NUFORC Sighting 39033

Occurred: 2004-08-31 21:00 Local
Reported: 2004-09-01 08:43 Pacific
Duration: 15 min
No of observers: 6

Location: Elkins, WV, USA

Shape: Changing
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object, Emitted other objects, Changed Color, Aircraft nearby

Explosive cloud over West Virginia, high altitude?

Our band was having a rehersal. At apx. 9m we took a break and all 6 of us went out onto the back deck. I noticed a strange site in the sky. It looked like two very large stars shaped like rectangles and lightly covered by a cloud. It was a completely clear night with no other clouds at all. The "stars" seemed to be pulsing slightly and the "nebula" surrounding them began to grow larger and disperse over the next 15 minutes. We observed the "nebula" cloud consistently moved north east. And then interestingly enough, we observed at least 3 "shooting stars" within the same 15 min. span. We saw at least 5 other small aircraft flying in the same vicinity.

At first, we discussed whether it could be the moon in cloud cover but the sky was clear and the moon was to east. Then we discussed how it appeared to be an explosion in the higher atmosphere (50,000 to 60,000 feet). One member of Zen (the band) is an experienced pilot and flight instructor and it was through his experience that we arrived at these estimates of distance. His comment was, "in all my years of flying, I've never seen anything like this." We wondered if it could possibly be a large passenger airplane enroute from Washington, DC that had exploded at that altitude (maybe a terrorist event).

((

NUFORC Note:

Result of earlier missile launch. Please sees:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/ac167/040824track.html

http://space.com/spacewatch/mystery_cloud_040901.html

PD))


Posted 2004-09-01

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