NUFORC Sighting 79576

Occurred: 2011-01-06 21:35 Local
Reported: 2011-01-06 22:33 Pacific
Duration: 5 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Murrieta, CA, USA

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Left a trail

Fireball splits into 3 balls and hovers

LOCATION: Murrieta CA 92562 DATE: 01/06/11 TIME: Approximately 935pm PST FACING DIRECTION: NW First observed at about a 45 degree angle in the NW sky from where I was standing what appeared to be something that looked like a fireball moving straight down. Initially I thought it was a shooting star BUT the size and slow speed did not support this. The coloration was yellow-orange and it had a fireball like tail as it moved. An additional note of an interesting observation: the object(s) looked blurred around its edges as it came down, which seemed very odd. I almost thought I was watching a plane that had exploded in air fall to earth.

When the fireball-like object reached about a 23 degree angle it began to split into three balls of yellow-orange light, still connected at the top with the fire-like tail. Then, once completely separated, the fire-like tails diminished and the balls of light stopped moving downward – just hovering at about a 20 degree angle or so, each ball moving around, separate from each other yet staying at the same level in the sky. This is when I! knew it was not a flaming plane. The three balls of light remained visible and moving around for 3-4 minutes. The balls of light seemed to dim so my thought was that they were moving away, hence getting smaller/dimming. This whole process was only about 5 minutes in total. And literally in the blink of an eye the lights disappeared.

I cannot explain what I just witnessed. I was alone taking my dogs outside to the backyard. There were no sounds associated with what I saw.

NUFORC Note:

Suspected parachute jumpers. PD

Posted 2011-01-31