NUFORC Sighting 23310

Occurred: 2002-05-27 22:00 Local
Reported: 2002-06-16 09:24 Pacific
Duration: 10 seconds + -
No of observers: 2

Location: Ojai, CA, USA

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

My girlfriend and I took an evening walk, saw a brilliant stationary object which suddenly began to move outward and vanished.

This siting occurred on Besant Road, in Miners Oaks, a part of Ojai, CA at approximately 10 p.m. in the evening on May 27th, 2002, Memorial Day. Weather conditions were quite clear, beautiful stars and a nearly full moon just rising. There was some humidity in the atmosphere that gave a slight halo to the moon, as well as to the object of interest soon to appear.

My girlfriend and I took an evening walk, looking at the stars, waking east, with the moon just peaking through the silhouettes of trees ahead and to the right a few degrees. We were discussing the large amount of water/ice just discovered on mars. I was just commenting about how the prospect of life on other planets would affect many people's religious beliefs and how it would shake up the world …when my girlfriend called out for me to look up …and said that she had just seen a big pulse of light! I looked and saw a very bright star or planet, brighter that any object in the sky with the exception of the moon. It had a small visible halo, the only planet besides the moon that did, and was basically a very brilliant single white or yellow/white light. There was no blinking or movement. At first I thought maybe this was the ISS reflecting or a possibly very large satellite. From the time I saw it, the light sat frozen in place for what seemed at least 5 seconds, then suddenly it began to move. Its intensity began to dim quickly, the halo vanished, and then it then appeared more similar to a satellite in motion, except that it reduced in size very quickly, so quickly that in approximately than 5 seconds it was gone completely. To the eye it appeared to be going away very fast from the earth's surface.

Specifically, I was facing east and the object was positioned overhead and forward some, maybe 10 degrees East from directly overhead and slightly to my left or North, surrounded by a group of stationary stars. It moved diagonally toward my right and forward or in a generally southeast direction slightly, and at the same time outward very fast. It was positioned near a small cluster of stars, maybe three or four fairly bright ones, but none comparing to it in intensity. They were my reference for the object's motion. The total length of its movement in the horizontal plane appeared to be less than 10 degrees while the movement outward appeared infinite.

Note: My girlfriend previously submitted a report to you which I have not seen.

((

NUFORC Note:

The International Space Station passed over Ojai, CA, at 21:17 hrs. on this date. That may have been the cause of the sighting. Please see the website at the following address: http://www.heavens-above.com/passsummary.asp?lat=34.448&lng=-119.242&alt=242&loc=Ojai&TZ=PST&satid=25544&Date=37396.7916666667&Mag=

PD))


Posted 2002-07-01

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