Original subtitles

Narrator: worldwide, six billion 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: Ah, this is unbelievable, man.

Narrator: experts carry out Forensic analysis

Of these unusual events.

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

Woman: [ screams ]

Narrator: coming up, Horror in the streets

As a city drowns in blood.

This could be the end of days.

Narrator: car munching Canines have started

Eating automobiles.

These dogs seem possessed.

They're just tearing That car apart.

Narrator: And the weird sound that is

Freaking out the world.

When you hear these Sounds your reaction is

This is something supernatural.

Narrator: bizarre phenomenon,

Mysteries caught On surveillance,

What's the truth behind this

Strange evidence?

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by Discovery communications

Narrator: Now, a gory tide of death.

It's horrifying, it looks Like a river of blood.

Narrator: as residents run For their lives...

Seems like the apocalypse.

Narrator: ...Experts fear It could already be too late.

It's like a biohazard On a mega scale.

♪♪

Narrator: Dhaka, capital of bangladesh.

A city with over 18 million In one of the most

Densely populated Areas of the world.

[ train whistle blows ]

Rates of violent crime, Murder, and terrorism

Make dhaka one of The most dangerous cities

In the world.

[ gunshots ]

September 13, 2016,

Student, amir hossain Heads home from college

But as he nears his house He's frozen to the spot

By a terrifying sight.

For hossain, the shocking Scene points to a terrifying

message from the heavens.

For many, It's an all too real

Version of scenes depicting Religious armageddon.

In the bible, the river nile In egypt turns to blood,

One of the 10 plagues Sent from god.

And in islam, the most awful Torment of hell is to swim

In a river of Blood for eternity.

they might be thinking, This could be the end of days.

it seems like the apocalypse.

Narrator: The sinister footage shocks

And mystifies scientists.

it's like someone severed An artery in dhaka.

Narrator: records show that this Isn't the first time

That blood has appeared On a city street.

In kerala, india in 2001 freak storms

Produced downpours Of blood red rain.

The bizarre rains fell across The state for two months.

Stranger still, In 2008 in la sierra, choco

A tiny village deep in The columbian jungle,

Locals reported a red Rainfall that lasted

For 30 minutes.

When scientists took Samples the shocking results

Revealed that it was Not rain, but blood.

It remains a mystery that 200 residents of the village

Are convinced they Witnessed a genuine miracle.

♪♪

Chemist, kishore hari Analyzes the dhaka footage.

He finds it almost Impossible to believe

That it's really blood Pouring through the city.

He suspects the intense Color of the red liquid

May point to a catastrophic Industrial accident.

we never see this Much color in water,

particularly this reddish color.

The only time I've ever seen this before

Is when there's been A chemical plant spill.

Narrator: kolontar, hungary, October 2010.

An aluminum plant's Toxic waste dam fails

Releasing a red tidal wave.

The high iron oxide Content gives the pollution

A blood red color.

And sodium oxide Causes chemical burns.

Hundreds flee as The flood engulfs three towns

Leaving eight dead and over 120 injured in its wake.

Unfortunately, in human history

We've had numerous Chemical leaks

Causing devastation For generations

And this may be no different.

Narrator: A check of records reveals

One industry in the city With a history of creating

Huge amounts of toxic waste.

It turns out that dhaka

Does have a leather Tanning industry.

So you've got the hides of Animals that are processed

And turned into leather.

It's a tremendously Polluting industry.

Narrator: the city's tanning Industry creates around

Three quarters of A million cubic feet

Of toxic waste every day.

That's enough to fill eight Olympic swimming pools

And within all this toxic waste Is a killer chemical agent.

Arsenic, deadly arsenic.

Narrator: Arsenic attacks the body's cells

Leading to multiple organ Failure, hemorrhaging,

And agonizing death.

Difficult to detect, It became the poison of choice

For murderers in Victorian britain,

With a third Of all poisoning cases

Involving arsenic,

And that's just The murders that came to trial.

In dhaka, if this flood Contains high levels of arsenic

Millions of people Could be at risk.

We are looking at Poisons being released

Right into the heart Of an urban center.

Narrator: It's not just arsenic released

From tanning factories That's a problem.

