Miracle of the Sun
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 4
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Fátima 1917, Miracle of Fátima |
The Miracle of the Sun is a series of events reported on 13 October 1917 at Fátima, Portugal, where tens of thousands of people who had gathered after a prophecy by three shepherd children said they saw the Sun "dance", zigzag and change colour. The Catholic Church declared it "worthy of belief" in 1930. Some ufologists have since interpreted it as a mass UFO sighting.[1][2]
The event
The children, Lúcia Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, said the Virgin Mary had promised a miracle on that date. After a period of rain, witnesses said, the clouds parted to reveal the Sun as a dull, spinning disc that cast coloured light, plunged towards the Earth and zigzagged back. Some said their soaked clothes were suddenly dry. The event reportedly lasted about ten minutes, and newspapers, including the secular O Século, published witness accounts.[1]
The UFO interpretation
Ufologist Jacques Vallée and Portuguese researchers Joaquim Fernandes and Fina d'Armada later argued that the Fátima events were a mass UFO sighting. The witnesses, mostly Catholics, had described what they saw in religious terms.[2]
Natural explanations
Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell attributed the "dancing sun" to optical and weather effects, such as the Sun seen through thin cloud as a silver disc, changing cloud density making it seem to advance and recede, and droplets or dust producing colours. Others have pointed to the effects of staring at the Sun.[1] Although many photographers were present, no unusual photograph of the Sun was taken.[2]
References
- Miracle of the Sun — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- List of reported UFO sightings — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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