The Évora UFO Incident of 1959
On 2 November 1959, the city of Évora in southern Portugal basked in clear skies and autumn sunshine. At around midday, however, a strange spectacle unfolded. Professor Joaquim Guedes do Amaral, head of the local Commercial and Industrial School, and several teachers and students looked skywards to spot a lens-shaped, pale‑blue object drifting across the heavens.
Soon after, a second, larger craft appeared—undulating like a jellyfish with a fluid, organic motion. This bizarre duo floated and danced above Évora for roughly half an hour before ascending rapidly and vanishing.
The Rain of Angel Hair
Not long after the aerial phenomena, residents witnessed an even stranger event: white filaments drifting gently from the sky. These ethereal strands—dubbed “angel hair”—blanketed rooftops, trees and streets for nearly four hours. Evora’s location wasn’t the only place affected; the filaments also appeared over the Sintra Air Force base, hundreds of kilometres away, prompting a pilot’s astonished report.
From Fibres to Flesh: A Living Organism?
Professor Amaral and others collected samples of the angel hair, and what they discovered shocked them. Under a microscope, they found what looked like a tiny, tentacled creature, about 4 mm in size, surrounded by a gelatinous sheath. It reacted to touch, recoiling its tentacles, and resisted substantial pressure—an unexpected trait for a presumed fibre. Scientists tentatively likened it to young coelenterates—jellyfish or coral larvae—but found no exact match.
The young organism curled and withered over time. Eventually, samples were sent to the University of Lisbon for further analysis—only to be lost in a catastrophic fire in 1978. Without the physical evidence, further investigation ground to a halt.
Official and Independent Inquiries
Following the incident, Portugal’s military and academic institutions took the matter seriously. The military corroborated eyewitness reports, and university biologists authenticated the peculiar nature of the filaments. Decades later, the case attracted attention from the Centro Transdisciplinar de Estudos da Consciência (CTEC), which reviewed archived testimonies and press articles. Despite thorough documentation, the available evidence remained inconclusive stranded between laboratory science and UFO lore.
Ufologist historian Raul Berenguel suggested that the filaments may have originated from the upper atmosphere, perhaps tied to celestial phenomena or even panspermia-like seeding events. Meanwhile, critics proposed mundane explanations: terrestrial spiders, balloon debris or atmospheric condensation. Yet neither matched the living, pressure-resistant creature reportedly observed.
Ongoing Controversy and Legacy
To this day, the Évora episode remains unique in UFO history: a case where an alleged biological entity accompanied the aerial sighting. Reddit discussions reflect its compelling enigma:
“He and the others witnessed a flying round object going slowly… then a second bigger object appears… Both objects gained altitude and disappeared… right after angel hair… started falling from the sky.”
“The substance looked similar to spider webs… they watched them melt… spectrometry showed sodium, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, tin, boron, silicon, calcium and magnesium.”
Its blend of living mystery and UFO narrative continues to inspire researchers and enthusiasts. Some suspect the 1978 fire was too convenient, possibly obscuring crucial evidence. A few later atmospheric sightings in Portugal, including Montargil in the 1990s, echo the gelatinous-cloud description and fuel speculation of an “atmospheric beast” phenomenon.
Science Meets Supernatural
The scientific community has always approached the Évora incident with caution. Biologists who examined the specimen concluded it might be a new type of protozoan or young jellyfish but admitted limitations in classifying it—especially when it behaved more like an animal than a vegetal structure. With the material lost, only written descriptions and memories remain.
Ufologists point out that the combination of UFOs and biological samples is exceedingly rare, if not unique. Some scholars have proposed it’s an unheralded case of panspermia—the hypothesis that life can spread via spaceflight—while others maintain a more grounded stance: probable secret biological tests or a freak meteorological anomaly, albeit one with inexplicable features.
Visiting Évora Today
Évora itself is a city alive with history, from its Roman temple to grand medieval cathedral. While there’s no marked UFO museum, the spirit of 1959 lingers in the air. Visitors can explore the site of the Commercial and Industrial School, where the phenomenon was first witnessed. Nearby, the University of Lisbon’s archives may hold original newspaper clippings and documents related to the event—though the original samples were lost to fire.
To immerse yourself in the mystery, plan a day trip: wander beneath the same azure skies that once hosted those twin jellyfish-like crafts. Speak with locals—some families still recount their grandparents’ tales of angel hair drifting like ghostly lace. Whether you’re a sceptic, a believer or simply hungry for a good story, Évora offers a living portal into one of Portugal’s most baffling enigmas.