June 26, 2012 – 23:30 pm (approx. time) Weather: Clear sky, no clouds, half moon to east (Not visible to me) Sky view (degrees) est: 120 – north/south, 90 – east/west Fresno, CA (Northeast) Object being chased by 2 fighter jets At approximately 11:30 pm on June 28, 2012, I let my dogs out to do their nightly business. As usual, I went out with them to look at the stars. I was just getting ready to go back inside when I heard a louder than usual jet engine.
I looked up to see two military fighters flying in a north to south direction at a high rate of speed. They appeared to be at about 10 to 12 thousand feet (estimated). I am not sure how fast they were going. Certainly not above mach I, but close, maybe. They were in a slight climb as they passed almost directly overhead. All of their navigational lights and strobes were on.
Just in front of the fighters (approximately one quarter of a mile), I saw a single, pale, greenish/white, spherical light that was about the size of a ballpoint pen tip. It was pulling away, slightly, from the jets.
A few seconds later, the object executed a slight climbing right turn to the southwest, and accelerated, increasing the distance from the fighters as they turned to follow it. At that point, the object disappeared (winked out). The jets continued to the southwest until I could no longer see them.
The whole sighting lasted no more than twenty seconds from the time I first saw the jets until the object winked out.
It is unusual to see any aircraft flying north to south at the altitude I observed, because of the proximity to Fresno Air Terminal, and the traffic patterns. Though, at 11:30 pm, there is almost no air traffic at all. Also, the Air National Guard is based at FAT, and they tend to keep noise levels at a minimum over the city.
I am a retired Information Technology Analyst, and a private pilot, and have lived in Fresno, CA for more than sixty years.
I looked up to see two military fighters flying in a north to south direction at a high rate of speed. They appeared to be at about 10 to 12 thousand feet (estimated). I am not sure how fast they were going. Certainly not above mach I, but close, maybe. They were in a slight climb as they passed almost directly overhead. All of their navigational lights and strobes were on.
Just in front of the fighters (approximately one quarter of a mile), I saw a single, pale, greenish/white, spherical light that was about the size of a ballpoint pen tip. It was pulling away, slightly, from the jets.
A few seconds later, the object executed a slight climbing right turn to the southwest, and accelerated, increasing the distance from the fighters as they turned to follow it. At that point, the object disappeared (winked out). The jets continued to the southwest until I could no longer see them.
The whole sighting lasted no more than twenty seconds from the time I first saw the jets until the object winked out.
It is unusual to see any aircraft flying north to south at the altitude I observed, because of the proximity to Fresno Air Terminal, and the traffic patterns. Though, at 11:30 pm, there is almost no air traffic at all. Also, the Air National Guard is based at FAT, and they tend to keep noise levels at a minimum over the city.
I am a retired Information Technology Analyst, and a private pilot, and have lived in Fresno, CA for more than sixty years.
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Off
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Fresno
USA
20 seconds
20 seconds
36.75
-119.79
sphere
CA
Occurred : 6/26/2012 23:30 (Entered as : 06/26/12 23:30) Reported: 6/29/2012 12:21:47 AM 00:21 Posted: 7/4/2012 Location: Fresno, CA Shape: Sphere Duration: 20 seconds Characteristics: There were aircraft in the vicinity or aircraft chasing the object
Object being chased by 2 fighter jets