2011-11-18 - Athens, OH - Unknown

Flying object with 3 red, rear end tail lights in the shape of a triangle that illuminated in and out of brightness.

I heard a loud humming/engine noise through the screen door of my apartment so I stepped out onto my third story balcony and saw a low flying aircraft that appeared to be in the shape of a cylinder, but I cannot confirm this shape due to how dark it was outside. The object headed NW and held a very steady altitude and speed, almost as if it was on cruise control.

What was most noticeable were the lights on the rear end of the craft. From my vantage point, I watched the object from behind and had a clear visual of the back end of the object. It appeared to have a large panel of lights on the rear end of it. In the center of the panel were three red lights in the shape of a triangle that illuminated in and out slowly. There were other white lights that surrounded the triangular shaped lights in the center but these did not dim in and out as the red ones did.

I watched the object until it disappeared behind a tree line. The light characteristics, altitude and speed remained constant throughout the entire duration of the sighting.

I am an avid stargazer and night sky observer and am very familiar with the characteristics of airplanes and helicopters, especially at night. What I saw this particular night did not fit either of those descriptions.