NUFORC Sighting 57395

Occurred: 2007-06-28 23:00 Local
Reported: 2007-07-01 21:26 Pacific
Duration: 5-10 seconds each occurre
No of observers: 2

Location: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

Shape: Orb
Characteristics: Lights on object

Red/orange lights over ocean appearing, moving horizontally, then disappearing

While on vacation, my wife and I both saw unidentified red and orange lights over the Atlantic Ocean from the beach and the balcony of our hotel room in Myrtle Beach, S.C. We observed these lights June 24, 26, 27 and 28, 2007, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. (the one night exception we were not outside at night).

The lights didn't appear in precisely the same spot, but were always about the same height (roughly 30-40 degrees above the horizon). They were red (more so earlier in the week) to a reddish-orange (more so later in the week). I would estimate the size to be larger and brighter than Mars; they were large enough that they had appeared to have a round shape to them, but weren't orbs, per se.

The lights appeared in different numbers; there was always at least two, and at least once there was five. The lights would come into view, sometimes one at a time, sometimes almost simultaneously, and move on a horizontal plane (maybe with a very slight downward arc) either in the same direction or in opposite directions before fading out nearly simultaneously after 5-10 seconds. Generally, the lights would appear one at a time or almost in pairs, and move apart from the center, although it wasn't always symmetrical, and they didn't always disappear at the same instant.

The lights appeared often in the same general location, but they would also appear at different spots. Once, the lights appeared in their “usual location,” then reappeared no more than two minutes later quite a distance away (20-30 degrees). We saw the lights more than once each night, probably as many as 5-6 times.

The particular nights we saw these lights, the moon was working its way toward full and there were few clouds, so the sky was quite bright, making it more interesting that these lights showed up so brightly. It was impossible to judge their distance, but it felt like they were distant; the fact that the moon was bright would mean these lights would have to be fairly bright to get through the light pollution.

Seeing as how were at the ocean and in a hotel with dozens of humming air conditioners, there was no sound connected to the sightings.

Our hotel was beachfront, located on Ocean Boulevard more or less across from 27th Avenue South. We also saw the lights as we walked along the beach, and once heard someone near us say something to the effect of “Look at the airplane!” As for possible explanations of the lights, they were certainly not airplanes. The airport was near our hotel, and we observed a number of planes taking off. But the lights appeared and disappeared randomly, and moved in different directions. We thought they could be signal flares, and since I'm not a nautical type, I'm not sure how such a thing works. However, I would expect signal flares to move up, not slowly horizontally, and not in different directions. Also, I don't know far away you could see signal flares. The color and intensity of the lights would remind you of fireworks viewed at fairly close range, but they didn't wink out quite like fireworks, instead seeming to fade from view. Additionally, they didn't “twinkle” the way a star does; instead, they were steady while they lasted.

As for other incidental notes, there were a number of military fighter jets taking off from the nearby airport each day, but these always took off during the daytime and usually turned inland, so I don't think they were addressing the lights in any way.

As for background, I am an editor/graphics person and my wife a high school teacher. I've never claimed to have seen a UFO, but I was indeed a big fan of the X-Files, so you can make of that what you want.



Posted 2007-08-07

© 2023 National UFO Reporting Center. All rights reserved. Use or reproduction within any application without written consent is prohibited.