2001-12-31 - Tulsa, OK - Light

Slowly moving red (then orange) flickering light joined for a time by a faster moving white light.

At appx 11:40cst, I saw a fairly bright red light moving very slowly toward my location, appx north to south. I first assumed that this was normal air traffic (probably around 30-35 degrees above the northern horizon) but it was moving slower than what I thought was normal. After a couple of minutes, I turned my head away for a couple of seconds and when I looked back at the light, there was a second light, white and not as bright moving from appx west to east at a faster, but not very fast speed. Had this been a 2-D screen, the second light would have been slightly below the red light. It did not seem to be moving fast enough for me NOT to have seen it before I turned my head, i.e. it seemed to appear from nowhere. After about 30 seconds, the white light just went out. This got me kind of excited and I continued to watch the red light which never blinked as much as it sort of flickered, now much closer to my location still moving VERY slowly. At times it seemed as though the light had come to a stop. As it continued moving toward to the south (now about 45 degrees off the horizon) I realized that it had become more copperish orange in color. I am almost sure that it came to a stop and then began moving more easterly. It moved very slowly for maybe 20 seconds before in dimmed to the brightness of a dim star and then went out. I kept looking for about 2 more minutes before I decided it was not going to reappear and I had to go back inside (I was at work and was watching from the first floor roof of my job site, taking my coffee break checking out the sky as I always do on my overnight shift.) The moon was somewhat overhead and could be seen fairly clearly through a thin clould layer. There was a slight ring around it and I could see a bright star, actually probably the planet Jupiter through this same thin cloud layer. There was a slight band of heavier clouds between the moon and where I saw the lights but I am 90% sure that the lights did not disappear behind any clouds.


((FOLLOW-UP COMMUNICATION))

The red (to orange)light moved in a straight line until just before it disappeared when it appeared to stop for a moment or two and then began heading east. (Again, the very slow speed of the object was, to me, very strange and what really kept my attention.) I agree that a white light moving slowly and then disappearing, under other conditions, would beg to be labeled a satellite, but the conditions at this
location, in that direction and under these weather conditions was not right for a satellite. One of my hobbies on weekend nights, when I do not work is to sit in my backyard and hope to see meteors. I have seen many satellites and I would bet the farm that this was not one. This light, though not
blinding was at least as bright as Jupiter, considering that Jupiter was dimmed somewhat by the icy haze in the air. It seemed too low in the sky to have been a satellite and the fact that it appeared so suddenly and so close to the red light (probably two to three fingers width at arms length "lower" than the red light) was at best very coincidental. The location I was at is just not conducive to seeing satellites. One cannot even see stars that low in the sky facing north. Its just too close to downtown Tulsa. Too much light.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Thanks again.

((name deleted)) in OKlahoma

PS Say hi to Jeff for me next time you are on the show.