2016-08-11 - Clinton, TN - Formation

Bright lights over Clinton, TN

I was in my garden in the afternoon of August 11, 2016, spraying some of the plants. The time was approximately 5:45 EDT. I was also looking for a good place for a chair, so I could sit and watch the meteor shower later that night. I looked toward the sky to find the most open spot in the trees.

I noticed the objects in the eastern sky in about the 2 o'clock position. There were five round, bright lights. Two in the front and three in the rear. The three in the rear were in formation.

I turned on my phone and opened the camera app and began to record video. The sun was bright and I had trouble seeing the screen, so I was just guessing where to point in the beginning. Then I was able to get in a position to see the phone's screen.

I recorded video for about two minutes. The two in front were moving north and then stopped for a few seconds. Then one moved quickly of view and then the other did as well. The three in formation began moving toward the north. The lights began to fade and I stopped recording. I noticed after I stopped the video, there was a dark object where one of the forward lights had been. The object appeared to have a shadowy aura. It then moved north out of view. I estimate the length of time from when I first saw the objects until they were no longer in view to be about 2 ½ minutes.