NUFORC Sighting 82549

Occurred: 2011-07-18 01:30 Local
Reported: 2011-07-18 03:16 Pacific
Duration: 1/2 hour
No of observers: 2

Location: Clayton, NC, USA

Shape: Circle
Characteristics: Lights on object, Changed Colo

Flashing red,blue and white lights.

I took my dogs out at 1:30am on July 18th, 2011. The sky was clear and I could see stars better than I have before. I was looking at the sky and thanking God for giving us a beautiful night when I saw something in the Southwestern sky that was unusual. I initially thought it was a star but because it flashed red on one side and blue on the other with white in the background at equal intervals, I decided it wasn’t a star. It stayed in the same position for 15 minutes, was over a tree, and didn’t change course.

I came in the house, got my binoculars, and went outside and tried to make sense of the flashing pattern. It didn’t "feel" right. The red and blue lights I saw were vertical strobe lights with white lights in the background. It looked like an intergalactic police car. I got my 11 year old son outside and he saw the same thing. It wasn’t an airplane, radio tower, helicopter, nothing of this world, it didn’t move.

We watched it for 20 minutes and I ran in the house to get my telescope. I had to unpack it (that took 10 minutes) and by the time I got it outside, clouds had covered the lights.

One half hour later, the clouds moved out and the sky was clear again. I checked the position of the moon which had moved very little and the "planet/star/lights" should have still been visible but were GONE! I looked all over the night sky and didn’t find the same lights again.

I will check tonight, again!

NUFORC Note:

Possible sighting of a "twinkling" star, perhaps Arcturus, we suspect. PD

Posted 2011-08-07