1999-11-10 - Los Angeles, CA - Other

Shooting star that changes course and accelerates?

Event took place around either 2 or 3 am. I was looking out the slidding glass doors from my bedroom balcony from my bed. The door was ajar enough to hear ambient noise from outside. I was still in bed, but awoke and idly watching a star around 15 degrees above the horizen to the west. Keep in mind that I am located on a hill adjacent to downtown LA and there is a lot of ambient lighting in the area including all of downtown LA with its major lit-up skyscrapers only a mile from the site towards the south. Visibility was good, but by no means crystal clear, hence the object I was looking at was either a major star or planet nearly directly west. I notice a smaller but clearly distinguishable object slowly circling the brighter object. At first I thought it was an airplane or a helocopter, however at this time of night, I discounted the possibility of an airplane as it was an unusual at this hour (I know LAX traffic patterns well and they don't fly over the city at this hour). At any rate I couldn't take my eyes off of it and wandering what it could be. Too high to be a helecopter; no sound. Within a few seconds the smaller object simply turned, acerlerated and litteraly shot away like a meteor- across the northern sky from west to east. No big deal, I smiled and made a wish. After a while, I began thinking that it could not be a meteor, meteors don't turn at right angles. There was no breaking apart or trail characteristic of meteors either. There was no sound. It was quite amazing. What was it? All of this activity would have to have been seen over the entire LA Basin as it took place at a great distance from me. I am mostly curious if other may have seen it...surely they did, but did they see it slowly turn and then shoot like a bat out of hell? If it was actually approaching earth during the slow turn, then it must have been a major asteroid. If it was so easily visible during this period of time, it must have been huge to reflect that much light for so long. And after that initial circ! ular app roach it was moving..really moving!