2008-03-26 - Napa, CA - Triangle

Sighted two silent fast moving triangular craft with lights moving south to north over Napa California on 03-26-08.

I am reporting the sighting of two black triangles flying south to north over Napa California. I am a Police Officer at Napa State Hospital and was on duty during this sighting. On 03-26-08 at 21:07 I was looking west at the constellation Orion and the Pleiades.

I noticed what at first looked like three stars in a triangular formation all moving together. When I looked closer I could see the lights were on a triangular form that was darker than the sky background. I watched the object move from south to north at what I approximate as between 500 to 1,000 feet in altitude. I estimate the object was 20 miles west of me over the Napa / Sonoma County line. The object seemed to be an equilateral triangle with a steady white light near each corner. There was also a dimmer white light in the center of the object. I would estimate that the distance between the outer lights near the corners was slightly less than the distance that separates the stars in Orion’s belt.

Based on these observations and my estimations, the object would have been quite large. A rough estimate would place the sides of the object at 300 feet in length. A better extrapolation could be ascertained from my previous estimations though. The object was moving very swiftly and was completely silent. I often watch aircraft take off and land at the Napa Airport while working on the west side of our facility in the evenings. The evening was quiet and I could hear each aircraft as it passes over me, even those at high altitudes. At the time I saw the object, there were no other aircraft in my field of view. Additionally, I have some experience flying a Cessna 172 from the Napa Airport when I was taking flying lessons and am familiar with basic avionics and flight characteristics.

At the distance and altitude I estimate the object was from me, the object appeared to be flying at a rate at least ten times that of the many commercial and private jets I often observe in the air corridors above Napa. I continued to watch the object as it disappeared behind some trees to the north of me.

I looked at my watch and marked the time at 21:07 then reached in my pocket for my cell phone. I was trying to dial my phone by touch so as to preserve my night vision while looking back toward Orion. As I did this I saw another identical object moving in the same manner as the first. This was almost one minute from the sighting of the first object. I continued to watch the object until it disappeared behind the same trees.

I returned my observation toward Orion to see if there were any more. I watched this portion of the sky while glancing at other portions of the sky for another ten minutes before I stopped to call my friend to tell him about the sighting.