2021-12-03 - Sanderson, TX - Light

Sighting of odd light in night sky.

While on a hunting/camping trip near Sanderson, Texas my hunting friend and I were watching satellites and meteors since there is no city light pollution as there is at home. I had just gone in the camper to wash the dishes when my friend started banging on the wall telling me to get back outside “right now.” I ran back outside and he was pointing toward the north and asked “what the hell is that?” I looked and what I saw was a horizontal bar of light in the sky about 25° above the horizon and a bit west of Polaris (North Star). The light was a bluish white light slightly brighter than the stars around it. The light had crisp edges much like a laser and appeared to be a long distance off. I could not see through this light as it appeared solid. I have no way of knowing just how far away the light was but it appeared to be quite distant. Whether 50 miles or 500 I could not say. I held up my thumb at arm’s length and the “bar of light” was just over two times its width. I could see stars above, below, and to either side of this light. This was a crystal clear night with no clouds as far as the eye could see in any direction. After a period of about 30 seconds from when I came outside and saw the light, it started to slowly fade. It faded evenly from end to end and became translucent for 3 or 4 seconds before fading completely. (Similar to turning off a light using a dimmer style switch). My friend and I discussed how long he had observed the light before I got back outside. He estimated about 20 to 30 seconds. He also said that the light came on the same as it had gone off, slowly increasing in intensity over a period of a few seconds. The total time that the light was visible was about a minute.
The next morning I got my compass out of my hunting bag and determined the direction of the light the night before was about 330°. The nearest town (and known major light source) in that direction is Fort Stockton which is 75 miles away.
Neither of us is exactly sure what caused the phenomenon we witnessed but I am sure of several things it was NOT:
1.) Stadium lights reflecting on clouds. There were absolutely no clouds. Stars were visible above, below and to either side.
2.) It was not Starlink satellites. This was a solid bar of light similar to a laser or the light shining under the door of a neighboring room in a building. We have both witnessed Starlink in the past.
My impression is that this probably was not a solid object as it would have to have been many miles in length. There was no frame of reference for me to determine how far away it was but my impression was that it was very far away. Although it appeared solid while at peak brightness, it became somewhat transparent as it began to fade out.