NUFORC Sighting 171126

Occurred: 2022-08-13 00:01 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2022-08-14 23:35 Pacific
Duration: 15 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Location details: Sky visible from the Pinegate Apartments - 107 Pinegate Circle Chapel Hill NC 27514

Shape: Star
Characteristics: Lights on object

Satellite with red and blue lights flew close by then 3 distant satellites disappeared within seconds of each other

It was a Friday night and I was playing with my insomniac toddler in our apartment which is on the top (third) floor. Then our neighbor started smoking which came into our shared bathroom vent and filled the apartment. I had no choice but to open our sliding balcony door which runs the length of our living room. It was approaching midnight and suddenly I saw a satellite flying very close above the distant trees to the point that it was as large as an airplane. It had red lights on one vertical panel and blue lights on the other and flew silently and slowly.

Since it was odd, I threw a ball into the other room so my toddler would run out of sight. Less than a minute later I looked and it was flying the same path with the same slow speed which confused me because it should have passed out of sight already. This time it did and passed over our building out of sight.

Ten minutes later I decided to go outside the balcony and hope my toddler would not notice. It was probably after midnight and then I saw three satellites across the sky above the trees and among the stars. They were not stars because they had that distinct satellite flashing with red or white lights and were moving slowly in different directions.

My toddler found me and ran on the balcony. “Look at all those satellites!” I exclaimed. “Wow so many!” Leaning over the railing, I pointed to each one— one on the far left higher up and two directly ahead in the sky. Combined with three stationary stars in a diagonal, they made a formation that reminded me of the Big Dipper constellation. Then suddenly right after I pointed, all three satellites disappeared within a few seconds of each other. The sky went completely black where they had been flying. They were nowhere to be seen and never re-emerged. We could only see the three diagonal stationary stars. Up till that point, I had assumed these were all satellites owned by a private company or government…but I don’t believe satellites just suddenly disappear without a trace like that. They didn’t slowly fly out of sight like the original satellite with the red and blue. So I thought I better report this odd incident in case it helps form a bigger picture of something…

Posted 2022-09-09