2012-11-02 - Lewiston, ME - Light

Fast moving bright light that stopped suddenly

I was leaving a convenience store on Main Street in Lewiston. Wondering about the weather for the next day, I looked up to see if the cloud cover was still solid. For a moment I saw nothing, then thought I saw a bright star. I quickly realized the “star” was moving at a fairly rapid pace, heading from south to north. As I watched, I realized there was no break in the clouds – it was solid overcast and still raining lightly. As I ran through what the object might be, I thought jet plane at first. It was much too fast for a small prop plane or a helicopter, but the speed could have looked like how a low jet might appear. I don’t think it could have been a plane though, since it was only a solid bright white light – no flashing lights light an aircraft would have. I thought it must be a satellite, but thought a satellite would be much higher, and above the high cloud cover. Then, the thing that puzzles me happened. The object had been clearly visible the entire time, and was moving steadily, with no variation in the intensity of the light, or the direction or speed. Then without slowing, it stopped short and remained stationary. I stayed and watched for about 5 minutes, and the thing just stayed there, perfectly stationary.