The chemical exists in The groundwater in dhaka

And in many countries worldwide,

Including the united states.

According to the u.S. Environmental protection agency

Drinking water from Private, unlicensed wells

May be endangering 13 million americans

Even at low doses.

Over time, arsenic is Linked to heart disease

And cancers of The skin and lungs.

But when kishore hari Discovers images

Of the blood red Waters taken two days

After the original footage He spots a vital new clue.

It seems like The color is changing.

Slowly transitioning From a bright red

Into kind of a duller, Almost rusty red color.

Narrator: It's a shocking discovery.

One that means hari must Concede that everyone's

Worst fears have been realized.

This is real blood in the water.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up, Why are these dogs

Tearing a car to pieces?

Man's best friend, they can Also be time bombs on legs.

♪♪

Narrator: California residents are hit by

A weird wave of energy

As a mysterious hole Appears in the sky.

It looks like The alien mothership is

About to descend Through the clouds.

Narrator: And experts race to figure out

Why this streets of dhaka Are running red with blood.

Is it human blood?

♪♪

Narrator: a crimson tide is Drowning dhaka,

One of the worlds Most dangerous cities.

New images of the flood Showing the liquid

Changing from red to brown

Convinces chemist, kishore hari Of a horrifying truth.

this is real blood In the water,

because over time it oxidizes,

Changing from that bright red

When you first get that Cut and see the blood,

To more of a rusty color.

Narrator: Science journalist, jeff wise

Investigates where This river of blood

Might've come from.

He examines The date of the video.

Could there by any Link with islam?

In particular a muslim Ritualistic festival

Called, eid al-adha, also known

As the feast of the sacrifice.

the feast of the sacrifice Commemorates how abraham

was asked by god to Sacrifice his son

And so every year in Celebration of this

The worshipers will Sacrifice an animal.

In the course of doing this

A tremendous amount Of blood is generated.

Narrator: But it would take not one,

But countless Slaughtered animals

To drown a city in blood.

It's horrifying, this is A literal river of blood.

♪♪

Narrator: animal sacrifices On a huge scale

Are reported in other Parts of the world.

In nepal, the world's Largest mass slaughter

Takes place every five Years in gratitude

To the hindu goddess, gadhimai.

In 2009, over half A million buffalo, goats,

And chickens were decapitated.

Five million people Traveled to witness

The two-day bloody ritual.

The practice of animal sacrifice

Even reaches suburban america.

In san antonio texas In march 2018,

12 people were arrested After neighbors witnessed

The group dismembering Animals with knives.

In dhaka, it transpires That no fewer than

100,000 cows, goats and sheep Have their throats slit

And are dismembered.

Countless gallons of Blood are spilled.

Unfortunately, There was a sewer back up

So that blood flowed Out into the streets

And gave us this Brilliant red color

Flowing through the streets.

Narrator: but amir hossain, Who is witnessed

Many other muslim sacrifices

Believes the blood on The street is an ill omen.

Narrator: now, packs of car Eating dogs terrorize locals.

These dogs seem possessed.

They're just tearing That car apart.

Narrator: some fear this Ferocious attack is personal.

Maybe these dogs Are exacting revenge

On someone that they Really don't like.

♪♪

Narrator: october 2016,

Sakarya, turkey, 8 a.M.

In the middle of The city mechanic cem acar

Arrives at work.

He checks surveillance footage

Showing the previous Night's activity.

At first everything Is quiet, but then,

Acar can't believe what he sees.

[ dogs barking ]

The crazed animals cause Thousands of dollars in damage

To acar's car.

Experts are shocked

By this out of character Canine behavior.

seeing them as pets You think they're very docile

and you don't really expect Them to have this strength.

Narrator: But biologist leslie samuel

Wonders whether the footage

Is showing An aggressive instinct

Reemerging in dogs 15,000 years after

They were first tamed by man.

dogs for most people Are faithful companions.

they're man's best friend,

But they are also Dangerous animals.

Narrator: in america, Around 40 people are killed

Every year by dogs.

These alarming Stats make the dog

One of the deadliest Animals in the u.S.

More likely to kill you Than sharks, alligators,

And bears combined.

