NUFORC Sighting 77571

Occurred: 2010-09-01 21:45 Local
Reported: 2010-09-01 22:54 Pacific
Duration: less than 1 min
No of observers: 1

Location: Maricopa, AZ, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object, Emitted other objects

Bright light in the skies south of Maricopa, AZ increases luminosity before additional lights spawn and streak away.

Driving home southbound on Ralston Rd- a large, very bright yellow/orange light in the southern sky caught my attention. Knowing the sky after living out here for a few years, I quickly made the mental note that it wasn’t a star. As I looked at the light it increased in luminosity rapidly. This increase took place very quickly- I would say within 5 seconds and made the light/object appear to increase in size dramatically. Additional lights then blinked on in quick succession- first one to the east, then one to the west, and another even further west. The additional lights came on at a luminosity that matched the first light. They were evenly spaced, making me wonder if they were separate or part of one large object. All the lights rose simultaneously- moving upward and southward at great speed, disappearing from sight.

I have seen numerous things in the night sky out here- this is the first that I cannot come up with an explanation for. I am used to seeing flares over the hills to the west of my home, and I am familiar with both military and commercial air traffic that frequents our skies. The size and brightness of the light I saw was well in excess of the luminosity of the stars and planets in the sky. The increase in brightness is highly irregular in the sky. The additional lights and the first all rose in unison against gravity and did not streak across the sky in the same way as satellites or meteors I have seen.

Posted 2010-11-21