The Red Light Beside Skylab
Aboard America's first space station, three astronauts watched a bright red object for several minutes and photographed it.
What was reported
On 20 September 1973, the crew of Skylab 3, Alan Bean, Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma, reported a bright reddish object outside the station. They watched it for around ten minutes as it seemed to keep pace with them, and took photographs before it faded from view.
The pictures showed a reddish point of light, and the sighting was later listed among the best-known reports by astronauts.
Explanations offered
The most common explanation is that they saw a piece of a spent rocket, possibly a Soviet satellite's rocket body, lit red by sunlight passing through the edge of the atmosphere. No exact match has been confirmed, so it remains listed as probably, rather than certainly, explained.
- When
- 20 September 1973
- Where
- In orbit, aboard the Skylab space station
- Witnesses
- The crew of Skylab 3
- Status
- Probably explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.