Numerous objects, similar in size and brightness to stars at night, moving rapidly in a northwest to southeast arc, then disappearing.
4/28/2020 Boiling Spring Lakes, NC USA Latitude: 34-01'57'' N Longitude: 78-04'01'' W Approx 2115 EST Night sky clear, waxing crescent moon While walking my dog tonight, and casually watching the night sky and identifying constellations, I saw a night-sky event that I’ve never seen before. I follow astronomy and am reasonably familiar with night sky objects.
What did I see? Along an arc running from tree-top level in the northwest thru a point directly overhead and continuing southeast along that same arc, a succession of star-like objects that, taken singly, would be thought to be stars. They looked like stars and had magnitudes similar to most easily visible stars in the night sky.
However, they were moving, and were spaced equidistant from each other along that arc, a distance I’d guess was 10 degrees or so (about the width of one fist extended at arm’s length) in the sky. The event lasted for maybe 90 seconds to two minutes, at which time the last object in the string of objects disappeared in the southeast.
I don’t think they were commercial aircraft because there were so many of them. I heard no engine sounds and they kept in perfect formation. Maybe it was a military exercise or perhaps a launch of low-earth-orbiting satellites.
I’d be interested to know if anyone saw the same thing, or if there's an “optical” or other explanation.
4/28/2020 Boiling Spring Lakes, NC USA Latitude: 34-01'57'' N Longitude: 78-04'01'' W Approx 2115 EST Night sky clear, waxing crescent moon While walking my dog tonight, and casually watching the night sky and identifying constellations, I saw a night-sky event that I’ve never seen before. I follow astronomy and am reasonably familiar with night sky objects.
What did I see? Along an arc running from tree-top level in the northwest thru a point directly overhead and continuing southeast along that same arc, a succession of star-like objects that, taken singly, would be thought to be stars. They looked like stars and had magnitudes similar to most easily visible stars in the night sky.
However, they were moving, and were spaced equidistant from each other along that arc, a distance I’d guess was 10 degrees or so (about the width of one fist extended at arm’s length) in the sky. The event lasted for maybe 90 seconds to two minutes, at which time the last object in the string of objects disappeared in the southeast.
I don’t think they were commercial aircraft because there were so many of them. I heard no engine sounds and they kept in perfect formation. Maybe it was a military exercise or perhaps a launch of low-earth-orbiting satellites.
I’d be interested to know if anyone saw the same thing, or if there's an “optical” or other explanation.
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Boiling Spring Lakes
USA
90-120 seconds
90-120 seconds
other
NC
Occurred : 4/28/2020 21:15 (Entered as : 04/28/2020 21:15) Reported: 4/29/2020 3:55:39 PM 15:55 Posted: 6/25/2020 Location: Boiling Spring Lakes, NC Shape: Other Duration: 90-120 seconds
Numerous objects, similar in size and brightness to stars at night, moving rapidly in a northwest to southeast arc, then disappearing.