narrator: eric donovan gathers More data to figure out

If "Steve" could be dangerous.

He turns to the european Space agency mission... Swarm...

That's studying the earth's magnetic field,

The shield that protects us From the sun's deadly radiation.

Right now, this cosmic defense System is getting weaker,

Scientists believe, as a result,

The earth's poles could Flip sooner than expected.

Swarm's satellites Collect vital information

On magnetic signals from The earth's core, crust,

And oceans along with the upper atmosphere.

Donovan: so there's three of them...

They orbit the earth every hour and a half,

And they go from, you know, south to north,

Or north to south.

Narrator: donovan gambles That the satellites

Will fly through "Steve"

At the very same moment That ratzliff is imaging it.

This combined data will Help establish what "Steve" is.

He reached out to our community and said

"Did you guys see anything this night".

And a few people from The community responded,

"Yeah, we did, and here's A photograph of it".

Narrator: donovan's in luck.

It just so happened that the Satellites had flown through

During the time we were imaging it.

And that was really... That was...

I've worked it out, it was a 1 in 20 chance

That that would happen.

Narrator: donovan taps into Swarm's magnetic field data.

He discovers "Steve" is a strip Of gas tearing across the sky

At over 13,000 miles an hour...

Faster than a ballistic missile.

He measures it at 16 miles Wide, and 1,500 miles long.

If you were to imagine somebody in space

Drew with a narrow tip, purple magic marker

All the way from hudson bay to alaska...

That's what this thing Would look like from space.

Narrator: heat sensors On board the satellites

Record temperatures off the scale.

The gases inside "Steve" are as Hot as the surface of the sun...

Over 10,000 degrees.

Donovan suspects this intense heat

May explain "Steve" 's purple coloring.

This is possibly some chemistry,

Which is cooked up by the very Fast-moving and very hot gas.

Narrator: experts now know That "Steve" is a new phenomenon

In the night sky.

But they're a long way from understanding

How and why it forms.

No one can say if this Light from the heavens

Is simply a magical display,

Or a warning thunderbolt from nature.

It's really part of the joy of astronomy...

That there's so much that we don't know...

That this is a new phenomena,

But we know very little about it,

And we have a lot to learn.