Man's best friend, they can Also be time bombs on legs.

♪♪

Narrator: the strength And aggression of some dogs

Has even been Harnessed as a weapon.

the romans field Units just of dogs

and they would march In side by side

next to their foot soldiers During conflicts.

Now these war dog units were Used all over the roman empire

Including what is now Known as modern day turkey.

Narrator: the molossus, The ancestor of today's mastiff

Was a large aggressive dog Bred for one purpose, to kill.

[ growling ]

Starved before combat By their roman masters

These vicious animals could Tear through enemy lines,

Savagely ripping Soldiers limb from limb.

Other units were Actually designed to

Run underneath horses And disembowel.

Narrator: Today, breeders in the u.S.

Have interbred Neapolitan mastiffs,

A direct descendant of The ancient molossus,

Creating a new supersized beast.

The america molossus.

If breeders are tying To bring this bloodline

Of war dog back in The united states,

Who's to say breeders In turkey aren't

Doing the same thing?

Narrator: but a check of The size of the dogs

In the footage reveals That none of them

Are large enough To be a molossus.

Zoologist, roland kays Examines the surveillance tape.

He notices that these City dogs appear to be

Displaying behavior Similar to that

Of their wild african cousins.

this footage is almost Like an urban serengeti.

you would think of A pack of wild dogs

Attacking a wildebeest.

[ dogs barking ]

That's basically what You're seeing here

With a pack of wild dogs in The city attacking a car.

Narrator: local records indicate That this area is a known

Hunting ground for feral dogs.

Hundreds roam, abandoned By their human masters

And a check of city documents Reveals savage pack attacks

On residents, including Young children.

dogs are descended from wolves And wolves are pack animals.

They work together to hunt.

[ howling ]

Feral dogs may be more Prone to wolf-like behavior

Because they're not Being conditioned to live

In a house And interact with a human

As their primary master And so it is quite possible

That these dogs have been Hunting together in a pack.

Narrator: but for some, Hunting down a car

Doesn't make sense.

They don't eat bumpers, They don't eat tires.

You have to ask, Why are they doing this?

♪♪

Narrator: coming up, A chilling mystery sound

Heard at several locations Across the world.

This isn't the first time This is happening.

Narrator: Red lights from space,

But what are they Doing on earth?

What strange beast may have Awakened in the mountains?

Narrator: and car crunching Crazed canines.

There is one disease that Makes dogs act viciously

And that's rabies.

♪♪

Narrator: experts are baffled

As dogs in turkey Rip a family car to pieces

For no apparent reason.

Investigators wonder if Their conduct is caused

By a deadly disease.

when you look at The fevered behavior

of these dogs you have To wonder,

is there something Wrong with them?

Something like rabies?

Narrator: Rabies is a killer virus

That attacks The brain and spinal cord.

It's spread by one infected Animal biting another.

A rabid dog will roam Restlessly, turn vicious,

And even bite And attack random objects.

[ growling ]

Once an animal displays Symptoms of rabies

Death is near certain.

The same fate awaits any Human bitten by a rabid animal

And not treated.

[ barking ]

Globally, one person dies Of rabies every 10 minutes.

The symptoms range from Paralysis to terror

And hallucinations, leading To delirium, coma, and death.

But when experts take A closer look at the footage

They spot a problem With the rabies theory.

One of the telltale Signs of the disease

Is frothing at the mouth.

These dogs show no Evidence of that.

♪♪

The footage comes To the attention of

Neuroscientist, jayde lovell.

She suspects that The dogs may be

Deliberately targeting the car.

Alarmingly, she thinks The vicious onslaught

Is a revenge attack.

you never really Hear of cases of dogs

destroying property like this.

So I was wondering, maybe This is related to the case

Where a guy got out of His car and he kicked a dog

Then he went inside.

And a couple of hours Later the dog and a bunch

Of its friends came back And just destroyed that car.

♪♪

Anyone who has a dog Knows that they have

Pretty decent memories, So it's no stretch to think

that this pack of dogs, If they had a run in with a car

where it hit and killed One of their packmates

That they would Remember that exact car

And they're having Their revenge.

