2003-09-08 - Maui, HI - Flash

My wife and I were on our honeymoon and I was out running on the beach very early in the morning. I stopped to stretch and look at the stars sometime between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m. I believe. I was looking out toward the west (slightly south) above the ocean as we were staying in Lahaina. Suddenly one star flared brightly and decended. If I put my hand about a foot in front of my face and spread my index and thumb fingers apart I'd say the object fell down about 4 1/2 inches. It then turned toward the left. The turn was a curved (not sharp) 90 degree turn. Also, the speed of both the fall and the turn was fairly constant. It was brightest at the bottom of the fall and during the turn. It then ascended straight up again and slowly faded in brightness to about the size of a star or satellite. It then proceeded on a straight course over my head and past the hotel behind me as if it were a normal satellite. While it passed over head I observed only a straight course with no turns and the speed stayed fairly constant.

I've read other reports and comments by investigators about "iridium" satellite flashes. I'd like to know exactly what those are in case that might be it. However, from my vantage point it clearly looked as if it "fell" into the atmosphere, veared off to the left, and then rose out of the atmosphere. I don't know of any commercial aircraft or even space craft that can currently do that, but wouldn't be surprised to know that our military might have something like that.

((NUFORC Note: Iridium satellites do not turn during the short period of time that the sunlight glints off their solar panels, and is visible to witnesses in a small area on the ground. Iridium flash data are available at www.heavens-above.com.