NUFORC Sighting 175210

Occurred: 2023-04-04 02:50 Local
Reported: 2023-04-04 15:13 Pacific
Duration: about 30 min
No of observers: 1

Location: New Martinsville, WV, USA
Location details: walking dog in town clear skies

Shape: Formation
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby, Animals reacted

White light formation, Multiple formations of differing number.

I woke up at 12:45am but did not know why, I laid there and tried to go back to sleep and could not. after 10 or 15 min I decided to go downstairs to get on my P.C.

At around 2:35am my dog started to whine like she wanted to go out, so I finished getting dressed and took her out to a large patch of grass behind my home. We were out for maybe 3-5 min (just long enough to get out there and start doing her thing) when I noticed a very bright star out of the corner of my eye, or what I first thought was a star. I turned to my left to focus on it when I realized it was moving. The luminosity of this first object was 3 time the brightness of Venus and was the largest and brightest of the event. I was looking roughly north, and it was roughly 45 to 50 degrees in declination (I downloaded a compass on my phone the next day and found it was roughly 50 degrees from north). This object appeared to be moving from south to north at a slow rate with a slight arc to the east. After maybe 10 sec (long enough to think "it's not a star, or a plan") when it started to decrease in luminosity (at the same time it started to arc east), and after 5 sec it had vanished.

I was standing there thinking "that was #@$% awesome" when I spotted another light in roughly the same direction but lower in declination, say 35 to 40 degrees. This light was half the luminosity of the first one at its highest lamination and appeared to be coming towards me from the north moving southeast. This object moved quickly for 5 sec then slowed down to almost a hover. It remained in roughly static position while two more objects came in from almost the exact direction and formed up with the first. At this point I was dumbstruck. As many times as I have heard stories like this, and I always thought to myself "why didn't you take a video". I now understand. I stood watching what transpired completely transfixed on what I was watching. I would say that the objects I seen were controlled do to the fact that they assumed a triangular formation and started to travel to the east and descend below the ridgeline at the edge of town. I was watching the ridge to see if they came back out when I noticed another light coming in from the same direction and declination rapidly followed by another. These two did not slow but continued in the same direction as the first 3. I kept watching for a few minutes and was just starting to think it was over when a group of 2 lights at the same time came in, from the same area of the sky, and got to roughly the same spot in the sky where the first three hovered and stopped. They set there for 2 minutes or so when another 3 lights came in and formed up with the others. They hung there for a few moments, and I figured they would replicate the first set, but they remained in position for another minute or 2 when another solo light came in and formed up with the rest in no real formation, just grouped together. As soon as the last light arrived on station with the others, they all followed the same path as the first 2.

At this point I actually looked around to see if there was anyone that I could attract their attention when remembered it was the dead of night. Another 2 lights started to come in and I thought about calling my wife and waking her up, when I remembered I had a phone in my pocket. I took my phone out (time on the screen when I went to unlock it was 3:14am as I made a note of the time) and turned on the camera. I set it to video but could not see the objects even when I zoomed due to the streetlights just below the area of the sky I was watching. These two objects moved continually and on the same path. At this time a large meteor started to streak above my head moving from south to north and broke up and faded at about 50 degrees of declination at roughly 40degrees from north. I remember actually saying "whoooa" out loud after it faded. Within a minute or 2 another light started to move from the same area in the same direction as the other objects rapidly followed by another entire group of lights (I did not think to count them, but the total number of lights was about 8 to 10 in this group). They all grouped up at roughly the same point in the sky, hovered for 30 seconds or so then followed the other’s flight path. This was the last sighting in this event. All of the lights seemed to be roughly the same size and brightness.

I stood there for some time watching for another set, but in vain. I also scanned the rest of the sky to make sure I was not missing something else, but there was no other traffic in the sky. As I stood there my rational brain kicked into high gear, trying to rationalize it out. I know Pittsburg is in roughly the same direct, so I thought maybe I was seeing air traffic going into there. But I could not explain the hovering unless they were turning in at an angle that could make it look like they were hovering. I came back in and opened google earth and from where I was standing during the sighting to PIA it is 67.4 miles. I went to their website and checked for arrivals, and they only had 2 flighting arriving during the timeframe of the sighting. Add to that the ridgeline in front of the town being roughly 25 degrees in declination I am not sure if I could even see traffic that far off (my trig is a little rusty).

I have seen star links, and this was nothing like that. I have seen a couple things in the sky in my life that made me really reason out what I was seeing. The others I could not rule out a satellite or the ISS. This time, this time I have no clue what it was I seen in the sky.

Posted 2023-04-09