NUFORC Sighting 36616

Occurred: 2004-04-28 21:15 Local
Reported: 2004-04-30 11:15 Pacific
Duration: 45 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Bakersfield, CA, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Aircraft nearby

UFO sighting over Bakersfield, CA that lasted for almost an hour!!!!

UFO Description: As seen by myself (36 year old graphic designer) and my girlfriend (42 year old events manager) from our apartment balcony - A dramatically moving bluish-white light. Through binoculars we could just make out an oval shape and a slight glowing purple mixed in with the blue. It was like looking at both a star and an oval-shaped, lit, flourescent black-light tube.

Duration of sighting: 45 minutes.

Direction (best guess): 290 degrees W by NW from our location.

Location in sky: 17 - 20 arc degrees above the horizon.

Weather: Unusually windy - very gusty.

UFO behavior: Zipping, darting, sharp and rounded/sharp sudden changes in flight, lazy zig-zag pattern, abrupt descension and ascension, inverted arcing patterns (opposite of "Falling Leaf"), sudden speed changes, long and short bursts in a direction. All the while a liquid smooth flight that was a testimony to the mastery over gravity. We eventually stopped watching only due to the fact that the UFO had eventually made it's way far enough North/West that the dust in the air (due to all the winds that evening) made viewing almost impossible at that distance. When we went back inside it could just barely be seen by us but, was still doing it's thing. We went back outside 10 minutes later and it was still there, barely visible. I went back out alone another 15 minutes later and both the UFO and the gusty winds were completely gone.

Special Note: I have FIVE MINUTES of video footage! Yes it's your typical "grainy footage/blurry light" evidence BUT, what makes this video stand out is that on three seperate occasions I had a stationary refernce point (power lines, tree tops and a plane that flew by) to be able to campare and signify the UFO's movements!!! Opinions: Considering the duration of this sighting (and the fact that the only reason we stopped looking was that the UFO had moved off to another location for others to witness), I still can't believe at the time of the filing of this report (two days later) that I still haven't heard anything on the news.

May my UFO footage be a testimony to the fact that there can, indeed, be a UFO "right in front of our faces" and no one would even know because most of us are too preoccupied with trivial things and we have forgotten to look up.

I feel fortunate to have witnessed two events, now, in my life (first sighting was late November, 1994 in San Jose, CA.

I feel even more fortunate that this time I caught it on tape!





((ADDENDUM FROM WITNESS))

Pardon my bluntness but, IS THIS A JOKE?

I am an amateur astronomer and I know EXACTLY what Venus looks like and I know EXACTLY where it is every evening. Along with - as far as all the other naked-eye planets that can currently be observed - Saturn, then Jupiter and in the Eastern sky, Mars, all seen as of 9:00 p.m. every evening.

Lets say we are up in the sky looking down at the land and setting Venus in the west is in the 12:00 position, making north in the 3:00 position. The UFO would have been between the 1:00 and 2:00 position. Like my report said, about 290º west by north west. A significant difference in position.

I can imagine you have to be extremely cautious about screening people who think this whole UFO/Contact subject is a joke and I can respect that but, please DO NOT treat me like half of the populace on this planet (opinions may vary) - too uneducated to know the difference between a planet and a street light.

I have video evidence, I mentioned that in my report. All someone has to do is view the footage I shot and the evidence is clear. Three times I caught the UFO on tape flying "next to" (as seen on a one demensional screen) stationary objects. These three objects were across the street from my location so it's not like I could just move the camera around to make a stationary object in the sky look like it was moving around. I have the UFO flying behind POWER LINES, around TREE TOPS and sharing the same section of sky while a PLANE FLEW BY.

God, almighty! I take the time to try and share my experience with the organizations that can benefit from this (one problem has always been a lack of proof) and I actually HAVE some proof that can help support and legitimize this highly controversial subject and I get the typical Project Blue Book treatment. "You saw Venus"

I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful, Peter, but, REALLY. You know darn well the description of the movements of the UFO in my report doesn't even come CLOSE to describing Venus or any other planet. Nor did it look or behave like any type of plane, helicopter, balloon, remote controlled object (which still has to obey the laws of physics as the big objects like a jumbo jet and can't turn on a dime), flare, meteorite, fireball, comet, satellite, the International Space station or any kind of bird, bat, or owl.

This is VERY frustrating and I could understand when I had my first sighting in San Jose back in '94 why very few believed me. Evidence is key. Otherwise you hear, "Do you live next to an airport? Di dyou have anything to drink tonight?" That is why I bought my $1500.00 digital camcorder two years ago. I told myself I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try and be prepared for another sighting (although I never expected to see another one). I just couldn't take the chance.

I have a massively bruised shin from hitting the door jam when cutting the corner too close when running into my bedroom, and a door to my balcony who's bottom hinges now "knock" whenever I open or close it due to the fact that I slammed it open too hard when I came in from my balcony to scream at my girlfriend to "Get out here and look!" all in the name of trying to get my digi-cam as fast as I could. I truely expected the sighting to be over by the time I got back outside.

Please reconsider this. You're passing up a legitimate sighting with video evidence!

((END))




NUFORC Note:

We surmised that the witness might have been looking at Venus, but he took strong exception to that suggestion. We include some of his comments below. No other sightings reported from this area of the country for the same time and date. We believe that the description of the location of the anomalous object matches the location of Venus in the night sky, but the witness strongly disputes that fact. He claims, after the fact, that he could see Venus, as well. The video would resolve whether there was one, or two bright objects in the northwestern sky. PD


Posted 2004-05-04

© 2023 National UFO Reporting Center. All rights reserved. Use or reproduction within any application without written consent is prohibited.