2003-12-08 - Myrtle Beach, SC - Light

Bright orange light lasts 3-5 seconds over ocean, accompanied by multiple strobe lights

Have seen this phenomena several times over the last couple of months, and did a web search to see if anyone else has seen it, hence this report. I live in an oceanfront condo, and was sitting on my balcony overlooking the ocean when a bright orange light appeared approximately 25 degrees off the horizon over the ocean. The light was bright enough to reflect in the water, although how far away it was I could not discern. The light basically blinked on, remained bright for about 3-5 seconds, and then quickly faded out. It did not move. Another light appeared about 5 minutes later at about the same height, but a quarter of the horizon north. Another appeared 10 minutes later, directly in front of me, at the same level, and as soon as it faded out, another one appeared maybe 5 degrees away from the first. The light is large, to my eye approximately 10 times larger than Mars. Focusing binoculars on the light does not provide any discernible object, with no running lights visible after it fades to indicate an aircraft. There was a full moon out, which backlit the sky enough to make any physical object visible through binoculars. The sky was clear. Each time I have seen these orange lights, they are accompanied by a multitude of white strobes, numbering anywhere between 10-30, which move across the sky at various altitudes, but the movement is erratic. I am used to seeing aircraft strobes as planes departing and landing from the Myrtle Beach airport fly across the ocean regularly. These strobes do not track like an aircraft, but erratically bounce around. At times a red strobe can be seen alongside the white strobes. Mostly the strobes can only be seen with binoculars, however it is not uncommon to discern them with the naked eye once you know what to look for. I have always seen these objects between 9pm and 11pm, sometimes they last for two hours, other times for a half hour. Tonight I observed a set of 6 white strobes move inland for the first time. They normally remain offshore. The strobe! s are very small, which makes judging their distance difficult. The strobes and orange lights sometimes appear on one side of the horizon, then the orange light will appear on the opposite side, and the strobes appear to race across the sky to it. A multitude of aircraft with strobes moving as a group may appear they are moving erratically due to the nature of a strobe light. The only explaination I can devise concerning the orange lights is possibly the glow from afterburners, although there is no aircraft visible when it fades, ie no running lights. Two guests have seen these lights on different nights with me.