NUFORC Sighting 36275

Occurred: 2004-04-11 21:50 Local
Reported: 2004-04-12 10:26 Pacific
Duration: 1 hour
No of observers: 9

Location: South Lake Tahoe, CA, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object, Left a trail

Bright light over South Lake Tahoe, CA

I went out onto an upstairs balcony for some air and noticed a very bright light, low in the Western sky, over Echo Summit in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was too large and much too bright and in the wrong place to be a star or planet and it was relatively stationary. As I watched it began to move slightly down and to the right and then it remained stationary once again. It was not blinking or 'twinkling', though the light appeared to shine much like a diamond. There was no sound. I called to everyone else who was home at the time to come and look at it. They saw it move as well. When videotaped, the object appeared to grow larger and smaller, though we think it was just becoming brighter/dimmer and it was difficult to see what it was since the night was very dark and there was no other stationary frame of reference for the camera. When viewed through binoculars the shape was spherical, rather violet in color with rotating green rings about it with a slight red/orange trail. We called some friends, who lived in other areas nearby, but a few miles away to ask if they could see it as well - which they could. We sat watching it for some time, while it continued to 'hover' and move slightly up, down, left and right. It (very) slowly began moving West and then disappeared at around 10:30pm.

NUFORC Note:

Possible sighting of Venus. PD

Posted 2004-04-27