Two men using night-vision cameras captured the bizarre sight at the base of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson, Arizona, in the US this month.
Amid claims they reveal a UFO and an alien visitation, the duo’s images are now being looked at by paranormal researchers.
Tom Sanger and Gene Coleman were using separate pieces of camera equipment when they took the unexplained footage.
They described their sighting to researcher Alejandro Rojas, editor of Open Minds magazine and former spokesman of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON).
Mr Rojas explained how Mr Coleman’s video showed “one giant light”, because the strange illuminations were “too intense” for his camera to separate.
Nr Coleman had a Pulsar black and white night-vision camera while Mr Sanger was using Luna Optics colour night vision camera, which is capable of capturing footage at up to 20X magnification – but at that range focus can be lost.
Mr Rojas added of Mr Sanger’s footage: “Due to ‘tinkering’ with his camera, sometimes the lights seemed to be one big light, but he says they were actually three lights, as can be seen in most of the video.”
He said Mr Coleman’s video showed “one giant light”, because the illuminations were “too intense” for his camera to separate.
He added: “But the men say there were three lights.
Mr Sanger, who said they were filming at the Sabino Canyon car park at around 8.50pm when the lights appeared and hovered statically, also described a second event that involved “five white lights in a row with various flashes and lights showing up here and there”.
He added that they heard no sound and that the lights appeared above radio towers.
The pair returned during daylight to investigate if any static lights could have been responsible, while they also looked at a map to estimate the probable direction of the lights.
Mr Sanger said: “Sabino Canyon leads right up into the Catalinas.
“Beyond the mountains is desert wilderness. I just looked at a map and there are absolutely no cities or towns anywhere in the direction the lights were seen for literally hundreds of miles. No airports or military bases at all.”
Mr Rojas has not suggested the video is conclusive of an alien visitation, but he has been unable to explain the footage and has appealed for help from anyone who can.
He added: “Tucson does have an airport and an Air Force Base, but they are both to the south of Sabino Canyon, and the men were purportedly shooting the video to the northeast.
“As [Mr] Sanger reported, there is nothing but desert past the Catalina Mountains in that direction.
“[Mr] Sanger took a video of the area in the daytime for comparison. His video show that there is nothing behind the peak he believes can be seen in the video.”
Mr Rojas has also released previous footage he took of jets flying in the dark for comparison.
He explored if “cars driving on the mountains” could have caused the effect.
He said: “They can be mistaken for something more mysterious. They usually go on and off as the cars pass behind trees.
“If [Mr] Sanger got the wrong peak, that could be the case. However, the daytime images he provided seem to support his claims.”
He also considered drones, or fireworks, as the recording was made on July 4, as the US celebrated Independence Day.
He said: “Nearby Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is the home of remote drone operations and training. However, these objects did not appear to be cruising around like a drone.
“Of course, it was July 4th, so there is always the possibility they are fireworks.”
Mr Sanger added: “These lights were way out above wilderness areas so were miles and miles from any fireworks displays.”
Both videos have incorrect dates and times but the pair claim they never set their cameras correctly.
