Bright yellow ball with red comet tail turning into 3 lights in the shape of a triangle
I had just gotten off work at 12:30 in the A.M. and as I was leaving the parking lot I noticed an object in the sky. I slowed to a stop along side the road and watched it. It was a bright yellow ball with a comet tail that was bright red. It was close enough that I could see individual "sparks" coming off the tail. I immediately called 911 on my cell phone. It was heading from the north to the south at about a 15 degree downward angle and appeared to be on an approach path to Sarasota / Bradenton Airport. My work is immediatly behind the airport. I thought it was an aircraft coming in on fire. As I watched and spoke to the officer the tail got shorter and shorter until it was only the bright yellow ball. By this time it was directly in front of me on Tallevast Rd. At this point it appeared to stop moving. The yellow ball the split into 3 white lights in the shape of a perfect triangle. At this point I told the officer that he would think I was crazy and described to him what I saw. He told me that he had several other calls coming in reporting lights. The 3 lights then headed slowly away from me directly infront of me going east on Tallevast Rd. I followed Them for about 1.5 miles. The road was under construction and I could go no farther. I sat and watched the lights for 1 to 2 minutes until they gadually got too far away to see. I have seen the explanation that this was a Titan 4 launch but there is no way this is possible. I have seen other launches and they don't last as long or behave as in this sighting.
((NUFORC Note: Witness is a public employee. PD))
I had just gotten off work at 12:30 in the A.M. and as I was leaving the parking lot I noticed an object in the sky. I slowed to a stop along side the road and watched it. It was a bright yellow ball with a comet tail that was bright red. It was close enough that I could see individual "sparks" coming off the tail. I immediately called 911 on my cell phone. It was heading from the north to the south at about a 15 degree downward angle and appeared to be on an approach path to Sarasota / Bradenton Airport. My work is immediatly behind the airport. I thought it was an aircraft coming in on fire. As I watched and spoke to the officer the tail got shorter and shorter until it was only the bright yellow ball. By this time it was directly in front of me on Tallevast Rd. At this point it appeared to stop moving. The yellow ball the split into 3 white lights in the shape of a perfect triangle. At this point I told the officer that he would think I was crazy and described to him what I saw. He told me that he had several other calls coming in reporting lights. The 3 lights then headed slowly away from me directly infront of me going east on Tallevast Rd. I followed Them for about 1.5 miles. The road was under construction and I could go no farther. I sat and watched the lights for 1 to 2 minutes until they gadually got too far away to see. I have seen the explanation that this was a Titan 4 launch but there is no way this is possible. I have seen other launches and they don't last as long or behave as in this sighting.
((NUFORC Note: Witness is a public employee. PD))
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Sarasota
USA
8-10 min
8-10 min
27.35
-82.51
fireball
FL
Occurred : 9/9/2003 00:31 (Entered as : 09/09/2003 00:31) Reported: 1/27/2005 2:49:37 PM 14:49 Posted: 2/8/2005 Location: Sarasota, FL Shape: Fireball Duration: 8-10 min Characteristics: There were lights on the object, The object left a trail, The object changed color
Bright yellow ball with red comet tail turning into 3 lights in the shape of a triangle