Many residents near Lake Michigan reported bright, multi-colored orbs dancing erratically across the sky at night. A police officer in Holland called National Weather Service meteorologist Jack Bushong; their call would become the subject of an episode from 2022 Netflix Unsolved Mysteries volume three called “Something in the Sky.”
Bushong took calls placed to 911 and tracked objects with radar. He suggested possible explanations such as swamp gas but nothing proved convincing.
What is a UFO?
UFOs (unidentified flying objects) are perceived aerial phenomena that cannot be easily explained or identified, including alien spacecraft or atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. Modern UFOs were first reported post World War II with 1947 being considered the start of what has been termed as the “flying saucer era.” Government officials often use different terms to refer to these events such as unidentified aerial phenomenon or anomalous phenomenon.
Many people believe these phenomena to be evidence of intelligent life from another planet, while others argue that the United States government has withheld information regarding UFOs and extraterrestrial life; their belief is supported by accounts from people claiming close encounters with UFOs as well as claims regarding classified military programs or former Pentagon employees who claim knowledge about such matters.
UFO Sightings in Michigan
Michigan has seen numerous UFO sightings, some high-profile ones among them. Most sightings occur within Michigan but some have made national or even international headlines.
One such story came about in 1994, when over 300 residents in Washtenaw County reported seeing multiple flying objects near a swamp near Dexter. These strange lights resembled flickering Christmas tree lights or cylindrical structures with blue, red, and white illuminations; sometimes flying together in formation and sometimes dispersing or joining other objects, often joined by other objects – prompting coverage in both Ann Arbor News and Sky & Telescope magazine. The incident generated significant media interest.
The Air Force sent an astrophysicist to investigate these sightings, who eventually concluded that it was likely just swamp gas, although many witnesses remained dubious of his conclusions and called for further investigations – one such witness was Congressman Gerald Ford (future President). To comply, the Air Force submitted its data for analysis by University of Colorado; their results later released as the Condon Report effectively ended Project Blue Book and caused government investigations of UFOs to cease publicly.
According to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), over 150,000 reports of unexplained flying objects have been filed in the US since 1974. Some incidents can be classified as Close Encounters of the First Kind, wherein an object appears as spacecraft but does not interact directly with those present or nearby; others, known as Close Encounters of the Second Kind, involve reported interactions such as burn marks on ground surfaces or interference with radio reception; third kind encounters known as Close Encounters of the Third Kind involve UFOs believed to contain humanoids or alien life forms within it’s confines.
UFO sightings often take the form of orbs – round objects with glowing bulbs which appear to float freely through the sky. More complex craft have also been reported that are capable of changing shape quickly while moving at incredible speeds; such objects have often been referred to as flying saucers.
UFOs over Lake Michigan
On March 8, 1994, people along the shorelines of Lake Michigan were stunned to witness mysterious lights illuminating the night sky. Witnesses called police 911 to report multiple objects with red, green and white lights which appeared as far south as Indiana state line, dancing irregularly across the night sky before eventually being confirmed by National Weather Service radar operators in Muskegon County.
Jack Bushong, who worked at the NWS office in Muskegon that evening, described what he saw during a television interview. He claimed he registered a blip on his analog radar at Holland before watching it move toward South Haven at high speeds. Bushong noticed the object “jumped” upward, often moving tens of thousands of feet at once; and also noted how it sometimes “blinked”, suggesting multiple components. Bushong believed these objects to be much larger than commercial aircraft traveling at high speeds.
Bushong began hearing reports from people all around his area who were witnessing similar strange objects on radar, which he knew couldn’t be planes but couldn’t account for their origins. Police officers and radar operators across Ottawa County to Allegan County provided similar accounts about what they had witnessed that night; eventually word spread about this mysterious phenomenon nationwide.
Torres notes in his book, Something in the Sky, that many UFO sightings in our region exhibit hallmarks of alien interaction and speculates that UFOs might be visitors from another planet who have come here to study us and collect samples of water or earth for scientific study.
Manitowoc is no stranger to speculation when it comes to space. After all, its population of 20,000 residents have long had an interest in this subject and all things related to it; each year Sputnikfest and the western point of the Triangle pass right through this town. Furthermore, its shores boast mysterious rock formations believed by some scholars to have been placed there by ancient Native American tribes as calendars or meeting places.
UFOs over Lake Huron
Alien visitors from another planet might not have arrived on Lake Michigan that night, but eyewitness accounts make it impossible to dismiss. MUFON has eliminated several possible explanations such as small planes, blimps, weather balloons, satellites and satellite launch pads as possible culprits – yet even dedicated investigators such as Jack Bushong cannot state definitively what exactly was in the skies that night.
Netflix’s 2022 episode, entitled Something in the Sky, featured Bushong as he tracked objects using radar while working a night shift for the National Weather Service that evening. Bushong described what he observed as being similar to “an extreme technology that seems centuries more advanced than anything we have on Earth.”
Most witnesses described three to five lights arranged in a line, sometimes splitting off or coming back together, changing colors from white, red and green and moving at incredible speeds – something no known aircraft could achieve.
