NUFORC Sighting 81661

Occurred: 2011-06-06 05:30 Local
Reported: 2011-06-06 03:41 Pacific
Duration: 2 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Signal Mountain, TN, USA

Shape: Sphere
Characteristics: Changed Colo

Fast moving super bright illuminated sphere that slowed and changed direction

After having a restless night of sleep and tossing and turning in bed I decided to rise for the day. With my normal routine at waking, I went outside to smoke and as usual I directed my eyes on the small patch of sky that is visible from my front entrance.

My home is surrounded by tall pine trees that only leave one decent sized, maybe 500 feet in diameter, that offers a clear view of the western sky.

After standing there for several minutes, enough to smoke 2 cigarettes and looking at the various stars, I noticed that a star-like object was moving slowly from North to Southeast. The size was that of a smaller star that is normally seen in the night sky and it was unremarkable in its appearance,at first.

Having covered half the distance of my circular viewing area of the sky the object began to dramatically slow and also began to slightly zig-zag and its path began to ever-so slightly curve to a more Southern direction. During this time the object began to slowly become brilliantly illuminated for about 10-20 seconds.

The illumination was as bright as a welder's arc with a perfect bright white glow.

I'd like to point out have lived very near NASA's Kennedy Space Center and I have seen every modern rocket and the Space Shuttles launch and take flight in person several times and there is nothing during the launch stages that can compare to the stunning brilliance of the illumination of this craft.

I know this was not a shooting star or meteor entering the atmosphere, first, because it slowed and also the peak of illumination faded to that of what it appeared like before it began to illuminate, That of a normal star's brightness,and once it decreased in intensity, it sped off out of view.

At the time it became illuminated that I began laughing so loud that my wife was awakened in wonder. Although she didn't see the event, she saw my confusion and excitement.

I have never seen such illumination of anything, natural or man made, in our skies.

I was in total amazement not only because of the brightness of this object but because it slowed, lit up so,so brilliantly as if it wanted me to see it and then accelerated off in a nonlinear direction that it previously had been traveling.

Posted 2011-06-12