NUFORC Sighting 178682

Occurred: 2023-10-02 03:13 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2023-10-05 16:29 Pacific
Duration: around 3 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Chatsworth, GA, USA
Location details: 353e Old Federal Rd. s. at the base of Ft. Mountain

Shape: Light
Explanation: Starlink - Possible
Characteristics: Lights on object

Straight line of lights moving across the sky.

At around 3:00 AM, I went out on the porch to let my German Shepherd out to do her thing. It was unusually clear and very bright. While I was waiting for her return, I was facing due East. There was a bright Half-Moon at around bearing 045º, and I thought it was extra bright and orange, probably at perigee...beautiful. The moon made it possible to see very well. I thought I could almost read by the light. There were also many stars visible, constellations I specifically admired because of their brightness, Pegasus, Cassiopeia, and Andromeda at bearing 075º through 085º, approximately. Clouds were thin and very sparse.

I saw Alice (my dog) returning across the field in the moonlight...few things are more beautiful than a German Shepherd at a gallop. Sorry, I digress... As I turned to face due North to reach behind me for the doorknob, I noticed in my peripheral vision some movement in the sky coming from the NNW. I turned my head and looked up to see a perfectly straight (appearance-wise) line of small blueish-white lights traveling at what I thought would have been the speed of an L-1 towing a sign (I used to work for a sign-towing company), but there was no engine noise. Just the normal night sounds. It traveled in a straight line from NNW to NNE at an azimuth of 45º and I did not lose sight of it. I think when it went in front of stars, it really went in front of them, but I could be wrong. I reached for the doorknob, opened the door, and shouted for my wife to come look at this and bring one of the cell phones so I could take a picture. but she was unable to respond in time.

I turned back to watch the lights, by now almost due North, still the same azimuth. No course change, no apparent altitude change, no noise, and no sign of a tow plane. No running lights, nothing. They all appeared to be of the same size, about like the medium stars, and the same brightness. Not faint, but not bright. They appeared to be evenly spaced. I didn't know what size they really were, so I was unable to estimate the actual size, speed, or altitude. They appeared to be a towed sign with no words, just dots, by something similar to a Cessna or Stearman that tows at around 65mph, at 500 ft. But there was absolutely no engine noise or anything to indicate there was an aircraft towing it. Alice did not react, but she seldom does to anything in the sky, like planes, birds, etc... I followed them to about bearing 025º, Azmuth approximately 70º, when Alice, almost to the porch, barked at something and took off after it. I followed her for a bit (visually) then looked for the lights once again. They were gone, or out of sight. Alice returned in a few minutes, we went inside and that was about it.

My opinion, for what it is worth is that it was something being towed, and for some reason used no running lights (red, green, white), and the sound could not be heard, for some reason, maybe atmospheric. I don't know why anyone would be doing that, but that's what it seemed like to me. But that's probably above my pay-grade. If not that, then some sort of unusual atmospheric phenomena, maybe because of the super-bright moon and other factors. I do not know if it was reported by anyone else, picked up on radar, or anything else. I did not see it listed in the local newspaper, nor on the local Facebook page (if it's not on Facebook, how far from the pack have you strayed?). Earlier today (Oct 5), my wife told me about a similar incident in Alaska recently, so I thought if I reported this, it might help to find the actual identification. My money is still on something towed by an unseen something.

I'd like to say in closing that I do not think it was any sort of manned (for lack of a better word), extraterrestrial spacecraft, or any other nonsense. I am a Skeptic. There is a normal explanation for it that doesn't involve little, green men from Mars. I used to write for a website called Hiding the Truth, and we debunked all kinds of nonsense, pseudo-science, and the like. I don't want anyone to think I am a UFO nut, because I am not. Just an aging, reasonably-well educated Hobby-Scientist.

I hope this helps. Feel free to publish all or part of this, or use it any way you see fit.

Thanks

Posted 2023-10-28