Crescent-shaped object seen in 1971
My sighting took place in early or mid-September 1971. I don't remember the exact date.
I was taking an evening graduate level chemistry class on the north side of Indianapolis. Class had finished and I was walking through the parking lot to my car. It was about sunset. The sky was clear.
Some bright, moving objects in the western sky caught my attention. I remember three objects. Two of them were tracing out a more or less circular path about 180 degrees opposed to each other, as if they were orbiting around a common center and trying to stay as far apart as possible. The third object was moving in its own oval path to the south of the first two.
As the objects moved, they would reflect the setting sun, then the reflection would fade and a dark shape could be seen. This is similar to how the sunlight plays off an airliner near sunset, and at first I thought the objects were planes in a holding pattern. However, something that's hard to put my finger on held my attention - something unfamiliar about the shape, or maybe the way the objects seemed to glide or float, different from the way a plane flies. They also didn't seem to bank as they turned. I could hear no sound or see any lights on the objects.
As I continued to watch, the third object, the one farthest to the south, started to move east, directly toward me. It passed almost directly overhead and continued east until it was lost in the dusk. As it passed overhead I got a good look at it. The main part of the object was crescent-shaped and seemed to be made of a dull-finished material. It looked dull red as it was overhead.
Projecting back from the center of the crescent was a sort of stubby rectangular "fuselage" that was highly reflective, like polished metal. This was the part that reflected the sun. There was no sign of a tail assembly of any kind or engines. There was no sound, contrails, or lights, nor could I see any windows. I remember the object seeming to be in the size range of an asprin tablet to a dime held at arm's length. It's hard to estimate the object's altitude and true size. As I said, it was about sunset, but due to buildings and trees I couldn't tell if the sun had actually gone below the horizon. My first impression was that the sun was down, and the object was very high to catch its last rays, which meant it had to be huge. If the sun had still not set, the object could have been lower and smaller.
As the object went out of sight, the first two objects were still circling in the west. I'd guess the whole observation lasted about five minutes. I don't know if anybody else in the parking lot saw the objects or not, and I was too fixed on observing to call anybody's attention to them. I never reported the incident, only told a few family members.
While this is an old sighting, I thought it might be of interest.
((NUFORC Note: Date in September 1971 is approximate. PD))
My sighting took place in early or mid-September 1971. I don't remember the exact date.
I was taking an evening graduate level chemistry class on the north side of Indianapolis. Class had finished and I was walking through the parking lot to my car. It was about sunset. The sky was clear.
Some bright, moving objects in the western sky caught my attention. I remember three objects. Two of them were tracing out a more or less circular path about 180 degrees opposed to each other, as if they were orbiting around a common center and trying to stay as far apart as possible. The third object was moving in its own oval path to the south of the first two.
As the objects moved, they would reflect the setting sun, then the reflection would fade and a dark shape could be seen. This is similar to how the sunlight plays off an airliner near sunset, and at first I thought the objects were planes in a holding pattern. However, something that's hard to put my finger on held my attention - something unfamiliar about the shape, or maybe the way the objects seemed to glide or float, different from the way a plane flies. They also didn't seem to bank as they turned. I could hear no sound or see any lights on the objects.
As I continued to watch, the third object, the one farthest to the south, started to move east, directly toward me. It passed almost directly overhead and continued east until it was lost in the dusk. As it passed overhead I got a good look at it. The main part of the object was crescent-shaped and seemed to be made of a dull-finished material. It looked dull red as it was overhead.
Projecting back from the center of the crescent was a sort of stubby rectangular "fuselage" that was highly reflective, like polished metal. This was the part that reflected the sun. There was no sign of a tail assembly of any kind or engines. There was no sound, contrails, or lights, nor could I see any windows. I remember the object seeming to be in the size range of an asprin tablet to a dime held at arm's length. It's hard to estimate the object's altitude and true size. As I said, it was about sunset, but due to buildings and trees I couldn't tell if the sun had actually gone below the horizon. My first impression was that the sun was down, and the object was very high to catch its last rays, which meant it had to be huge. If the sun had still not set, the object could have been lower and smaller.
As the object went out of sight, the first two objects were still circling in the west. I'd guess the whole observation lasted about five minutes. I don't know if anybody else in the parking lot saw the objects or not, and I was too fixed on observing to call anybody's attention to them. I never reported the incident, only told a few family members.
While this is an old sighting, I thought it might be of interest.
((NUFORC Note: Date in September 1971 is approximate. PD))
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Off
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Indianapolis
USA
5 min.
5 min.
39.80
-86.14
other
IN
Occurred : 9/10/1971 19:00 (Entered as : 09/10/71 19:00) Reported: 6/24/2003 12:49:03 PM 12:49 Posted: 7/16/2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Shape: Other Duration: 5 min.
Crescent-shaped object seen in 1971