NUFORC UFO Sighting 181688

Occurred: 2024-05-29 22:45 Local
Reported: 2024-05-29 20:49 Pacific
Duration: Ended within 10 min.
No of observers: 2

Location: Windham, ME, USA
Location details: 43.78, -70.38. Completely clear night; notably so.

Shape: Light
Color: Blueish white light
Estimated Size: Slightly larger than expected for upper atmosphere
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: Traveling roughly North to South
Angle of Elevation: 45
Closest Distance: Appeared likely to be high in atmosphere
Estimated Speed: Relatively fast compared to planes/satellites.
Characteristics: Lights on object

Regular intervals: ≥8 lights traveled one at a time moving N to S high in atmosphere. No tail/flickering. Disappeared ⅝ way across.

While looking at an exceptionally clear sky with the naked eye, I noticed a steady single light (mostly white, slight blue tint) traveling from North to South across the sky. I noted it immediately because it was (1) not blinking and had no tail, and (2) was slightly larger than I'd expect for an object in apparently upper atmosphere but seemed closer than most satellites I observe. The speed too seemed slightly incongruous though steady with usual evening observations at this location. Continuing to watch it closely, I noticed it completely disappear about ⅝ of the way across the sky, traveling directly overhead. Conditions were clear and I could see plenty of stars all around this location. It did not reappear along the trajectory. I believe, but am not certain of the first few I observed, that the lights became slightly smaller as they were about to disappear (as if traveling further out of the atmosphere.)

Almost immediately, I noticed another light do exactly the same thing. Again, disappearing about ⅝ away across directly overhead but not in exactly the same spot.

At this point, I got another individual to join me in my observations (missing observations for about 3 minutes.) While waiting for them as they got close to arriving, I observed a further three lights each go across the sky as aforementioned. Some deviated slightly more than others in trajectory, so it wasn't exact but it was very close. At this point it became clear that a new light was roughly starting to appear from below the horizon as the previous light reached a position roughly ⅜ of the way to directly overhead.

With a second observer, we watched a further three or four incidents just as aforementioned. There is a chance the last may have changed directions milliseconds before disappearing, but I am not positive of that (by the last few, as I'd gotten used to their pattern, I was definitively noticing they were getting smaller/fainter as they were about to disappear, so noticing deviations in direction was difficult in the last moments.)

The lights were moving too quickly for the telescope I have to have a chance to spot them, and were too far away to capture on my cameras. I am very much an amateur, but spend a lot of time observing the night sky and am used to seeing and identifying meteors, satellites, the ICC, and have seen what Starlink looks like; the observation tonight seemed different. I checked the 'night sky' app and https://adsbexchange.com/, and did not see any scheduled crafts traveling in the area. I do not know when the lights started (I noticed them almost as soon as I looked directly overhead) and unfortunately did not mark the time when it began and ended. I would estimate it all occurred within the 22:40-22:50 EDT period.

Posted 2024-05-30