2005-09-30 - Bourbonnais, IL - Light

Bourbonnais ,Il 09-30-05 (2) bright moving lights,very high - lasting 6 - 8 seconds

I was not planning on sending a report of any kind in until I read about the sighting on this same date (09-30-05) in the Orland Park/Tinley Park Il. area. The times are different but with such a coincidence having occurred, I thought it worth mentioning.

I was part of a large group of amateur astronomers at a star gazing event when several people yelled out to look at the constellation Cassiopeia which was at approx. 45-50 degrees or so to the northeast at about 1920 hrs. or so. I'm not sure of the exact time but it was not quite dark.

I, along with several others observed (2) very bright white lights traveling through Cassiopeia in a north/northeasterly direction. The lights were about 2 fingerwidths apart with an outstretched arm and of a magnitude of approx. -2 to -3.

One light was behind the other. They shined for no longer than 8 seconds or so then faded out quickly.

Discussion afterwards varied but several, including myself believe we saw 2 Iridium flares very close together which would be very unusual or a rocket launch/seperation of some kind.

The location of this sighting in relation to the Orland Park/Tinley Park sighting which occurred later on this same date is of concern because those two towns are only approx. 25-30 miles north of the location we observed the lights.


((NUFORC Note: We have received many reports of these two satellites, although we are not able to identify them. We wonder whether they might somehow be related to the "triplet" of satellites, which, from time to time, are reported to our Center, and which are thought to be part of the U. S. Navy's "NOSS" satellite program.

We suspect that the lights, given that they apparently had an easterly component to their groundtrack, and that they faded in the eastern sky, almost certainly were satellites. Just a guess, on our part. PD))