NUFORC Sighting 12931

Occurred: 1999-11-17 02:00 Local
Reported: 2000-05-22 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 30 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: San Rafael, CA, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object

Very bright high flying Orange Triangle over San Francisco during Leonid Meteor shower

I was watching the Leonid Meteor shower and had been observing it comfortably and consistantly for several hours. The shower had not been very strong until approximately 02:00 in our area, the cloud cover was minimal, and I was able to identify many constellations, paying particular attention to the East where the news reports said to look for the shower to develope. Very clearly on the East horizon there appeared a very high and extremely bright orange light surrounded by a hazy triangular or slightly arrowhead shape that crossed slowly across the sky directly overhead. I've seen the shuttle re-entry overhead at night when told to look for it and it was similar in approximate altitude/size/shape but not in color. The shuttle appeared pinkish. The object simply SLOWLY crossed overhead horizon to horizon EAST TO WEST DIRECTLY OVERHEAD. It took approximately 30 seconds. THE REST OF THE EVENTS THAT NIGHT WERE IN NO WAY SIMILAR. I observed scores if not hundreds of extemely fast moving white and yellowish/white streaks moving almost entirely in the opposite direction, West to East. These seemed to be the typical meteroites that I have observed for years.

Posted 2000-06-06