Dahle Valley Sightings
 Selection of photographs of the observed lights during the UFO wave | |
| Native name | Dahletal-Sichtungen (Hesurian) |
|---|---|
| Date | September 29, 1983 - November 1983 |
| Duration | 13 days |
| Location | Elpsland, Mascylla |
| Also known as | Dahle Lights, 1983 UFO wave, officially Dahle Valley Incidents |
| Type | UFO sighting |
| Participants | approx. 600-2,000 witnesses |
The Dahle Valley Sightings (sometimes called the Dahle Lights) were a series of unidentified flying objects and other aerial phenomena observed and documented in the skies over western Mascylla, which lasted from September 29 to early November 1983. The widespread media coverage and investigations made by the Mascyllary Luftheer and MAOA make this incident one of the most well-documented sightings of UFOs in history.
Lights and objects of various shapes and colours were seen by hundreds or potentially thousands of people in autumn and winter of 1983, in an area of about 90 kilometres (55 miles) stretching from Winden to Konreid. The incident is made up of three distinct events: the first beginning on 29 September with observed white, blue, and yellow orbs, the second two weeks after with elongated and cigar-shaped objects, and the final one beginning on October 17 with triangular UFOs. Sightings were made from the ground by civilians and in the air by cargo pilots and military personnel, their credibility confirmed by simultaneous reports, matching descriptions and eye-witness testimony, and radar data. When workers witnessed a triangular craft appearing above the alarmed Erik Armber Nuclear Power Plant, the Mascyllary Luftheer began conducting investigations, collecting testimony and trying to scientifically explain and evaluate the lights. During this time, the wave saw its peak with 13 different objects being recorded on the night of October 10.
Despite the varying descriptions, the objects all had a few similarities, with witnesses claiming to have observed solid objects and not light orbs, containing a central craft with lights attached to it or with light-emitting engines. With the vast amount of photographic evidence and onlookers, sceptics have struggled to determine a major cause for the event, though a number of explanations have been proposed. The Mascyllary government published top-secret files of the investigation in 2012, presenting city lights reflecting off clouds, ball lightning, and flares attached to balloons as possible explanations. However, the document also states there were few exceptions where some UFOs remained unexplained.