NUFORC Sighting 127203

Occurred: 2016-05-03 20:39 Local
Reported: 2016-05-06 20:45 Pacific
Duration:
No of observers: 1

Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Shape: Circle
Characteristics: Lights on object

Round, white, lights in night sky above Philadelphia, PA, May 3, 2016.

On May 3, 2016, Philadelphia, PA, 8:39 PM, on steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, facing downtown, I took two photos with my Iphone. The first is wide view. The second is zoomed in, from the same step location, immediately after the first.

I did not notice anything in the sky when I took the photos. My intent was to get a photo of the city at night.

Later when looking at the photos, I noticed the row of lights in the clouds. I can assume reflection in the clouds, or reflection on the camera lens, but a few observations leaves some doubt. The lights change position in relation to the buildings. The lights keep their same relative size to the buildings.

I take that to be the lights were in the sky above or beyond the buildings, and the lights moved in relation to the buildings.

The other item is that the lowest light is brighter than the 7 above it.

The sky was cloudy. I estimate the distance from the photo position on the museum steps to the tall buildings in the photo is 6000 feet, scaling from a map.

Please review the photos I emailed and let me know if you think the largest probability is that it was city lights reflecting, and how to discount the relative position change with the buildings. If the clouds were moving and the lights were reflections, I doubt the lights would have maintained their relationship with each other.

Posted 2016-05-10