Strange Evidence (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Chasing Bigfoot - full transcript
An eerie creature is recorded stalking Georgia's ancient forest, and some believe it's Bigfoot. Terrifying explosions rock the streets of Manhattan. Cameras record a mysterious object diving into a deadly volcano, leaving experts ...
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.
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.