NUFORC Sighting 24091

Occurred: 2002-07-25 21:30 Local
Reported: 2002-07-31 22:42 Pacific
Duration: 3 minutes or more
No of observers: 34

Location: Shirley, NY, USA

Shape: Light

6 lights seen over ocean @ smith point park, shirley, NY @ 930PM on 7/25/2002

at about 9:30PM on thursday, july 25, my mother, father and myself were at the pavilion at the smith point beach county park when we spotted six lights lined up in a row out over the ocean. although they might have been there for a longer period of time, we observed these lights for approximately three minutes. the lights just sat in formation, motionless, while a crowd gathered around speculating at what the lights might be. before long, the lights dimmed out, one by one.

i don't think this could have been flares, because these lights were a pale yellowish/white, not red, and also because these lights remained motionless throughout the time myself and the other witnesses were watching the sky. the lights disappeared in sequential order from left to right (east to west from our vantage point) and left no visible smoke trails in their absence.

unfortunately, i can not give a good estimate of distances, but if i had to, i would say the lights were maybe between three and five miles south of the flight 800 memorial and maybe a thousand feet in the air (the lights were just about eye level, and i was standing on the patio of the pavilion there.) the next day, i talked to other family members in wading river, long island, who happened to see the same lights, even though w.r. is on the north shore and shirley is on the south. if i, along with my parents and a good-size crowd saw the same "something" that family members twenty miles away, then others must have seen this.

Posted 2002-08-16