NUFORC Sighting 14842

Occurred: 2000-11-07 03:55 Local
Reported: 2000-11-07 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 3 to 4 minutes

Location: Lackawaxen, PA, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

Bright White Light moving slowly to the Southeast with no sound being made by the object! Small aircraft moving in other direction!

After having gotten out of bed due to some extreme lower back pain I looked out of the window at bedside and started to look at the sky which was filled with stars. The moon had set and as I was looking to the Southwest at Orion I noticed a bright white light just below and to the left (from my perspective) of Orion. At first I thought that it was that bright star in the Constelation next to Orion, but then realized that it was something else, perhaps a planet! I then noticed that it began to move to the Southeast at a very slow rate of speed. I estimate it to have been between 2000 to 3000 feet in altitude and about one to two miles away. It made no sound and as it moved away I moved to the side door and opened it standing on the deck to watch it continue to drift away from the house. While outside I confirmed my own opinion that there was no motorcraft sound at all. The temperature at the time was noted by me to be 32.2 degrees. I do not know how it got to be where it was when I first noticed it without my have having seen it, as the area in my view of the Southwest sky is not obstructed by any trees and I did not see it move through that portion of the sky as it would have had to do in order to get to the point at which I first sighted it. My conclusion is that it (1) had been at that point motionless for a period of time before I started looking at that sky or (2) suddenly appeared out of thin air! This is not the first time that I have seen such a light in this part of the sky going in the same direction and at about the same slow drifting like speed. About 8 minutes latter a small aircraft which I believe was a Cessna flew over near the same area in the opposite direction. Certainly the pilot of that aircraft had to see this light. I would be interested to know if that pilot reported any unusual airtraffic at that time of the day. Perhaps the host of this site can check with air traffic control in Teterboro or the or the airtraffic controllers at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre both of who have radar looking over this part of Pike County.

NUFORC Note:

Anonymous report. PD

Posted 2000-12-02