NUFORC Sighting 174279

Occurred: 2023-02-03 19:23 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2023-02-03 13:12 Pacific
Duration: 3 mins
No of observers: 2

Location: La Riera de Gaia, Tarragona Province, Spain
Location details: On the top of the valley rise

Shape: Unknown
Characteristics: Left a trail, Aircraft nearby

Satellite like object from W horizon towards E veered S cont. to ~45° above S horizon, light went out briefly the streaked away

A satellite like object came across the sky from west horizon heading across the sky towards the east, at about 45° above the west horizon it start to gently veer towards the south and changed direction so it was moving from north to south. Its closest point of approach was at the beginning of its southern track. It was viewed with binoculars and it was very similar in colour and form to an Iridium satellite, however unlike the Iridium it only had 2 light spikes. Also unlike the Iridium orangey colour, this orange was a bit more gold/yellow. It was also much larger than an Iridium and the ISS for that matter. When it changed track from W to E to N to S, it passed slightly below Jupiter and on the beginning of its southern track its magnitude was greater than Jupiter's for a time (> –2.7). There is no way to be certain but the light spikes suggest that it was bullet or triangular in shape.

In terms of speed, it was similar to a satellite, however it did appear to stutter at one point as if it hit a couple of speed arresters very briefly. On the beginning of its southern track it also did 2 very slightly accelerations and decelerations back to is normal speed, not major velocity changes but it was visible.

It continued along to southern track and then at about 45° above the southern horizon the light seemed to shut off for a fraction of a second and it was gone. It then reappeared in and… it literally accelerated from 0 to faster than the speed of light in the direction of east to west and vanished in a fraction of a second. Even though the event was so brief, it was incredible in so far as you could actually perceive the acceleration and that perception was aided by the fact that the point of light became a thick LINE of BRIGHT orange light which was continuous from 0 to gone. Although the beginning of the line was thick and it became progressively much thinner as the acceleration increased so that by the time it vanished it was a very thin line. Visually it may have seemed like 3 or 4 distinct widths and intensities. The thick starting line of light was still present when the thin vanishing line vanished. The streak of light existed for the entire fraction of a second, all 3 or 4 steps of it. To put the size of the line in perspective, in the sky, it was about the length of your index finger.

Posted 2023-03-06