NUFORC Sighting 19700

Occurred: 2001-09-27 20:00 Local
Reported: 2001-09-30 22:17 Pacific
Duration: 20seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Jackson, MS, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object

A light brighter than Venus, moving in an 'S' pattern, fades into the darkness of the southern sky.

I was out watering my plants the evening of Sept. 27th, when I noticed a bright light in the southern sky. It was a few degrees brighter than Venus when I first noticed it. Moving diagonally downward toward the west, it began to lose intensity. I thought it was a shooting star at first, but then before it lost all of its light, it curved upwards and diminished. I put the hose down and kept my eyes on the spot from which I had last seen it. Then, approximately 5 seconds later, it reappeared as a faded point and increased in brightness until it was again the intensity I had first seen. Its path was again in the shape of an 'S' lying on its side. As it curved upward and began to lose its brightness, I noticed a halo around the dimming spot. It almost looked like an object at this point, (as opposed to a star radiating light). It then disappeared and I saw nothing more.

I observe the sky a lot, and I don't have an explainaion for it. I told a friend on Saturday about what I had seen, and he mentioned hearing of a reported sighting on the Thursday night 10:00 local news. I didn't see the report myself, so I'm afraid the only facts I have are listed above. If there is any information on this event, I would like to find out more.

Posted 2001-10-12