NUFORC Sighting 02887

Occurred: 1991-07-05 22:30 Local
Reported: 1997-11-17 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 30 sec
No of observers: 4

Location: Detroit, OR, USA

Shape: Light

Summary : small flash, streak of light, light stopped, then went other way slowly.

We (my family and I) were camping along Detroit Lake in Oregon over the 4th of July. On the night of the 5th, we were sitting around the campfire as usual. I have been interested in astronomy for all my life (16 years at that time) and was looking up at the night sky. Out there at the lake you can see a lot more than in the city. While looking up into the Eastern sky, I saw a flash of light about the size of the moon, but about as bright as a 1/4 moon. Instantly after the flash, what looked to be a shooting star came streaking out of the flash. It shot across the sky for about 1.5 seconds and stopped instantly. When it stopped, it was about as bright as an average star. After it stopped, it waited for about 1 second and began traveling back the way it came from, at about the speed of a satelite. Me and my famiily saw this, and we can not explain it. It wasn't a shooting star, because they don't stop and go back slowly. It wasn't a satelite because of the way it acted. And as for the flash, I have no idea. We were all sobor when we saw this.

Posted 1998-06-02