1998-07-29 - Aloha, OR - Light

Looked like lights of a small plane approaching a local airport. But the object stayed in almost the same place for over 50 minutes moving only slightly. It was white with a beautiful red center. The red was a steady light just like the white.

At 12:15am I was in the house putting a fan in a window. I saw what I thought was a plane just turning on it's landing lights. We have an airport nearby that supports planes up to executive jets. As I finished putting the fan in the window, I looked up again and the object was still in the same place. I thought that was strange so I continued to watch it and it stayed in the same place. I then went outside to get a better look. It continued to stay in approximately the same place. As I kept looking, I thought I saw red as well as white. The only binoculars I have are a small folding pair, but I got them out. I saw an irregular bright, white light. In the center was the most beautiful red I have ever seen in my life--like deep crimson crushed velvet. I don't know why but I couln't take my eyes off that red. I was just totally fascinated by it. The red was an irregular shape too. I watched it for about 50 minutes. After a while, I realized that it was moving at about the same rate that the stars were moving. But it was not a star. It was at least 10 times brighter than any star I have seen and bigger. It was a larger than Hale-Bopp looked with the naked eye. Also, I have checked every night since and there is nothing in that area of the sky that even resembles what I saw. It was at about a 45 degree angle. I stopped watching when it went behind the trees in back of my house. I understand that sometimes you can see satellites with the naked eye. I have never seen one. I suppose this could be one, but I have never heard anyone say they could see a satellite from inside their house with all the lights on. And I have never heard anyone mistaking a satellite for a plane preparing to land.