Red ball of light, became a halo as it moved up into the sky, flew erratically then straightened out
One object came up from the South. It started low on the horizon, and I thought it was just a plane heading North for a landing, as planes often fly over from that direction as they're heading North to land at the airport.
The object was really low, though, and right as I was about to look away, I saw it jerk to the West suddenly. My initial reaction was “what the hell?” I thought then that it might be a meteor that was splitting up, and that it was so low it might hit nearby.
My view was partially obscured by the bare branches of a tree in front of me, so I moved out away from the tree to see if I could verify it was just an aircraft or meteor. I kept my eye on the thing as I walked out away from the building I live at, and it continued to jerk side to side as it headed North.
When I got a good view of it without any obstructions, I could tell it wasn't a plane. There were no flashing lights. It wasn't making any sound at all, and it was moving significantly faster than any aircraft that pass by here.
As I watched, I noticed it was gaining altitude. It wasn't heading straight up, but it definitely arced upwards and kept on its path North. After a few seconds, the jerking motions stopped and the center of the object actually blacked out while I still had a clear, unobstructed view, so the thing became this dim red halo of light against the night sky.
I watched it a few more seconds, thinking it was going to disappear, because it was definitely headed up, but it actually picked up speed and just kept going North. Last I saw, it was speeding off. I could barely catch it through the trees when it neared the Northern horizon, but I could still make out the light through the tree branches.
One object came up from the South. It started low on the horizon, and I thought it was just a plane heading North for a landing, as planes often fly over from that direction as they're heading North to land at the airport.
The object was really low, though, and right as I was about to look away, I saw it jerk to the West suddenly. My initial reaction was “what the hell?” I thought then that it might be a meteor that was splitting up, and that it was so low it might hit nearby.
My view was partially obscured by the bare branches of a tree in front of me, so I moved out away from the tree to see if I could verify it was just an aircraft or meteor. I kept my eye on the thing as I walked out away from the building I live at, and it continued to jerk side to side as it headed North.
When I got a good view of it without any obstructions, I could tell it wasn't a plane. There were no flashing lights. It wasn't making any sound at all, and it was moving significantly faster than any aircraft that pass by here.
As I watched, I noticed it was gaining altitude. It wasn't heading straight up, but it definitely arced upwards and kept on its path North. After a few seconds, the jerking motions stopped and the center of the object actually blacked out while I still had a clear, unobstructed view, so the thing became this dim red halo of light against the night sky.
I watched it a few more seconds, thinking it was going to disappear, because it was definitely headed up, but it actually picked up speed and just kept going North. Last I saw, it was speeding off. I could barely catch it through the trees when it neared the Northern horizon, but I could still make out the light through the tree branches.
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Charlottesville
USA
45 seconds
45 seconds
38.06
-78.49
light
VA
Occurred : 2/22/2014 20:00 (Entered as : 2/22/14 20:00) Reported: 2/22/2014 5:28:12 PM 17:28 Posted: 2/27/2014 Location: Charlottesville, VA Shape: Light Duration: 45 seconds
Red ball of light, became a halo as it moved up into the sky, flew erratically then straightened out.