2012-06-02 - Bozeman, MT - Formation

Four orange lights brighter than stars moving erratically and forming a Y

I checked the clock as I walked out for my nightly walk with our dog on 6/2/12, it read 11:16 pm. Nothing seemed amiss as I walked to the park, watching the sky as I normally do. Being an avid sky watcher I keep track of space weather catching meteor showers and aurora often at 46 deg. N (As I type now the aurora are flickering outside with a hazy white glow.)

The moon was out almost full and there was partial cloud cover to the south. I noticed several planes and satellites seeing the tell tale signs, flashings lights and steady paths.

To the south I saw an orange ball of light, it was bright and larger then the stars. I waited for it to come in thinking it could be a planes spotlight coming directly at me. Then two other orange lights started moving up from below horizon line and climbed up towards the first light.

While this was happening a fourth orange light appeared near the first.

They started to move erratically around the first but not very fast and silently, until they reached formation. The formation was a large sideways Y, there was a dot on each point and at the center where the lines meet.

They then began to glow very brightly, and I took off running home. I got my girlfriend and we ran up to the deck and both watched as the lights moved about in front of passing clouds.

I struggled to get my camera out, by the time I did two had vanished. Now only the first and fourth remained. I zoomed in and narrated as the first one stayed lit and the fourth faded in and out a few times but stayed in the same spot. I turned off the camera to save memory but did manage to get two of the four lights on video.

After this the original disappeared, and I thought are we the only ones that saw this, then did they or it see us. In what to me seemed like a response to my thought, the lights on the neighbors porch started to strobe individually for about 10 to 15 seconds.

These two lights are on the same circuit and are both controlled by one light switch, so this was very strange. I then ! felt it best to go inside and lock up for the night.