Narrator: experts agree, A revenge attack on the car

Is the most likely explanation For the animal's behavior.

Cem acar can't Remember harming a dog

While driving himself,

But the canine carnage He witnessed on tape

Has forever Changed the way he feels

about man's best friend.

Now, something sinister Over the sunshine state.

There was some type Of energy field.

Like, there was some Type of presence.

It seriously looks like The alien mothership

Is about to descend Through the clouds.

Narrator: Or is this a secret all powerful

Death ray in action?

If something is eating A giant chunk out of this cloud

Could that eat a city?

♪♪

Narrator: downey, california.

It's from here that humans Plan to conquer space.

For three decades tens Of thousands of engineers

And technicians Worked here to build

The apollo rocket stages.

As well as designing

And assembling The space shuttle.

Residents are used to seeing Earth-built spacecraft

Passing by, but none Are ready for this.

January 2017, Local resident, ozzy mercardo

Steps outside his home And what he sees

Freezes him in his tracks.

there was a giant Hole in the sky.

Narrator: Fearful of what my happen next

Mercardo pulls out His cellphone and records

The unbelievable sight.

I was amazed at what I was looking at.

It was a perfect hole.

Probably quarter mile To half a mile wide.

I've never seen Anything like it before.

Narrator: the giant gaping hole Hovers ominously,

Directly over the city Drawing a nervous crowd

And then the strange Sensation begins.

We all felt like there Was some type of energy.

It was there, you could feel it, You could sense it.

We were speculating what it was And obviously one of 'em is ufo.

♪♪

Narrator: Residents of the golden state

Report more ufo sightings Than any other.

Over 16,000 since 2001

And california's home To one of the most

Deadly sightings of all time.

In 1997, the san diego based Religious cult, heaven's gate,

Believed an extra terrestrial Spacecraft appeared

Following the flyby Of comet hale-bopp.

39 members of the cult Committed mass suicide

Believing they were Leaving this world

And reaching a higher Evolutionary level

By joining the crew Of the spacecraft.

Science journalist, Jeff wise considers

If the hole could have Anything to do with

Nearby classified Government programs.

One of the reasons People see so many ufos

In california is that there's So many military bases

they really are weird things Happening in the sky

that people can't understand, 'cause it's unexplained,

'cause it's secret.

Narrator: california is home to 32 known military bases.

[ jet engine roaring ]

Eyewitness ozzy mercado Believes that

Secret military experiments Could be responsible

For creating The mysterious sky hole.

I would say manipulation Of the atmosphere.

It felt more like, It's not a natural occurrence.

Narrator: it's made by Something or someone.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up, Burning fire jets

Erupt over the alpine skies.

The images really have A lot of the signatures

Of a missile launch.

Narrator: an unearthly sound Terrifies residents

Of a small town.

If I heard that noise I might Run in the other direction.

Narrator: and in california,

Eyewitnesses Fear a government black op

Could be going dangerously wrong Right above their heads.

To see a giant hole Open up in the cloud,

That's really weird.

♪♪

Narrator: in downey, california, Residents fear

A sinister government Black op is opening up

A hole in the skies.

Eyewitness ozzy mercado's Footage

Is brought to the attention of

Planetary scientist, Sian proctor.

Despite 20 years experience Observing the earth's

Weirdest atmospheric events This footage astounds her.

it's something that I've never seen before

and I like weather And so to see a giant hole

Open up in the cloud, That's strange,

That's really weird.

Narrator: proctor explores Mercado's suspicion

That the hole in The sky might be the result

Of human activity.

She discovers reports that We've been manipulating

The atmosphere And the weather for 50 years

Using a method known As cloud seeding.

The goal is simply to Get the water vapor

In the atmosphere to Form water droplets

In order to produce rain.

Narrator: From the very earliest tests

Cloud seeding Caused controversy.

It's said that in 1947 Off the u.S. Coast

Military aircraft flew Along the rain bands

Of a hurricane, dropping 180 pounds of dry ice.

Their goal to reduce The hurricane's intensity.

But declassified reports Reveal it ended in disaster.

That hurricane ended Up turning into land.

Man: the damage to Property was enormous,

It's estimated at about 50 million dollars.

