A UFO crashed into Chiloé Island in the Los Lagos region last week. It was first thought to be a meteorite until initial tests indicated it wasn’t. A working theory now is that it might have been orbiting “space junk” that fell back to Earth, but in the meantime it remains a mystery.
Chilean islands are big in the news of late:
- First, with the revelation that it might soon be “tax paradise lost” for onshore businesses that have been registering offshore in Easter Island (Rapa Nui);
- Then, with the news that archeological sites and environmental resources might be ruined in a hunt for treasure on Robinson Crusoe Island; and
- Now, with the news that an unidentified flying object (UFO) has smashed into Chiloé.
Thus, on Sept. 25, as reported by Unilad, residents of Dalcahue on the island of Chiloé reported seeing a UFO in the early evening. “Images of the object show a red ball glowing in the sky, and according to local media the strange light was also spotted in other cities, including Osorno, Palena, Valdivia, and LLanquihue.”
The UFO is also thought to have sparked several fires that local firefighters had to put out; and Dalcahue Mayor Juan Hijerra said the firefighters explained that the smell of the fires was not smoke from material but rather “from stone, like sulphur,” as further reported by Unilad.
🔵 Gobernador @Fernandoborquez junto a Seremi @IngridSchettino y coordinador de Seguridad Pública estuvieron en sector de #Pulutauco, #Dalcahue, verificando presunta caída de objeto luminoso en predio particular. Expertos arribarán este viernes al lugar para investigar el hecho. pic.twitter.com/Q5PWAQ1LvC
— Gobernación Provincial de Chiloé (@GobChiloe) September 26, 2019
Initial Official Statement Rules Out Meteorites
At this time, officials are still trying to determine what exactly rained down on Chiloé last week, including whether it was one object that broke apart or multiple objects.
A team of government geologists examined the sites that had been scorched and, on Sept. 28, released a statement confirming that they “found no remains, vestiges or evidence of a meteorite falling.” Preliminarily, therefore, they “rule out” a falling meteorite or meteorites as the cause of the fires.
Testing and Speculation Continue
The geologists have, however, collected soil samples for a more thorough and detailed laboratory analysis, and will be announcing their final conclusions in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, professional speculation continues. In a news segment on TVN, Chilean astronomer and astrophysicist José Maza said that the fireball(s) and fires might be meteorites or man made debris, i.e., “space junk.”
Other astronomers from around the world have also chimed in, including Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who sided with the meteorite crowd, stating, “no obvious space debris candidates that I can see.”
Robert Travis grew up in San Francisco, California, and moved to Santiago, Chile, in July 2018. In addition to editing and writing for Chile Today, he practices law from afar with Travis & Travis. He’s thrilled to be living in the same hemisphere as “the world’s longest left,” Playa Chicama.