--- title: "Video Appears to Show UFO Drifting Behind Space Station, But It’s Actually Something Hilariously Boring" description: "UFO Sighting? Footage taken from the International Space Station’s live feeds and widely shared on Reddit showed some unusual groupings of mysterious lights, seemingly hovering in outer space. “Can someone please explain what I just saw on the ISS YouTube live feed?” Redditor tyrannosnorlax asked on the forum. But as it turns out, the UFO […]" date: "2021-07-13" modified: "2021-07-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-ufos-space-station-answer" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "fishing" - "international space station" - "iss" - "NASA" - "the digest" - "UFO" - "ufos" --- # Video Appears to Show UFO Drifting Behind Space Station, But It’s Actually Something Hilariously Boring ![Footage taken from the International Space Station's live feeds and widely shared on Reddit showed some unusual groupings of mysterious lights.]() *\Image: ISS via YouTube\* ## UFO Sighting? Footage taken from the International Space Station's live feeds [and widely shared on Reddit]() showed some unusual groupings of mysterious lights, seemingly floating by the orbital outpost like something out of a science fiction movie. "Can someone please explain what I just saw on the ISS YouTube live feed?" Redditor tyrannosnorlax [asked on the forum](). But as it turns out, the UFO hypothesis couldn't have been further from the truth. The lights turned out to be coming from human activity down on Earth, rotating below the space station — a simple mistake that, fortunately, turned into a learning experience for everybody involved. ## Fishing for Answers More specifically, the lights are likely emanating from fleets of squid fishing boats that use super bright artificial lights to attract their catch, as Redditor AlphazeroOnetwo pointed out in [a reply](). A 2013 [NASAs Earth Observatory blog post]() explained the fishing boat lights phenomenon, using an image taken by an astronaut from the ISS as an example. "The fisherman are likely luring Todarodes pacificus — a species known as the Japanese flying squid — to the surface with bright xenon bulbs," reads the post. ## Lesson Learned The original poster took the revelation in stride. "Although the website I linked in my first update has some examples that appear similar to this, the squid fishing lights are the most plausible explanation, by far," tyrannosnorlax admitted. "In the second post I made, you can see more fishing lights in the bottom right at the beginning, and many city lights through the rest of the video." So, no UFOs this time. "Gotta take an L on this one, I’m afraid," tyrannosnorlax added. "At least it was a good learning experience. The more you know!" **More on UFOs:** *[Former Official: UFO Report Actually Strengthens “Alien Hypothesis”]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()