A satellite emitting very large, camera like flashes?????????
My friend works in Northern Arizona watching for fires from a fire-tower. We were sitting outside facing east watching satellites, shooting stars, the occasional plane etc. My friend sitting to my right pointed out a small light, moving along the same path as the previous satellites we had seen earlier in the evening. He said he saw it flash very brightly "like a huge camera flash going off". We all began to watch it as it flew in a straight line from south to north. It was quite dim until bam, we saw it flash, extremely bright, actually exactly like a very, very big camera flash. Again it would dim out and then zap, another great flash. It did this probably 6 or 7 times before it left our view to the north. What was peculiar was the fact that it seemed to be a satellite however I've never seen a satellite emit a high powered flash before. I thought maybe a plane of some kind but it would have been at a tremendous altitude and it had no beacon lights or flashing lights common on aircraft, just a dim steady light until the big flashes. Has anyone else seen anything like this????
((NUFORC Note: We suspect that the witnesses were observing the fluctuating reflection off the side of a tumbling rocket casing. PD))
My friend works in Northern Arizona watching for fires from a fire-tower. We were sitting outside facing east watching satellites, shooting stars, the occasional plane etc. My friend sitting to my right pointed out a small light, moving along the same path as the previous satellites we had seen earlier in the evening. He said he saw it flash very brightly "like a huge camera flash going off". We all began to watch it as it flew in a straight line from south to north. It was quite dim until bam, we saw it flash, extremely bright, actually exactly like a very, very big camera flash. Again it would dim out and then zap, another great flash. It did this probably 6 or 7 times before it left our view to the north. What was peculiar was the fact that it seemed to be a satellite however I've never seen a satellite emit a high powered flash before. I thought maybe a plane of some kind but it would have been at a tremendous altitude and it had no beacon lights or flashing lights common on aircraft, just a dim steady light until the big flashes. Has anyone else seen anything like this????
((NUFORC Note: We suspect that the witnesses were observing the fluctuating reflection off the side of a tumbling rocket casing. PD))
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Flagstaff
USA
5-7 minutes
5-7 minutes
35.20
-111.64
light
AZ
Occurred : 9/8/2001 22:30 (Entered as : 09/08/01 22:30) Reported: 10/4/2001 11:30:31 PM 23:30 Posted: 10/12/2001 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Shape: Light Duration: 5-7 minutes
A satellite emitting very large, camera like flashes?????????