Strange Orange Lights seen off Carolina and Kure Beaches, North Carolina
My wife and some friends were vacationing at a beachfront home in Kure Beach, NC. One night a friend and I were sitting on the front deck, enjoying the cool breeze and our view of the ocean. The sky was fairly clear, with numerous stars and a few thin clouds. Several airplanes (both jet and prop) were visible as we talked. Suddenly we both saw a bright orange ball of light to our left, towards the fishing pier at Carolina Beach. The object appeared to be a considerable distance away, at least several miles off the coast. The object moved in a straight line and was extremely bright. It abruptly lost its brilliance and became a tiny point of light (which was still visible), and then several seconds later it regained its former brilliance before completely fading from sight. As my friend and I discussed what the object could have been, a few minutes later we saw a remarkably similar object (perhaps the same?) to our right - this time it was a little closer, and it behaved in the same manner as the first object. Finally, about five minutes or so later, we again saw a similar object - this time it was almost directly in front of us, higher above the horizon, and it was much closer - I would guess it was a mile or less off of the beach. It appeared to be simply a large, brilliantly lit orange ball of light. The object was in view for only a few seconds before it vanished. We did not see the object(s) at any other time that night. My friend and I considered our options - the objects couldn't have been lights from a ship as they were too far above the horizon. They could not have been fireworks or flares, as we saw nothing go up and the objects moved on a steady flight path - they didn't arc or go down. I have never seen a shooting star behave in such a manner. The objects might have been lights from one or more airplanes, except for the fact that the objects bore no resemblance to the numerous airplanes that we did see at night throughout our trip, and not one of the objects made any sound what! soever.
I have considered the possibility that the objects were satellites reflecting the sun, except that we saw three lights in fairly rapid succession (fifteen minutes or less) in different parts of the sky. In short, my friend and I were both stumped, and I admit that on other nights we looked for similar lights, but with no luck. I seriously doubt that we saw something from "outer space", but whatever these "objects" were remains a mystery to us.
My wife and some friends were vacationing at a beachfront home in Kure Beach, NC. One night a friend and I were sitting on the front deck, enjoying the cool breeze and our view of the ocean. The sky was fairly clear, with numerous stars and a few thin clouds. Several airplanes (both jet and prop) were visible as we talked. Suddenly we both saw a bright orange ball of light to our left, towards the fishing pier at Carolina Beach. The object appeared to be a considerable distance away, at least several miles off the coast. The object moved in a straight line and was extremely bright. It abruptly lost its brilliance and became a tiny point of light (which was still visible), and then several seconds later it regained its former brilliance before completely fading from sight. As my friend and I discussed what the object could have been, a few minutes later we saw a remarkably similar object (perhaps the same?) to our right - this time it was a little closer, and it behaved in the same manner as the first object. Finally, about five minutes or so later, we again saw a similar object - this time it was almost directly in front of us, higher above the horizon, and it was much closer - I would guess it was a mile or less off of the beach. It appeared to be simply a large, brilliantly lit orange ball of light. The object was in view for only a few seconds before it vanished. We did not see the object(s) at any other time that night. My friend and I considered our options - the objects couldn't have been lights from a ship as they were too far above the horizon. They could not have been fireworks or flares, as we saw nothing go up and the objects moved on a steady flight path - they didn't arc or go down. I have never seen a shooting star behave in such a manner. The objects might have been lights from one or more airplanes, except for the fact that the objects bore no resemblance to the numerous airplanes that we did see at night throughout our trip, and not one of the objects made any sound what! soever.
I have considered the possibility that the objects were satellites reflecting the sun, except that we saw three lights in fairly rapid succession (fifteen minutes or less) in different parts of the sky. In short, my friend and I were both stumped, and I admit that on other nights we looked for similar lights, but with no luck. I seriously doubt that we saw something from "outer space", but whatever these "objects" were remains a mystery to us.
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Off
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Kure Beach
USA
15 minutes (approximate)
15 minutes (approximate)
33.99
-77.91
light
NC
Occurred : 6/15/2004 22:00 (Entered as : 06/15/2004 22:00) Reported: 6/19/2004 5:41:04 PM 17:41 Posted: 6/23/2004 Location: Kure Beach, NC Shape: Light Duration: 15 minutes (approximate) Characteristics: There were lights on the object, There were aircraft in the vicinity or aircraft chasing the object
Strange Orange Lights seen off Carolina and Kure Beaches, North Carolina