NUFORC Sighting 07150

Occurred: 1999-05-05 22:30 Local
Reported: 1999-05-05 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 30 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: San Jose, CA, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object

First seen from my backyard: a bright red light with a strobing white light. It looked about 1/2 the size of Mars and was flying in a short zig-zag hopping fashion from the south to the north in the eastern sky. It seemed to be far too high for a helicopter (maybe 30,000 feet). When I went to the front yard to see if it continued in the same direction it could not be seen in any part of the sky.

My back yard is on the south side of my yard. At about 22:30 I looked up toward the eastern sky. I believe that the planet visible in that part of the sky at that time of night is the planet Mars. I noticed that the planet was slightly above and east of what seemed to be two overlapping red balls of light, one on the left and the other on the right. The red lights were about half the size of the planet but equal to its brightness. A bright white light kept flashing in strobe fashion from the midst of the red lights. Althought they constantly moved in a northerly direction, the lights moved from the south toward the north in short zig-zagging eastward and westward hops. I watched for about a half minute before entering my house and going to the front yard to see if the lights were continuing in the same direction. When I reached the front yard on the north side of my house I could not find the lights in any part of the sky. Thinking that something could be obstruc- ting my view, I walked fifty feet to the west and fifty feet to the east of my house for a different perspective. I was still unable to find a sign of the lights in any direction or at any distance.

Posted 1999-05-24