NUFORC Sighting 38836

Occurred: 2004-08-22 21:00 Local
Reported: 2004-08-23 14:28 Pacific
Duration: about 5 seconds
No of observers: 0

Location: Bethel Park, PA, USA

Shape: Light

bright light moving slowly that dimmed out and disappeared

On Sunday night, my husband and I were lying in the backyard on a comforter watching the stars. It was well after dark.

I happened to turn my head and saw a bright star-like object approaching very slowly from the east, northeast. I said, "Look at that." It was continuing on its straight course, with no blinking lights and no sound.

About a second or so later it began to grow dimmer and dimmer and then just disappeared. I would compare it to someone trimming a kerosene lamp and then extinguishing it.

It was a clear night, no clouds, so it couldn't have flown into a cloud bank. We searched the skies with our eyes and binoculars but it had vanished.

It was going too slow to be a meteor and left no trail. It was as bright as Venus, but slowly moving, and did not alter course at all.

NUFORC Note:

If the estimate of direction is accurate, the object probably was not a satellite, since only very few satellites fly to the west. PD

Posted 2004-08-24