2021-02-08 - Hagerstown, MD - Light

Distant light moving oddly in night sky above Hagerstown, MD

I was sitting on my exterior deck and stargazing after nightfall, and began focusing on a particular section of the sky directly above my home. I began to notice what appeared to be a brighter-than-average white star at first begin to make short, halting movements. At first I assumed that I was seeing a satellite of some kind, but the light's movements seemed strange after continued viewing. The star-like spot of light would move from left to right, halt, then move downward from its position, halt again, and then appear to move towards another random position, or return to a previous position. It never moved across any considerable distance, and seemed to be making these movements within the same small grid-like area. As this was directly above my sitting position, I have no idea what altitude this light was at. I observed this movement for at least twenty minutes before returning inside, including the use of standard binoculars; I observed the same movement! s through that equipment as well, but was unable to make out any additional detail. I opted not to attempt to take photo or video via my phone due to the distance, inability to include any on-the-ground reference points, and poor resolution of my phone.