2008-03-27 - Joseph, OR - Light

03.27/08, 20:50, Joseph, OR, Observed bright light traveling in the sky for several minutes before disappearing..

I live at a rural location about 7 miles outside of Joseph, Oregon at the foot of the Wallowa Mountains and at an elevation of about 4800 feet. It was one of those beautiful starlit nights that can only be experienced in the mountains. The moon had not yet risen and the sky was magnificantly clear.

I stood looking up at the stars and could see Orion and the Pleiades in the western sky. I then noticed a very bright white light traveling from west to east directly toward me. As there were no blinking wing lights I assumed it to be a satellite. As it came toward me I thought that it was traveling at an uncommonly fast speed for a satellite and seemed to be at a much lower evelation than you would expect a satellite to be. I then heard the distant sound of a jet and noticed a plane traveling in a NW to SE direction above the western horizon over the mountains. I looked back up at the light which was almost directly above me and then noticed another plane on the eastern horizon traveling in a NNW direction above the eastern horizon. Both planes seemed to be at a greater altitude than the light. The bright light came to a stop almost directly above me, made a 90 degree turn to the north and then very rapidly gained altitude, growing smaller and smaller in my vision until it dispeared altogether all in just a few seconds.

I cannot say what this object was. I can only say that it wasn't a satellite, it wasn't an airplane and it behaved in a manner that I never would have believed physically possible.

In defense of myself,I do not drink and I was not under the influence of any substance that might have influenced my perceptions. In short I was in total awareness of my surroundings.