2 objects that looked like bright stars moving in parallel about 45 degrees above the horizon
There were 2 objects moving in parallel that each looked like a bright star. The moon was bright and there was some high altitude haze in the atmosphere, so most stars were barely visible at the time. At first glance this looked like 2 stars, but then I noticed they were moving slowly. They appeared to be at very high altitude, maybe 40K feet. The moved due East in parallel to each other for about 10 seconds. Then they faded away gradually over a ~5 second period. I estimate the lights were about 45 degrees above the horizon.
There are no major airports due East of Raleigh, but there are military bases East of here. These lights did not have the typical strobes flashing that is common on commercial aircraft. Most high altitude air traffic over Raleigh is running North-South up the East coast of the country. Given the lack of strobes on what I observed, I'm confident these were not commercial aircraft.
The only plausible explanation would be military aircraft. Military aircraft can run without lights. But do they have bright lights to illuminate them like a star? These objects were bright and no strobes were present. The looked like bright stars or a planet would look, such as Venus. Given that they appeared to be at high altitude, they would not have been flying in close military formation. I would estimate the distance between these 2 objects would have been over a mile if they were at 40K feet. Given that they were well above the horizon and the lights faded relatively quickly (~5 seconds), it's not consistent with an aircraft slowing flying out of sight over the horizon. I have no explanation.
Also, high altitude commercial air traffic was leaving vapor trails in the atmosphere on this night, visible by the moonlight. These objects left no vapor trail.
((NUFORC Note: Witness elects to remain totally anonymous; provides no contact information. PD))
There were 2 objects moving in parallel that each looked like a bright star. The moon was bright and there was some high altitude haze in the atmosphere, so most stars were barely visible at the time. At first glance this looked like 2 stars, but then I noticed they were moving slowly. They appeared to be at very high altitude, maybe 40K feet. The moved due East in parallel to each other for about 10 seconds. Then they faded away gradually over a ~5 second period. I estimate the lights were about 45 degrees above the horizon.
There are no major airports due East of Raleigh, but there are military bases East of here. These lights did not have the typical strobes flashing that is common on commercial aircraft. Most high altitude air traffic over Raleigh is running North-South up the East coast of the country. Given the lack of strobes on what I observed, I'm confident these were not commercial aircraft.
The only plausible explanation would be military aircraft. Military aircraft can run without lights. But do they have bright lights to illuminate them like a star? These objects were bright and no strobes were present. The looked like bright stars or a planet would look, such as Venus. Given that they appeared to be at high altitude, they would not have been flying in close military formation. I would estimate the distance between these 2 objects would have been over a mile if they were at 40K feet. Given that they were well above the horizon and the lights faded relatively quickly (~5 seconds), it's not consistent with an aircraft slowing flying out of sight over the horizon. I have no explanation.
Also, high altitude commercial air traffic was leaving vapor trails in the atmosphere on this night, visible by the moonlight. These objects left no vapor trail.
((NUFORC Note: Witness elects to remain totally anonymous; provides no contact information. PD))
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Off
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Raleigh
USA
15 seconds
15 seconds
35.83
-78.64
light
NC
Occurred : 10/19/2010 20:15 (Entered as : 10/19/10 20:15) Reported: 10/19/2010 5:48:26 PM 17:48 Posted: 11/21/2010 Location: Raleigh, NC Shape: Light Duration: 15 seconds Characteristics: There were lights on the object
2 objects that looked like bright stars moving in parallel about 45 degrees above the horizon