1989-01-01 - Memphis, TN - Light

Summary : On sequential nights during the month of January, 1988, I witnessed from 2-4 bright amber lights hovering or slowly moving in the western sky over Memphis. On one night, these lights appeared to be performing some sort of synchronized movements, moving in large circles at antipodes from each other, and reversing direction.

I just finished watching the special on the Discovery channel about the lights seen over Phoenix during March of '97. I was impressed by the videos of the supposed 'flares', and was reminded of a similar occurance many years ago. Over the course of the month of January 1988, only on weekend nights as these were the only nights I was out, I witnessed in the western sky over Memphis, sometimes 2, and sometimes 4, bright amber lights similar in appearance, color, and 'texture' to flames seen from a great distance. Each night after 0100, while driving south down Old Germantown Road, I saw these lights above the western horizon, in the direction of Memphis International Airport. Sometimes the lights merely hovered, or moved very slowly, almost too slow to notice movement, but on one occasion, my curiosity having been excited by previous sightings, I noticed two objects moving in a large circle, as though orbiting a central point- the circle being approxiamtely 3x the size of a fu! ll moon. The objects maintained a 180 degree opposition to each other as they circled, and once a circle was completed, they reversed direction to complete another circle, before reversing direction again. On this particular night (I cannot remember the exact date), I stopped the car to watch them, and sat parked for about 15 minutes before I got bored, having watched them perform 3 complete circles, so i continued on my way, sure that I would see them again on some other night. And I did, but never again were they so active as on that night. Since then I have seen similar phenomena which proved to be landing lights of comercial aircraft approaching over a great distance on a clear night: the same color and quality of light, the same apparent slow movement, but I have never before or since witnessed such a 'ballet' in the sky. It seems remarkable and highly unlikely that any comercial or military aircraft could move with such precision being separated over so large an area as ! was suggested by the apparent distance from my vantage point, and even more unlikley that such aircraft could stop and reverse direction without slowing. I have never before reported this because it seemed to me too weak a sighting to be of much consequence; I was never able to identify the objects as anything more than 'lights in the sky.' But after seeing the Phoenix videotapes, I was amazed by the similarity to what I saw over those nights so long ago. These were not my only encounters during the same 12-month period, but it has been so long now, I don't that my information can be of much value. I am, however, interested in relating what I have seen, both in the sky and elsewhere, to interested scientific and documentary authorities. If needed, i can supply photocopies of maps showing my position and the direction of the sightings.