NUFORC Sighting 180388

Occurred: 2024-02-08 22:35 Local
Reported: 2024-02-12 19:30 Pacific
Duration: 4-7 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Raleigh, NC, USA
Location details: I was in the parking lot of an apartment complex along the 1500 block of Gorman Street.

Shape: Light
Color: Orange
Estimated Size: Hard to estimate. Maybe the size of small car.
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: The object was slightly west of me moving due north.
Angle of Elevation: 55
Closest Distance: Difficult to estimate--maybe 400-800 feet.
Estimated Speed: 50-70mph
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object

A silent orange light flew low and quickly in a straight line due north along Gorman St. and vanished in a wink.

On Thursday, 02/08/2024, around 10:30 PM, I was opening the trunk of my car at an apartment complex on the 1500 block of Gorman Street, when I noticed an orange light in the sky. It was to my left (west) maybe a few blocks over, about 50-60 degrees up in the sky, and moving due north at a consistent speed. I turned and looked, thinking it was a low-flying helicopter or plane. There was no noise, aside from the sound of some light traffic coming and going. The object was bright orange, but its glow was dull like the setting sun (not like bright headlights or streetlights) with a consistent luminosity throughout the light. There may have been some structure to it, but if there was, it was obscured by the glow of the circular light. There were no aviation lights (white,red, or green) or other lights visible. The light may have had a slow, slight pulse around the edge but did not blink at all. It flew north in a straight line along Gorman Street, faded very slightly for a fraction of a second, and "blinked" out of existence mid-flight without slowing down. The light moved at pace maybe slightly faster than a car; it did not seem to vary in altitude, speed or direction at any point from when I first notice it until its sudden disappearance. It appeared to be several hundred feet above the treetops, and maybe the size of a small car or plane. Again, it was completely silent. There was no consistent breeze, and the sky was 100% clouded over. I instinctively reached for my phone, but it wasn't in my pocket so I watched the light for several (as little as 3 or 4, maybe as long as 7-8) seconds before it disappeared suddenly. I stood and watched to see if it would return or if there were other lights, but I didn't see anything. Around 10 minutes later, I was standing on my back porch and noticed a helicopter a few miles to the north and another several miles west of me. I could hear both of them and clearly see their aviation lights, so I know whatever flew by was not a helicopter or plane.

Posted 2024-02-15