NUFORC Sighting 14565

Occurred: 2000-10-13 19:20 Local
Reported: 2000-10-15 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 30 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Jenks, OK, USA

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Lights on object, Left a trail

A fireball with a bright glowing tail.

I live in Jenks OK, which is about 10 miles south of downtown Tulsa. I work as an overnight television broadcast engineer. I had slept most of the day since I worked the previous overnight. It was 7:20pm CDT. It was pretty cloudy everywhere except to the southwest, to the horizon. I could also see Venus clearly. I had just stepped outside when I saw a moving light to the southwest. It was about a fist at arms lenghth above the horizon moving north. There seemed to be a bright spot/point or two on the front of the object and it was leaving a very distinct trail that had a sort of shimmer to it. I watched the object for about 30 seconds and it probably moved 90 degrees across the sky. It went behind some clouds, so after the first 10 seconds I would see it, then lose it... until it disappeared for good behind heavy cloud cover to the northwest and north. Maybe because of the trail, I figured that it must have been a plane, (I live near a small airport so I see lots of lights in the sky) but it just didn't seem right for a plane. I really thought that it looked like some fireballs that I have seen in the sky and on tv/videos. I thought that it would start to break up at any moment, but it just never did. This is the best part. The trail that it left stayed in the sky for another 10-15 minutes. It must have been high enough to catch the last glint of sunlight because as the sky got darker, the trail went from a shimmer to a glow! It was like a beam of light, as bright as the full moon, across the southwesten sky. It really was a sight. I took some 35mm photos but we'll see how they turn out. I ain't Ansel Adams. My wife said it was just "the conditions" that caused it. OK. But what is it about "the conditions" that are so different that I keep seeing things in the sky that I have never seen before?

NUFORC Note:

We are quite grateful for such an informative report. Interestingly, other reports, including an official statement from a federal agency, have the object moving to the south. Please see report from Baird, TX, for 1930 hrs. on this date. It is yet another of the many mysteries that we struggle with at NUFORC. Our thanks to the witness who submitted the report. PD

Posted 2000-12-02