Expert: Philip Stahl - 8/21/2008

Question
Hello,

On August 19 between 9:00PM and 10:00PM I saw some very strange lights in the southern sky off of Holden Beach, North Carolina.  The exact location of these lights would be to the right and slightly below where Jupiter was showing in the sky at that time.  I do believe the bright star I could see was Jupiter, we researched this and I believe I am correct.

There were two incidents during this time frame.  First an orange light came on in the sky, the best way to describe how it "came on" was like when you strike a match and it flames up.  It came on, stayed on for a few seconds then it went out.  This happened maybe 5 times in a row, each time the light was in a different place in the sky.  By different I only mean a matter of inches based on my line of sight.  I then started watching very closely and about 10 minutes later the same thing occurred to the left of the same location, closer to Jupiter this time.  This time one light came on, then another came on directly below it, then they both went out.

I tried to determine the size of the lights by comparing them to Jupiter.  They were about 3 times the size.  However, I do realize size is relative based on how far away these objects were, and obviously we don't know how far away they are.

I can also tell you that no sound was associated with them.

I'm curious if anyone else has reported anything like this, and also what your opinion is as to what this could be.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Jeremy

Answer
Hello,

Without your completion of an Anomalous Optical Phenomenon report form it is impossibe to say what you saw....other than "UFO" (unidentified flying object" - though I prefer the more technical term "TOPA": transient optical phenomenon of the atmosphere).

The form is very detailed, including specifics such as: altitude, change in altitude, time-duration, estimated velocity, azimuth, color - change in color, brightness (apparent magnitude) and so on. If you are willing to complete such a form I think I may still have one available. I can then assess your answers and see if they allow a more precise ID.

Other than this, I don't find speculation to be a very productive route. (The form responses will help to eliminate other possibilities.)