The VASCO Project

Dr. Beatriz Villarroel is a Swedish-Mexican astronomer leading the Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project — a systematic astronomical survey searching for stars and objects that appear or disappear in the photographic record over time, which could indicate objects of artificial origin or anomalous astronomical phenomena.

The project has identified multiple candidates for detailed follow-up investigation, including objects that appear in old photographic plates but cannot be found in modern sky surveys. Villarroel has argued that these could represent evidence of large-scale artificial structures or objects in Earth's vicinity.

The Scientific Approach

VASCO represents one of the few fully peer-reviewed, academically mainstream programmes searching for physical evidence of non-natural objects in astronomical data. Villarroel's approach — systematic, evidence-based, and agnostic about conclusions — is exactly the kind of rigorous scientific engagement with the UAP/extraterrestrial question that the field needs.