NUFORC Sighting 11257

Occurred: 1998-08-08 21:30 Local
Reported: 1999-12-05 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 10 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Chatsworth (Fort Mountain), GA, USA

Shape: Orb
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object

Hovering dark mass surrounded by yellow glow

The witness in this case is one of several in the Chatsworth/Fort Mountain community that have reported apparently anomalous events to MUFONGA/ISUR during the past two years. The witness lives in this mountain top community that overlooks the valley lying between Fort Mountain and Grassy Mountain, both peaks lying just east of Hwy 411 in NW Georgia. The site from which this observation was made is about 2800 ft. in elevation. The witness was found to be a successful businessman in good health and a subtantial well respected member of the Murray County/Chatsworth community. This investigation was a joint MUFONGA/ISUR venture and was conducted on 22Aug98. The witness stated that on 8Aug98 at about 9:30PM EDT, he was sitting on his patio deck which has views to the north, northwest and northeast. There was a cloud cover at about 8,000 feet, no precipitation, little or no wind, temperature about 73 degrees. He observed a yellow circle or orb drop down out of the cloud cover to the NE about 1/2 to 1 mile away. It then stopped and hovered at an estimated 3800 ft. altitude (observation made from about 2800 foot altitude). The witness watched closely for about 10 seconds and described it as being a dark object or center mass, his diagram indicated a small doughnut shaped center, surrounded by concentric layers of yellow glow. It appeared to be about the size of a basketball held at arm's length and the glow was about as bright as that of the full moon. The object/light then vanished as he watched. These investigator's gained permission to surveil the valley for the remainder of the night from the patio deck. At about 11:00PM, these FIs noticed a very bright starlike light (brighter than Jupiter and about twice it's size) appear appx. 1/4 off of the horizon over the ridges to the NE, it then dropped straight down, displaying a 'wiggling' motion as it descended and disappeared. Event duration no more than 1 or 2 seconds, range to light estimated at 1+ to several miles (night observation). This writer seemed to notice a slight momentary halt in the travel downwards, but this was not noticed by the other FI. An inspection of that vicinity with binoculars revealed no aircraft that could be observed or heard. While not as close or spectacular as the event of 8Aug98, this distant observation did exhibit some of the same characteristics; dropping downward, then vanishing. It did not appear to be a meteor or returning space junk, both of which have been observed by these FIs on previous occasions (meteor showers many times). There are additional cases under investigation in this area, including the nearby town of Elijay. See elsewhere in this database for case of 16Oct99, 'Glowing Orange Orb Hovers'. That particular case was reported by a seperate witness in the same general vicinity. Detailed reports of the aforementioned 8Aug98 event were submitted to MUFON HQ and the ISUR database. Witnesses with additional information regarding this event can contact MUFON of Georgia at; mufonga@webtv.net

NUFORC Note:

The following report was submitted by Walter "Tom" Sheets, State Director for MUFON for the State of Georgia. E-mail address: NUFORC expresses its gratitude for the report. PD

Posted 1999-12-16