2007-09-05 - Hondo, TX - Formation

Arc-shaped craft / formation of lights moving at very high speed East to West at low altitude

A friend and I were walking on the Hondo High School track for almost 45 minutes without incident. The night was partly cloudy and low clouds were moving northward with patches of open sky and stars visible at times between the clouds. The wind was blowing from the south at approximately 5-10 mph. Temperature was approximately 78°F. Visibility as reported by the Weather Channel was approximately 10 miles. At approximately 11:38pm CST, as were walking on the northernmost point of the track, my friend was startled and pointed to an object observable above the northern tree line moving East to West at a high rate of speed. My first thought was that it was a falling star due to it's silent flight. Then, as I noticed NO downward movement of the object and what appeared to be either 1) multiple lights OR 2) several different objects flying in formation, I quickly realized that the object was moving in a trajectory PERPENDICULAR to the horizon and not FALLING as I had first assumed. The object continued it's high-speed horizontal movement and as it was going to pass behind the town water tower, I ran to the next visible observation point to get a better view. I was able to observe the object continue it's East to West path and when it once again was going to disappear behind the treeline, I ran to another spot where I could possibly see it again. When I got to where I could see the area where the object was headed, it was gone. I can't say for certain what direction it went in after I saw it the second time but it was definitely gone by the third time I was able to see it's path. It was traveling completely silent, with no engine noises whatsoever. It was not a helicopter (too fast and too silent), it was not a propeller-driven plane (too fast and too silent), and it was not a jet because their was no sound whatsoever even after it passed. Its appearance was blocked a bit by the low clouds but the lights showing from behind the clouds. It was either one LARGE silently moving obje! ct OR se veral objects flying in a VERY TIGHT arc formation for a considerable distance with no real deviation from a perfect arc. The object traveled at an elevation that was in a straight line with the local water tower and approximately at a 25° angle from where I was standing. The object's distance from me was unknown. I have had experience with the observation of flying objects in the past. I know what a jet, plane, helicopter, and falling star appear like in the Texas sky. This object had NO visible running lights. The only lights visible were the bright white series of lights that made up the arc that made up the object or objects. The object appeared to be moving faster than any jet or aircraft that I have observed in the sky in the past and with NO sound whatsoever. My friend is a Certified Nurses Assistant. I am an entrepreneur/business owner and hold a BS in Ecology from Texas A&M University. All details are as we saw them at that time.