Approaching Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday April 24, 2022, three shimmering disc-shaper objects appeared to be hovering just above the floor of the Mojave Desert. They looked like UFOs. UFOs are often associated with the infamous and mysterious Area 51, a top-secret United States Air Force facility located about 80 miles north of Las Vegas. Hmm!?
I learned that I was actually looking at Ivanpah Solar Generating Station, the largest concentrated solar plant in the world. The facility uses thousands of large moving mirrors, called heliostats, that track the sun and focus the reflected sunlight toward three towers that stand 45 stories high. The concentrated heat boils water in the towers to create steam that turns a turbine to generate electricity.
The facility is located about 40 miles south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It opened in 2014. You can find more information about Ivanpah Station and its promises and problems in meeting our need for clean energy here.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Have you seen this glowing apparition?
Salsaworldtraveler'sblog 
Amazing, you can see how strained eye can be fooled
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Especially if I’m already thinking about Area 51😄 I hope your week is off to a great start.
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My husband says there’s an explanation for anything that looks out of the ordinary … he always takes my joy away of “seeing UFO’s” 😄.
When I showed your photo to him, he said: “See, an explanation for everything” … hmm 🙃.
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Ha ha! I was also disappointed to learn that my UFOs had an earthly explanation.😊
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that may be what they TOLD you it is. But we know better, right 😉
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Ha, UFO-like indeed. An excellent shot John.
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My imagination runneth wild.😊
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wow pretty cool John! It sure looks like UFOs!💖
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I wish they were😄
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The first time we flew over that solar array, it looked like a gigantic drain -like a grated sewer drain – in the desert. Interesting how things look different from the air. We would’ve pegged your photo for UFOs all day long!
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It sure looks weird from a distance. Thanks for visiting and sharing your experience.
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In effect, these units use the same concept as sunflowers do to capture solar energy.
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It is very cool how the mirrors track the sun like sunflowers.
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Cool photo, it does look like UFOs. Thanks for the explanation
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I needed the explanation because I had no idea what those things were. Thanks for checking out the post.
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I’ve been past it by car, I think. Looks like a lake. I have heard that birds fall out of the sky from the heat. Not sure if that’s true or in the they say category.
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One article I read disputes the bird issue. There are several technical and some environmental problems with the plant.
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Just driving past it, I can imagine that. There are problems critics like to point out for all green technologies.
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Engineering is not such an exact science as engineers would have us believe.
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