NUFORC Sighting 120205

Occurred: 2015-07-04 21:40 Local
Reported: 2015-07-07 10:15 Pacific
Duration: 45 minutes
No of observers: 5

Location: Derby, KS, USA

Shape: Light

A moving star approaches from south, moves about erratically, then sits motionless.

I was laying on a lawn blanket with my family awaiting the Derby city fireworks display around 9:40 PM, when I observed what I thought was a satellite approaching from the south. My whole family observed it and we wondered if it was the ISS passing over. My son quickly checked on his phone and saw that the ISS was over the ocean.

We continued to observe what we presumed to be a satellite until it slowed, abruptly changed direction to the east, paused, then moved around quite erratically before coming to a complete and motionless halt. After a few minutes, it moved to the east, and then turned north and came almost directly overhead. It slowly moved back to the southwest and “parked”. It stayed there and appeared simply as a star until we left and went home. My son and I were so intrigued, we watched it the whole time instead of the fireworks.

I wondered at first if it could be a drone and what we were observing was positioned lower in altitude than we initially perceived, but its peculiar movement, silence, and perfectly motionless “parking “ for an extended period of time, make me think “no”. It appeared to be high in the atmosphere, and looked just like a star. My son and I were especially intrigued, and we were curious if anyone else saw it.

NUFORC Note:

Witness elects to remain totally anonymous; provides no contact information. PD

Posted 2015-07-10