Extremely bright light traveling west to east on erratic course.
06-08-07 At approximately 12:55 AM on 06-08-07 I parked my car facing north; weather was clear with some clouds on the distant north horizon. As soon as I shut the door I noticed a bright light moving high in the western sky. I initially dismissed it as a commercial airplane but the size and speed caught my attention. It was moving faster than any satellite I have ever seen, and extremely bright. Light was larger than a star and extremely bright; at least a magnitude -4 or -5.
As I stood in the driveway it passed from west to east almost directly overhead. I have not seen a commercial airplane cruise at such a speed, and it was most definitely not a satellite of any kind.
Light was so bright I assumed for a moment it must be a small, quick plane with it’s landing lights on or a helicopter, but as it passed overhead it began to zig and zag erratically, maintaining a fast course to the general east. There were no sounds of prop or jet engines whatsoever. It crossed from west to east in roughly 30-45 seconds, beginning to fade at around a minute and finally winking out high on the horizon. There were no visible secondary beacons or green/red signals of any kind the entire time, not even as it passed to the east--just one single bright light on a shifting course. Duration could not have been more than 90 seconds.
Did anyone else see this around 1:00 AM Friday? I cannot explain what that light was. I am of sound mind and have better than average vision. I work in the aerospace field, and this was not any aircraft I could identify. I was not swaying on my feet; the light was definitely moving in an erratic manner. The magnitude remained constant until it began to pass lower into the eastern horizon. I could not make out any sort of structure at any time; it was too bright.
All I can liken it too would be a double-sized Jupiter traveling across the sky.
At 1:06AM, I stepped back outside facing east. There were no aircraft I could see or hear, but within seconds a small burst of light caught my attention. I spotted a fast satellite moving south to north, flashing every few seconds. Before I could track that one for long I spotted another flashing satellite moving north to south. Both passed close to each other right overhead. I have seen flashing satellites before, and are usually about magnitude +2; both of these were emitting far brighter flashes than that, I’ve never seen anything like it! It was almost more of a strobe. As soon as the first two passed each other I spotted a third, moving roughly SE to NW. All three seemed to be traveling fast for a satellites but I’m not an expert.
Probably nothing, but I still found it interesting to spot three strange satellites barely 15 minutes after sighting such a strange light in the sky. I also understand that some satellites will flash reflect light, but still. The clouds drew over within another 20 minutes. I stepped out twice to smoke before 2:25 AM, and incredibly each time in a break in the overcast, directly overhead, I spotted another brightly flashing satellite moving south to north, just like the others. Weird!
06-08-07 At approximately 12:55 AM on 06-08-07 I parked my car facing north; weather was clear with some clouds on the distant north horizon. As soon as I shut the door I noticed a bright light moving high in the western sky. I initially dismissed it as a commercial airplane but the size and speed caught my attention. It was moving faster than any satellite I have ever seen, and extremely bright. Light was larger than a star and extremely bright; at least a magnitude -4 or -5.
As I stood in the driveway it passed from west to east almost directly overhead. I have not seen a commercial airplane cruise at such a speed, and it was most definitely not a satellite of any kind.
Light was so bright I assumed for a moment it must be a small, quick plane with it’s landing lights on or a helicopter, but as it passed overhead it began to zig and zag erratically, maintaining a fast course to the general east. There were no sounds of prop or jet engines whatsoever. It crossed from west to east in roughly 30-45 seconds, beginning to fade at around a minute and finally winking out high on the horizon. There were no visible secondary beacons or green/red signals of any kind the entire time, not even as it passed to the east--just one single bright light on a shifting course. Duration could not have been more than 90 seconds.
Did anyone else see this around 1:00 AM Friday? I cannot explain what that light was. I am of sound mind and have better than average vision. I work in the aerospace field, and this was not any aircraft I could identify. I was not swaying on my feet; the light was definitely moving in an erratic manner. The magnitude remained constant until it began to pass lower into the eastern horizon. I could not make out any sort of structure at any time; it was too bright.
All I can liken it too would be a double-sized Jupiter traveling across the sky.
At 1:06AM, I stepped back outside facing east. There were no aircraft I could see or hear, but within seconds a small burst of light caught my attention. I spotted a fast satellite moving south to north, flashing every few seconds. Before I could track that one for long I spotted another flashing satellite moving north to south. Both passed close to each other right overhead. I have seen flashing satellites before, and are usually about magnitude +2; both of these were emitting far brighter flashes than that, I’ve never seen anything like it! It was almost more of a strobe. As soon as the first two passed each other I spotted a third, moving roughly SE to NW. All three seemed to be traveling fast for a satellites but I’m not an expert.
Probably nothing, but I still found it interesting to spot three strange satellites barely 15 minutes after sighting such a strange light in the sky. I also understand that some satellites will flash reflect light, but still. The clouds drew over within another 20 minutes. I stepped out twice to smoke before 2:25 AM, and incredibly each time in a break in the overcast, directly overhead, I spotted another brightly flashing satellite moving south to north, just like the others. Weird!
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Lake Stevens
USA
90 seconds (approx.)
90 seconds (approx.)
48.01
-122.07
light
WA
Occurred : 6/8/2007 00:55 (Entered as : 06/08/07 0:55) Reported: 6/8/2007 2:39:03 AM 02:39 Posted: 6/12/2007 Location: Lake Stevens, WA Shape: Light Duration: 90 seconds (approx.) Characteristics: There were lights on the object, There was an aura or haze around the object, There were aircraft in the vicinity or aircraft chasing the object
Extremely bright light traveling west to east on erratic course.