Sudden brilliant light, faded to very dim blue light, which travelled slowly north.
I enjoy stargazing from some old mining and landfill areas far from any light pollution. It was in one of these areas in Tioga County, PA that I was sitting in a lawn chair next to my van watching the sky. It was extremely dark, yet despite some encroaching haze from the west, the stars were very clear overhead and to the south and east. I got up to put something in the van, and as I set the object inside, a light from above and behind me illuminated the area, enough to cause my arm to cast a shadow on the floor of the van. I turned around in time to see a very bright light, I would estimate at a magnitude of brightness ten times that of Jupiter, located high in the southeast sky. Suddenly, the light began to fade, made no noise, and before it went completely out, a dim, pale blue light tracked northward away from the source of the brilliant light. The blue light travelled at roughly the same speed as any high altitude airliner for about 20 seconds, until it too faded out of sight. I perceived it to be a re-entry of some kind, and, given the troubles with Mir, feared the worst. The initial brilliant light never moved. I spent many years in the Air Force. I am certain that it did not come from an aircraft landing or collision light system.
I enjoy stargazing from some old mining and landfill areas far from any light pollution. It was in one of these areas in Tioga County, PA that I was sitting in a lawn chair next to my van watching the sky. It was extremely dark, yet despite some encroaching haze from the west, the stars were very clear overhead and to the south and east. I got up to put something in the van, and as I set the object inside, a light from above and behind me illuminated the area, enough to cause my arm to cast a shadow on the floor of the van. I turned around in time to see a very bright light, I would estimate at a magnitude of brightness ten times that of Jupiter, located high in the southeast sky. Suddenly, the light began to fade, made no noise, and before it went completely out, a dim, pale blue light tracked northward away from the source of the brilliant light. The blue light travelled at roughly the same speed as any high altitude airliner for about 20 seconds, until it too faded out of sight. I perceived it to be a re-entry of some kind, and, given the troubles with Mir, feared the worst. The initial brilliant light never moved. I spent many years in the Air Force. I am certain that it did not come from an aircraft landing or collision light system.
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Blossburg
USA
one (1) minute
one (1) minute
41.67
-77.08
light
PA
Occurred : 6/28/1998 02:30 (Entered as : 06/28/98 02:30) Reported: 6/30/1998 21:27 Posted: 8/5/2001 Location: Blossburg (5 miles east of), PA Shape: Light Duration: one (1) minute Characteristics: The object changed color
Sudden brilliant light, faded to very dim blue light, which travelled slowly north.