2009-04-03 - Saint Augustine Beach, FL - Sphere

Anomolous Aircraft Sighting in Saint Augustine Florida

I am writing to describe an anomalous sighting of an aircraft that I witnessed alone last night. I live in a condo on Butler Beach very near Saint Augustine Beach and the ancient city of Saint Augustine. Very often I take a 4 mile walk on the beach in the evenings.

Last night, Friday April 3, 2009, I left my house at approximately 9:00 PM (I did not wear a watch) and I walked south down the beach from Dondanville Road to Mary Street (2 miles) where I turned around and was approximately one half mile north of the Matanzas Street beach ramp (I estimate it was between 9:35 and 9:45 PM). I was noticing the bright moon nearly directly overhead casting a short shadow as I walked and I turned around and looked up to admire it. A bright banana yellow object caught my eye…it was far off in the distance (low on the horizon)but increased by double in size in just about 15 seconds…it still was very far off and at first looked like it might be an airplane (except for the unusual color). After 15 seconds it looked more like a Coast Guard Helicopter with a search light on and it was much closer (I am estimating 3-4 miles away).

I took my headphones off to listen but heard nothing. The yellow light continued parallel to the beach and I looked very carefully to see the green and white flashing lights of an airplane to appear – which they did not. When I first saw the light it was low on the horizon and seemed to have a contrail. I thought maybe it was a space shuttle launch or a missile. But then it kept getting closer and larger and was not climbing higher. It did not seem to leave any further contrails after I saw it—it was like it might have been after a vertical climb.

I am sorry but I am completely unable to surmise its size. I had nothing to compare it to out over the water…but at its largest it would have been about 10% of a full moon (low on the horizon rising) at its closest to me -- I am estimating that to be a quarter mile to as far as a half a mile away. I know that is no help. I held my arm out and my thumb completely covered it and would have even if it had been four times larger. The light continued towards me and parallel to the beach but and one point it turned directly to me and glowed very brightly, again in that banana yellow. It grew larger and seemed to be moving very fast – about the size of a softball, held at my arms length – now dwarfing my thumb. The light became so bright that it illuminated the water like a ray of sunshine…but again in that bright yellow—very similar to a ray of sunshine – not diffused at all. At that point I felt that it must be a helicopter but none the less I felt a little scared.

The light shifted slowly away from heading towards the beach (and me) to directly out to the ocean. As it turned it looked half yellow and half orange with a fire-like flickering. Finally it turned all orange and sped off impossibly fast due east and then grew very orange and doubled in size and then completely disappeared after a thunder-like orange flash…and the atmosphere looking all wavy like a heat distortion around where the light was. I continued to watch for five minutes. I looked all around the beach and saw no one else nearby. I have no idea what it was I saw but I am very interested in knowing if anyone else saw it.