2004-06-24 - Edgewood, NM - Light

APPROXIMATELY THIS TIME THURSDAY EVENING ON A DARK NIGHT 6/24/04 9:29P.M. I SAW 2 WHITE LIGHTS, PERHAPS A MATCH HEAD IN SIZE AT ARMS LENGTH, FLYING IN UNISON AND TRAVELING FROM EAST TO WEST NORTH OF I-40. THE LIGHTS APPEARED TO COME OUT OF NOWHERE IN THE EAST NEAR MORIARTY, N.M., AND SEEMED TO COVER THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MORIARTY AND THE SANDIA MOUNTAINS IN ABOUT 8-9 SECONDS, A DISTANCE OF 20 MILES, AND WITH NO SOUND WHATSOEVER. THE TWO LIGHTS WERE INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER AND WERE BLINKING-LIKE FLASH/FLASH, 2 TIMES, WITH ABOUT 2 SECONDS BETWEEN THE 2 FLASHES. A FEW SECONDS AFTER FIRST SEEING THE LIGHTS IN FLIGHT THEY WENT ALMOST STRAIGHT UP SEVERAL DEGREES AND THEN ALMOST STRAIGHT DOWN. BUT, STRANGELY, THEN IN A MATTER OF SECONDS LATER ONE LIGHT CAME TO A FULL STOP WHILE THE OTHER LIGHT WENT ON AHEAD AT A VERY FAST SPEED. A FEW SECONDS PASSED WHEN SUDDENLY THE SECOND LIGHT ZOOMED AT A VERY HIGH SPEED TO CATCH UP WITH THE FIRST LIGHT. BOTH LIGHTS APPEARED TO RISE OVER THE SANDIA MOUNTAIN RANGE AND INTO THE CLOUDS OVER THE MOUNTAINS WHEREBY THEY WERE NO LONGER VISIBLE. THE PEAK OF THE SANDIA MOUNTAIN IS ABOUT 10,600 FEET SO IT IS LIKELY THE LIGHTS WERE BELOW THAT LEVEL IN HAVING TO RISE TO CLEAR THE MOUNTAIN RANGE.

A LITTLE MATH AND A FEW FIGURES. THE ALTITUDE OF MORIARTY IS 6200 FEET AND THAT OF THE SANDIA MOUNTAIN PEAK IS 10,600 FEET, AN ALTITUDE DIFFERENCE OF ABOUT 4400 FEET. THE 2 LIGHTS COULD HAVE BEEN TRAVELING LIKELY BETWEEN 2500 AND 3500 FEET AND THEN RISING WELL OVER 10,600 FEET INTO THE MOUNTAIN CLOUDS. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MORIARTY AND CEDAR CREST, AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAINS, IS ABOUT 20 MILES. THE 2 LIGHTS WERE IN VIEW FOR ABOUT 8-9 SECONDS BUT -- LET'S SAY 10 SECONDS. WITH 3600 SECONDS IN AN HOUR, DIVIDED BY 10 SECONDS FOR 20 MILES IS 3600/10=360 X 20 IS 7200 MPH FOR A PROBABLE ESTIMATED SPEED OF THE LIGHTS. THE SPEED COULD HAVE LIKELY BEEN EVEN HIGHER.