And ever since then the idea of

Monkeying around With the atmosphere

Doesn't go over well with The general population.

Narrator: despite the risks Cloud seeding projects

Continue to this day.

Records show that in 2016, Just months before

The hole in the sky Opens up over downey

The state of california Undertakes it's own

Cloud seeding project

In a desperate attempt to End a long running drought.

♪♪

Investigators now Wonder if this somehow

Punched a hole in The california sky.

Mother nature is A very powerful force

and if somebody's messing With mother nature

and putting holes in clouds

this could be very Dangerous terrain.

Narrator: Meteorologist, karen kosiba

Analyses the cellphone footage.

She believes the size of The hole

Rules out cloud seeding.

Cloud seeding is Commonly for a big area

in order for cloud Droplets to grow

to precipitation size.

Whatever disturbing is only

Happening over A very small area.

Narrator: when jeff wise Discovers that the footage

Was shot less than 20 miles

From los angeles International airport

He makes a vital connection.

There is a phenomenon where Planes passing through clouds

Can make a hole in that cloud.

♪♪

Narrator: sian proctor Speculates that a plane

Might have interacted With a special type

Of water in The upper atmosphere.

Super cooled water below Freezing, yet still liquid.

The upper atmosphere is cold

And you would expect Water vapor to actually

Form into droplets of ice.

However, water needs Something to trigger

The crystallization process.

Narrator: proctor believes

That as it flew Through the cloud

A plane's exhaust fumes Acted as a catalyst

Crystallizing super Cool water into ice.

Those water droplets freeze

And become ice crystals That fall out of the sky

Leaving this hole.

♪♪

Narrator: but for eyewitness, Ozzy mercardo

This doesn't explain The strange energy

He and others felt as The hole appeared in the sky.

I've showed it to A lot of people

and nobody can explain What the video is.

I would think It's more government-based.

We need more explanation,

But obviously We're not getting it.

♪♪

Narrator: now...

[ indistinct sound ]

A howling noise terrifies A small town

In british columbia.

This is not from this world.

If I heard that Noise I might run

In the other direction.

Narrator: Some fear an enemy state

Has unleashed a new weapon.

The use of weaponized Noise would essentially be

A sort of perfect weapon.

♪♪

Narrator: august 29, 2013.

Terrace, British columbia, canada.

A few hundred miles From the u.S. Border.

A quiet morning in This rural area.

But then a monstrous Noise brings the town

To a standstill.

[ indistinct sound ]

It sounds kind of creepy.

this kind of noise Isn't the kind of sound

that you're used to hearing.

Narrator: The sound is deafening

And scientists have No clue as to who or what

Is making it.

When you hear these Sounds your reaction is

this is something supernatural.

Narrator: When the tape is posted online

Reports come in from Around the world

Of the same menacing sound.

Dallas, texas.

Salzburg, austria.

And kiev in the ukraine.

Military corespondent, Carolo muñoz

Examines the footage.

He considers if The sound could possibly be

Some form of sonic attack.

the use of weaponized Nose would essentially be

a sort of perfect weapon.

It leaves no fingerprints.

You can't tell where It's coming from

And you can't really Defend against it.

Narrator: the idea of sonic Warfare goes back

To the ancient world.

According to the bible, 3,500 years ago,

The israelite army surrounded The heavily fortified

Canaanite city of jericho

For six days, Soldiers blew trumpets

Until on the seventh day The walls came tumbling down.

The israelites Poured into the city,

Massacring every man, Woman, and child.

And a recent apparent sonic Attack on the u.S. Embassy staff

In cuba has alarming Implications.

It's entirely possible That u.S. Employees

At the embassy were The victim of some sort

Of weaponized noise.

Narrator: cuba, a long-term ally Of the soviet union,

And now putin's russia, Sits just over a hundred miles

From the florida coast.

Any weapons testing This close to the u.S.,

Could trigger a new cold war.

♪♪

Coming up, someone or something Is summoning

The power of the gods.

Seeing these strange Lights in a remote region

Makes you wonder, Who's out there,

And what's really going on?

Narrator: And is this weird sound

A doomsday weapons test?

