1996-12-18 - Eugene, OR - Light

SUMMARY: Father and son saw a light at high altitude perform zig-zags, abrupt starts and stops, and 90 degree turns.

I am 18. I was going to bed at 0430 when I looked out the window at the sky. I saw what I tought to be a satellite or the space shutle slowly and steadily track across the sky from the south-east twards the north-west. I watched this object for a minute and than it stoped. I thought it was strage, but I sthat it might be a satellite that had moved itself into a geosynchronous orbit or possibly the space shutle that had done the same. Than it started to move strangely. It started to do little zig-zag patterns and move very slowly and rock back and forth. It also did a couple of 90 degree turns. I watched it for about 10 minutes, than I went and woke up my dad. He came and we watched it zig-zag and turn and start and stop and do spirals. The spirals seemed strange, to me, because it would start out with a big, slow circle and than the circle would began to tighten and it would speed up untill it had come to rest where it started. I think I can best desc!ribe the spirals as looking like a planet falling into the sun. All this time the sum of its movemets were bringing it twards the west (twards us). My window faces East. At one point I thought I saw a small light seperate from it and head South-West. It was so faint that I wouldent have thought anything of it except that my dad asked me if I saw it. My dad went back to bed about 0515 and by 0530 it was out of sight over my roof. I thought about going outside to watch it some more, but I thought it was too cold and I had watched it for an hour anyway, though I hope I didn't miss any big exit.;)