The Tinley Park Lights
Three red lights hung in a triangle over a Chicago suburb, slowly drifting, while hundreds of people filmed them.
What was reported
On the night of 21 August 2004, many people in Tinley Park and nearby towns saw three large red lights in a triangle, moving slowly and silently across the sky. They were filmed from several places, and the lights returned on Halloween 2004 and again in October 2005.
Witnesses said the lights kept a fixed formation, as if part of one dark object.
Explanations offered
Sceptics suggest flares or lights hung from helium balloons, which would explain the slow drift and the timing on special dates; no one has come forward to say they launched them. Studies of the videos by UFO researchers argued the lights were too regular for balloons. The source has not been identified.
- When
- August 2004 to October 2005
- Where
- Tinley Park, Illinois, USA
- Witnesses
- Hundreds of residents, some with video
- Status
- Disputed
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.