The question is, Where is this coming from

And who's carrying it out?

♪♪

Narrator: a series of Inexplicable howling sounds

Is heard across the planet.

Some fear the beginning Of a new arms race

In sonic warfare.

the question is, Where is this coming from

and who's carrying it out?

Narrator: tension between The u.S. And cuba,

Ratcheted up in 2017 When u.S. Officials

Claimed their diplomats Were deliberately exposed

To dangerous high Frequency sounds.

♪♪

The sonic attacks Caused deafness, nausea,

And memory loss.

The worst affected were Flown back to the states

Where one consular Worker is diagnosed

With a traumatic brain injury.

This isn't the first Time this is happening,

Officials from the united states And other countries

Have all reported Similar symptoms.

Narrator: but when science Journalist jeff wise

Listens to the canadian footage,

He discovers a problem.

the sounds that were Detected in cuba

Were high-pitched.

[ high-pitched tones ]

But the sound that We're hearing in canada

It's different, it's low pitch.

♪♪

Narrator: Acoustic engineer trevor cox

From sulford university England studies the noise

Forensically analyzing The audio file,

Cox notices the sounds frequency Is constantly changing.

He suspects the noise May be mechanical.

you can hear the frequencies Coming and going,

Which implies something Like grinding metal

And what my ears tell me And my ears are pretty good

At working out what's Going on, tell me this

Is probably An industrial process.

Narrator: the regional Government of british columbia

Tries to calm the panic By issuing a statement.

The noise, it says, Is believed to be coming

From an industrial source, Authorities point

To construction work On a nearby road

For the deafening sound.

a grating machine drags along The road and smooths is out,

they claim that they were Sharpening this blade,

This huge piece of metal.

Narrator: but locals say This cannot account

For the weird noise.

The townspeople said, Well, that explains thursday,

But we also heard it on Wednesday and tuesday,

So they still don't Know what it is.

Narrator: And it doesn't explain

The numerous eyewitness Accounts of the same noise

In different cities worldwide.

What or who is responsible For this unearthly sound

Remains a mystery.

[ indistinct sound ]

♪♪

Now burning flames erupt Over the swiss alps.

It's almost like The sky's on fire itself.

Some fear this means war.

Worst case scenario, Switzerland is being invaded.

♪♪

Narrator: switzerland, The alps mountain range,

Thousands of feet Above sea level

The perfect spot for Observing the night sky.

October 14, 2016,

Amateur astronomer roger spinner Sets up his cameras,

He hopes to capture A spectacular meteor shower.

But as his cameras Scour the skies

They capture something Spinner has never seen before.

♪♪

The light is very dark red.

it looks like they are Coming out from the hill.

I didn't believe it.

Narrator: burning shafts of Red light shoot hundreds

Of feet into the sky.

♪♪

Military correspondent Carlo muñoz studies the imagery.

The red color of The specters makes him believe

It could be some type Of explosive activity.

the images really have A lot of the signatures

of a missile launch.

♪♪

Narrator: Switzerland is famously neutral.

The country has not gone To war for over 200 years.

But a search of Military records reveals

The swiss are always Ready for a fight.

Every fit man in the country Has military training.

And embedded in The rocks of the mountains

Is an impregnable fortress.

Swiss have a plan if They were ever to be invaded,

That's retreat to the alps And fight a guerrilla war.

All the caves in the swiss alps Basically double

As military bunkers.

Narrator: the caves house Artillery and missile bases

And provide vast shelters

For the country's Eight million civilians.

Enough room to house The entire population

Of los angeles, twice.

And the caves are booby trapped With hundreds of pounds

Of explosives so any Advancing army trying to enter

The cave complex would Automatically be destroyed.

[ explosions ]

Narrator: witnessing the red Lights above the mountains,

Muñoz suspects switzerlands Worst fears are coming true.

And the shooting red light Is anti-aircraft missiles

And artillery shells Giving cover to the swiss

As they retreat Into their caves.

Worst case scenario, Switzerland's being invaded.

And what we're seeing here Is a massive

Ground base defense Against them.

♪♪

Narrator: do burning jets of Fire in the night sky

Above switzerland signify A massive military assault?

