Occurred: 2007-06-08 00:55 Local
Reported: 2007-06-08 02:39 Pacific
Duration: 90 seconds (approx.)
No of observers: 1

Location: Lake Stevens, WA, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object, Aircraft nearby

Extremely bright light traveling west to east on erratic course.

06-08-07 At approximately 12:55 AM on 06-08-07 I parked my car facing north; weather was clear with some clouds on the distant north horizon. As soon as I shut the door I noticed a bright light moving high in the western sky. I initially dismissed it as a commercial airplane but the size and speed caught my attention. It was moving faster than any satellite I have ever seen, and extremely bright. Light was larger than a star and extremely bright; at least a magnitude -4 or -5.

As I stood in the driveway it passed from west to east almost directly overhead. I have not seen a commercial airplane cruise at such a speed, and it was most definitely not a satellite of any kind.

Light was so bright I assumed for a moment it must be a small, quick plane with it’s landing lights on or a helicopter, but as it passed overhead it began to zig and zag erratically, maintaining a fast course to the general east. There were no sounds of prop or jet engines whatsoever. It crossed from west to east in roughly 30-45 seconds, beginning to fade at around a minute and finally winking out high on the horizon. There were no visible secondary beacons or green/red signals of any kind the entire time, not even as it passed to the east--just one single bright light on a shifting course. Duration could not have been more than 90 seconds.

Did anyone else see this around 1:00 AM Friday? I cannot explain what that light was. I am of sound mind and have better than average vision. I work in the aerospace field, and this was not any aircraft I could identify. I was not swaying on my feet; the light was definitely moving in an erratic manner. The magnitude remained constant until it began to pass lower into the eastern horizon. I could not make out any sort of structure at any time; it was too bright.

All I can liken it too would be a double-sized Jupiter traveling across the sky.

At 1:06AM, I stepped back outside facing east. There were no aircraft I could see or hear, but within seconds a small burst of light caught my attention. I spotted a fast satellite moving south to north, flashing every few seconds. Before I could track that one for long I spotted another flashing satellite moving north to south. Both passed close to each other right overhead. I have seen flashing satellites before, and are usually about magnitude +2; both of these were emitting far brighter flashes than that, I’ve never seen anything like it! It was almost more of a strobe. As soon as the first two passed each other I spotted a third, moving roughly SE to NW. All three seemed to be traveling fast for a satellites but I’m not an expert.

Probably nothing, but I still found it interesting to spot three strange satellites barely 15 minutes after sighting such a strange light in the sky. I also understand that some satellites will flash reflect light, but still. The clouds drew over within another 20 minutes. I stepped out twice to smoke before 2:25 AM, and incredibly each time in a break in the overcast, directly overhead, I spotted another brightly flashing satellite moving south to north, just like the others. Weird!

Posted 2007-06-12

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