Light in sky slowly fades after being hit with violet laser
At 6:03am PDT 10-24-08, I was on the front porch of our home having a smoke.
In the northwest sky, I saw a light. It was yellowish-white and somewhat bright (est. magnitude -2), so I thought it was the planet Saturn. I observed it for approximately 30 seconds; it exhibited no movement or change in intensity, and it "twinkled" slightly. So I shot at it with a violet laser (power output 111.9mW and spectrographically measured wavelength of ~407.5nm). After shooting at it intermittently for ~10 seconds, the light started to diminish, until ~5 seconds later it had totally extinguished.
I discounted phosphenes pretty much at once because the light remained in a fixed position in the sky when my eyes were moved, and discounted a terrestrial aircraft for the same reason, and because no strobes were seen (I would have certainly *NOT* hosed it down with a laser if I had even the slightest suspicion that it was an aircraft!).
Conditions at the time of this sighting were clear skies, calm winds, and a temperature of 47°F (8.33°C).
At 6:03am PDT 10-24-08, I was on the front porch of our home having a smoke.
In the northwest sky, I saw a light. It was yellowish-white and somewhat bright (est. magnitude -2), so I thought it was the planet Saturn. I observed it for approximately 30 seconds; it exhibited no movement or change in intensity, and it "twinkled" slightly. So I shot at it with a violet laser (power output 111.9mW and spectrographically measured wavelength of ~407.5nm). After shooting at it intermittently for ~10 seconds, the light started to diminish, until ~5 seconds later it had totally extinguished.
I discounted phosphenes pretty much at once because the light remained in a fixed position in the sky when my eyes were moved, and discounted a terrestrial aircraft for the same reason, and because no strobes were seen (I would have certainly *NOT* hosed it down with a laser if I had even the slightest suspicion that it was an aircraft!).
Conditions at the time of this sighting were clear skies, calm winds, and a temperature of 47°F (8.33°C).
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Off
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Sacramento
USA
45 seconds
45 seconds
38.58
-121.44
light
CA
Occurred : 10/24/2008 06:03 (Entered as : 10-24-08 6:03) Reported: 10/24/2008 6:46:03 AM 06:46 Posted: 10/31/2008 Location: Sacramento, CA Shape: Light Duration: 45 seconds Characteristics: There were lights on the object
Light in sky slowly fades after being hit with violet laser