NUFORC Sighting 18172

Occurred: 2001-06-23 20:47 Local
Reported: 2001-06-25 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 10 seconds
No of observers: 9

Location: Helena, AL, USA

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Left a trail, Emitted other objects, Changed Colo

Eight adults witness fast-moving bright object fly across the sky

Our neighbor, a sherriff's deputy, was showing my two year-old niece his police cruiser (lights, siren, etc.). I glanced up to see a large bright white light moving very fast. The brightness was much greater than an Iridium flare or the ISS at a very high intrinsic brightness. The speed of this object was so much greater than any conventional aircraft or orbiting satellite. I said, "look up! look up!", and everyone did to see the object continue in a straight line completely over the horizon. The object travelled from NW to ESE, and was visible for about 10 seconds. When the object was directly overhead near 90 degree azimuth, it changed into a phosphorus-like green color, and amber "sparks" appeared to emit from the object, along with a slight, short-lived vapor trail. The object maintained its incredible speed and straight direction. The object never broke apart, no sounds were heard, so subsequent sonic boom. The object should have been visible over east-central Alabama and west-central Georgia as it continued its course. The eight adults who were present discussed the object for a while. We decided that if the object were a meteor, then it would have disintegrated to some degree while visible to us. Other logical explanations include the re-entry of a decaying satellite, booster rocket or some large mass of space junk coming back into our atmosphere. Weather conditions at the time: 72 degrees F, humidity 72 percent, dewpoint 68 degrees, wind calm, visibility 10 miles, skies were clear.

Posted 2001-08-05

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