2009-07-18 - Stirling, AB

4 witnesses to group of objects sighted in Southern Alberta, Canada, traveling SE toward Great Falls, MT

A group of 6 of us had just finished watching fireworks in the small town of Stirling, Alberta (45 min car drive from the US Border, 2.5 hours car drive NW of Great Falls, MT). The sky was very clear and the stars were bright. We could see the Milky Way and observed a satellite going over traveling south to north, and a jet airliner with red and white lights traveling northwest toward Calgary (3 hour car drive northwest). We saw a couple of shooting stars to the southwest. We then observed what appeared to be another satellite – but it was traveling what we noticed was kinda the wrong direction - north to south/southwest. We thought it seemed odd. There were only 4 of us really looking up. The other two were under a small lattice awning in the back yard of the home and didn't see what we were seeing. I watched the “satellite” for about 5 seconds and then looked north a little bit and saw a small bunch of what I thought were faint stars – but then realized they were moving…in formation following the larger “satellite” and getting closer and closer. I shouted to the others to look and 3 of the others, ages 19, 10, and 40 (I am 48) viewed the same thing I did for approximately 1 more minute: The formation was about 8 or 9 dim lights smaller than the larger light and they were in two V/type shapes that moved together but the V’s then bowed /morphed into more of two U shaped formations but random in their placement, not symmetrical…all the same size and dimly lit, following the larger light. The larger light stopped or rather slowed way down and the smaller groups got closer and closer, then they were all out of sight. My 10 year old kept watching the general area then said she saw, for about 3 seconds, two small faint clusters and then 2 lines of light between them then they disappeared.