NUFORC Sighting 24856

Occurred: 2002-09-01 23:15 Local
Reported: 2002-09-04 21:09 Pacific
Duration: 1 minute
No of observers: 10

Location: Trout Lake, WA, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object

triangular formation of white lights moving and making a 180 degree turn

We were skywatching at James Gillilands ranch (Sattva Sanctuary) last Sunday. There was another group there 150 yards to our west, The Greer Group (Disclosure Project). Just before our sighting many of them were yelling excitedly. My wife Ferne and I searched the sky to see what the excitement was about. Ferne saw it first right overhead and it was three lights moving in an elongated triangle formation. One of the trailing lights was a little ahead of the other. Was moving slowly from north to south. After a few seconds it made a banking 180 degree turn returning to the direction it came from and the lights kept in formation. About 3 seconds after the turn all three lights gradually faded. There was no noise and a clear moonless night. The formation was directly overhead of us. Saw another triangular formation last year about this time but it did not turn as this one did. We did not see an object enclosed within the light formation. I tried to video this event but it did not record. I was trying to video record the lights and as soon as my wife said its a triangle the camera stopped recording and the tape was blank upon review. I did not get any video of it. I had the formation in view all the time as I thought I was recording. In one year of skywatching this is best sighting I have experienced. The lights did not strobe or look like lights on a plane. The lights were white but rather dim.


((FOLLOW-UP CORRESPONDENCE WITH WITNESS))

Dear Mr. ((name deleted)),

Thank you very much for the interesting report!

I have a few questions about your sighting. First, what was the apparent size of the formation of three lights, relative to the size of the disc of a full Moon, please? Also, did the entire formation "bank," or the individual lights? What direction did the object turn, please? Did it end up going to the east, or to the west?

Did you look for the object on the following night, by any chance, or on any subsequent night? Also, when the lights faded, did they all fade together, or did they fade at different times? If the latter, which one faded first, they subsequently?

You state that "one of the trailing lights was a little ahead of the other." Do you mean that there were two behind, and one of them was a bit ahead of the other?

Thank you very much for your report. We will post it in the near future. I do not know what it was you saw, but we would like to know more.

Cordially,

Peter Davenport

Peter: The size was about was a little larger than a full moon. The entire formation made a banking right turn (east) and the lights stayed in the same relative position turning east and continuing to turn untill a 180 degree turn had been made to go back north. So after the turn it was going north. The next night we decided to go home since I had to work the next day and clouds were building up. All three lights faded out together.



The formation look somewhat like this, the top being the leading light. We are going back to Mt adams Friday for two nights of skywatching since we were quite excited to see this. The Greer group is supposed to be there untill sunday. We are not part of the group, and the leader of the group has requested privacy from the rest of the guests while they are there. We have been helping James with maintenance of one of the buildings and helping out in general. We go there quite frequently when the weather is good to skywatch. I have seen many moving lights while there over the past year, but this one is the most unusual I have ever seen anywhere and needed to be reported. As far as I know satellites cannot do this and it definatly was not an airplane. The one we saw last year looked like this:



It did not turn, was about the same brightness, and when it faded out the lead light went out first and when the two trailing lights reached the same place they went out together. The size was slighty larger than the one we have just seen.

If you have any more questions feel free to send an email.. ((name deleted))

((SECOND COMMUNICATION))

Peter: My callendar says August 18 2001. My sister was up from California, saw it, and my wife ((name deleted)) was there too and saw it.

((END))

NUFORC Note:

Triangular formation of X's deleted here. They will not survive the transfer to the website. PD


Posted 2002-09-06

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