1999-06-24 - Minneapolis, MN - Light

From 4:35 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. on 6/24/99, Minneapolis, MN 55454, on Washington Avenue ("7 Corners"), I saw in the north sky a bright white light like a small star moving very slowy from west to east very high in the sky. It passed in front of (underneath) a high white cloud and was clearly bright and visible even with the white cloud as background. It passed into the cloud and was not visible for less than a minute, then came out of the cloud and continued. About 7 minutes after I first started watching the light, it stopped in the sky, and stayed in the same spot for about 2 minutes. While I was looking at it, it suddenly vanished - suddenly it just wasn't there any more. I looked all over the area of the sky but couldn't see a trace of it. Then I looked around to see if anyone else had seen it, but no one else was at the bus stop with me.

At 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, 6/24/99 I was waiting for my bus at what is known as "7 Corners" on Washington Ave. in Minneapolis. I was sitting on the bus stop bench on the south side of the street, facing north. My bus wasn't due for about 15 minutes and I didn't have anything to read so I was just relaxing and looking around. It was early rush hour and traffic was pretty heavy. The sky was bright and blue with a few scattered high fluffy white clouds. I was sitting in the shade and wearing sunglasses, so I was looking around very comfortably. I was looking north (towards the Holiday Inn at 1500 Washington Ave.), and at 4:35 p.m. I was enjoying the lovely sky and watching a couple of high clouds when I noticed a light moving very slowly from west to east across the north sky. It was very high up and I immediately thought "oh, a satellite" like I've seen on clear nights away from the city. It looked very much like a satellite, but a little bigger, like a small star - as bright, white, and clear as a star on a clear night. Then I realized it was broad daylight, and I wondered if it's possible to see a satellite (so bright and clear!) in the daylight. I watched it carefully, curious to make out what it was - but it was too far away - just a light like a moving star. As I watched it I looked at with and without my sunglasses, and it was clearly visible both ways. I'd been watching it cross the sky slowly from west to east for about 2 or 3 minutes when it came to a cloud. I expected to lose sight of it, but was surprised to be able to clearly see it with the cloud in the background. Even though it was a white light on a white cloud, it was bright enough to see clearly. Then it passed into the middle of the cloud and I lost sight of it for about 45 seconds. It came out of the cloud again and I continued to watch it move slowly east. Two or 3 minutes later it stopped. I wondered if it was changing direction and kept watching closely, but it just stayed still for at least 2 minutes. While it was ! just sitting there in the sky, a bus passed in front of me, blocking it from view. I expected to lose sight of it, but after the bus passed by I could see the light clearly, still sitting in the same spot. About 1 minute later it vanished. I was looking at it, and then it was just not there anymore. I looked all over to see where it had gone, but I couldn't see a trace of it. I looked around to see if anybody else had seen it, but there was no one else at the bus stop. My bus came and as I rode, I kept watching the north sky for a couple more minutes but couldn't see it anywhere. I would really like to know if anyone else saw it and if anyone knows what it was!