2003-07-17 - Jackson, WY - Light

One very bright light for 8 seconds above the horizon then 2 smaller lights that moved very close to us and we saw 4 seperate times

A friend and I were camping 25mi east of Grand Teton in Teton National Forest. We had gone outside of the tent and sat down to stare at the stars and the mountain, it was approximately 23:30. Then all of a sudden we saw a very bright light that started out small and just got bigger, the light lasted for about 8 seconds. It was above the horizon and was due west from where we were camping. It was so bright that my friend saw it because it was reflecting off of my face. The thing about the light was that it was a very clean, white almost clear light, and was amazingly bright. Since the moon had not risen yet it was very dark, this light illuminated the ground and lasted for 8 seconds. Right before the light vanished it moved up slightly and disappeared. About 10 minutes after that we saw two more lights that were under the horizon also due west of our position, they looked to be a little ways out from the base of the Tetons. They were small but bright and were moving rapidly from south to north. Then all of a sudden the lights started to move towards us from west to east, they were moving very rapidly then disappeared. About 2 minutes later we saw them again moving south to north, then again they turned and came straight at us again. By this time the lights had made it to the base of the hill that we were staying on. The lights vanished again for another 2 minutes then reappeared. They were hovering and moving in a figure 8 type movement, just back and forth behind the trees. They vanished again for another 2 minutes and then reapeared. Altogether we saw these two smaller lights 4 times. It was very strange and somewhat scarry. When they got closer our skin was crawling, it was like we could feel the presence of another being. After the 4th time we saw these lights I just couldn't take it anymore and got inside the tent, I was to scarred to stay outside. Just for your information there was an Indian gathering down the hill from us, it was a big pow wow that this tribe p! uts on every year. the Indians were camping to the south of us about .5 miles away. We do have 3 other witnesses for the first big bright light, but no other witnesses other than my friend and I on the two smaller lights. If you need any more information or need me to be more specific in any way please let me know.

((NUFORC Note: We spoke with this witness at length, and we found him to be quite logical about his sighting, and very credible. The first light the witness observed was not the ISS or the flare from an Iridium satellite. The latter would not illuminate the ground noticably, and it would not illuminate the face of the witness, such that another person could detect the illumination on the observer's face, as apparently happened in this case. The lights seen later could not have been satellites, if they were below the observer's (effective) horizon. In addition, aircraft generally are not allowed to fly over national parks. PD))