NUFORC Sighting 107369

Occurred: 2014-02-22 20:00 Local
Reported: 2014-02-22 17:28 Pacific
Duration: 45 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Shape: Light


Red ball of light, became a halo as it moved up into the sky, flew erratically then straightened out

One object came up from the South. It started low on the horizon, and I thought it was just a plane heading North for a landing, as planes often fly over from that direction as they're heading North to land at the airport.

The object was really low, though, and right as I was about to look away, I saw it jerk to the West suddenly. My initial reaction was “what the hell?” I thought then that it might be a meteor that was splitting up, and that it was so low it might hit nearby.

My view was partially obscured by the bare branches of a tree in front of me, so I moved out away from the tree to see if I could verify it was just an aircraft or meteor. I kept my eye on the thing as I walked out away from the building I live at, and it continued to jerk side to side as it headed North.

When I got a good view of it without any obstructions, I could tell it wasn't a plane. There were no flashing lights. It wasn't making any sound at all, and it was moving significantly faster than any aircraft that pass by here.

As I watched, I noticed it was gaining altitude. It wasn't heading straight up, but it definitely arced upwards and kept on its path North. After a few seconds, the jerking motions stopped and the center of the object actually blacked out while I still had a clear, unobstructed view, so the thing became this dim red halo of light against the night sky.

I watched it a few more seconds, thinking it was going to disappear, because it was definitely headed up, but it actually picked up speed and just kept going North. Last I saw, it was speeding off. I could barely catch it through the trees when it neared the Northern horizon, but I could still make out the light through the tree branches.

Posted 2014-02-27

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