1997-03-12 - Hotedrsica (Slovenia) - Light

Formation of approx. 30 glowing objects seen in an unknown type of formation (bird-like). Moving GIF scetch included.

I`m a graduate at faculty of mechanical engineering. I underwnt fighter pilot med-exams and have confirmed excellent eye-vision. I`m also very familiar with all types of aircraft, helicopter, other airborne crafts and satellites, their in-flight behavior and day/night identification. I`m also familiar with stars and other astronomical objects that may be observed with naked-eye or binoculars on night-sky. I wrote complete data of every one of series of events right after they happend. Location: (on the balcony of my house) Hotedrsica, Slovenia Air temperature: little above zero °C Clouds: 0/8 (clear) No sighted air traffic (towards E and SE commercial flights can be observed about 7° over horizon coming into Ljubljana/Brnik airport area) First 1/5 of moon over western horizon (hidden behind house), Hale-Bopp comet behind the nearby hill. Light pollution of sky zero (rural area). Car traffic in vicinity: zero Wind: none Observer in dark area, no lights in field of vision. Event: I was lying on a deck chair looking straight up, covering approx. 80° left and right, 30° down and 70° up from vertical line (legs facing west). After observing stars through binoculars for a while, I decided to proceede naked-eyed. After a while an object appeared from behind the top of the roof of house wherer I was. Size of objcet was approx. 20° times 6°, movement vector 120°, no sound, 15° per second. I tracked it over 90° of sky for 6 seconds. Object was composed of numerous lights (approx. 30 of them), at visual magnitude of +6. Flight path of object went through Coma Berenices and Leo. Object was transparent (stars behind it were visible). As said, object came in from the direction of my legs, proceeded through zenith after what I stood up, turned around and watched it egress behind the roof of neighboring house. After this event (after 10 minutes) I observed 4 satellites in 2 minutes time. Picture at: Duration: Approx. 6 seconds Appearance: Object transparent, composed of many lights, generally simetrical left/right with slight annomalies (light positions), arrow-headed with very small leading-edge sweep angle. Besides lights (star-sized) no other visible parts. Nor the object neither the lights left no smoke/fire trails. During movement the shape of object remains unchanged (position of lights), heading and speed also. Light color: white, (none of them is blinking, all the same intensity) No sound during the observation. In fact, no ambient sounds at all, 15 mins before till an hour later. Angular size of object: approx. 20° x 6° Angular velocity: approx. 15°/sec. Conclusions: Due to slow movement, no sound, transparent appearance, formed of approx. 30 star-sized lights of equal intensity in roughy wedge formation (bird-like formation) simmetrically positioned in general, I assume I saw a very large formation of smaller crafts (indefinable shape) flying at very high altitudes or even in orbit. (It is out of the question that the event could be one craft at very low altitude) Later comments: I read in a paper that there was a scramble alert in USAFB Aviano, Italy (which is located at 300° 80nm from sighting location) on the 11th of March 1997 due to a wave of UFO sightings over the base. I don`t know if the news is valid, but I seek explanation of this and my further two sightings in it. Added in November 1997. . . ... ... . . .°. °..... .....° .°. . .° ° ° °.