♪♪

When ex-nypd video Analyst conor mccourt

Examines the videos data stream

He discovers that The footage does not give

An accurate portrayal Of how these lights

Originally appeared in the sky.

the timestamp on the bottom Shows us we're shooting

at 30 images per second.

these flashes at Their beginning to their end

One, two, three, four images

Which indicates 4/30ths of a second,

Very short amount of time.

Narrator: in real time, The red specters appear

And disappear extremely quickly.

Mccourt believes this short Lifespan is too fast

For it to be anti-aircraft fire.

It's a burst of light, And then it's over.

♪♪

Narrator: david wallace at The high voltage laboratory

In mississippi state university Analyzes the footage,

He considers how The flashes last

For less than a blink of an eye.

It makes him suspect this Could be some strange spark

Of electricity.

it's a very fast Millisecond type image,

They're very bright, very jagged

And this sort of tends To lead me to think

Of something else that's Like this, a lightning bolt.

[ thunder crashes ]

Narrator: But if it is lightning,

Wallace is puzzled By it's color.

Why is it red, this is not Typically what you'd see

In a lightning strike.

Narrator: Considering what could turn

A lightning bolt red, Wallace examines another

Sky-based phenomenon for clues.

He knows the aurora borealis Gets it's varied colors

Because of different Gases in the atmosphere.

Different gases, Based on electrical charge

Will glow in a different color,

So dependent on What the composition of

The atmosphere is at that point

You'll get The different color charges,

Like you see in this video.

Narrator: wallace wants to Discover if lightning bolts

Can change color If they come into contact

With different gases In the atmosphere.

He first fills A chamber with normal air,

Then fires 60,000 volts into it.

[ electricity crackles ]

So much energy, it rips Apart the atoms of air

Creating a plasma channel,

Lightning in a jar.

This is a typical lightning Strike which you would expect

To see in nature, It's a bright, white of center

With a nice purplish hue overall

On the outside of the stripe.

Narrator: now he wants to know If the gas helium

Will affect The color of the bolt.

He charges The lightning generator.

♪♪

Red 18, we're getting ready To go hot, here we go.

[ electricity crackles ]

Wow, I mean, this is A little bit different.

With the helium introduced Into my discharge chamber,

Instead of having That bluish white,

Now we have a more violet color.

Narrator: wallace's experiment May not have created

Red lightning but The change in the bolt color

Convinces him that He's on the right track.

[ electricity crackles ]

Conor mccourt searches Online records

For any evidence Of red lightning.

And discovers a new lead.

Astronauts on board The international space station

Have captured images Of mysterious red lights

Or sprites.

It corresponds to What I'm seeing here.

These are red light sprites Coming from a storm.

Narrator: red sprites are An extremely rare form

Of extraterrestrial lightning.

It has been seen 50 miles above the planet.

A single bolt packs over one Billion volts of electricity.

At these altitudes the high Levels of the gas nitrogen

Turns the bolt red.

The image looks like The swiss footage

But david wallace spots One major difference.

How can you have a sprite That is typically miles up

In the atmosphere appear to be This close to the ground?

Narrator: mccourt returns to The original swiss footage.

Forensically analyzing The landscape,

He spots an important detail --

Clouds in the foreground.

Mccourt: that would indicate That this light

Is behind the clouds So that this light

Is very much in the distance.

Narrator: mccourt suspects if The storm creating

The red sprites is Far enough away,

The curvature of The earth will make

The high altitude flashes Appear much closer

To the ground Than they really are.

And a check of weather Records reveals

Supporting evidence.

While there is no thunder Storm to create the sprites

In switzerland that day,

There is a storm 300 miles To the south in france.

It's all a matter Of perspective.

You have a camera That's looking out

Over a mountain range

Giving the appearance that The sprites are actually coming

From the ground.

in reality, they're miles Up in the atmosphere.

[ thunder crashes ]

narrator: amateur astronomer Roger spinner

is lucky enough to Have caught on camera

one of the rarest types of Lightning known to science.

it's a moment that will Live with him forever.

astronomy is my passion Since I'm a little boy.

luck plays an important role,

it's the right place At the right time.

[ thunder rumbling ]