NUFORC Sighting 34325

Occurred: 2004-01-06 18:40 Local
Reported: 2004-01-06 18:57 Pacific
Duration: 15 min.
No of observers: 3

Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

Large bright white light over downtown Phoenix

My fiancee and I first noticed the very bright large white light in the night sky upon walking out to get in our car to go to the store. It was South-west in the sky and about half again as high above the downtown buildings as the planes after they level off from Sky Harbor. In fact we watched several commercial liners and a helicopter fly in the approximate area of the sky only lower during this "sighting".

Basically it was caught our eye because it was so big and so bright-it grew dimmer very gradually till it just faded out from view about 10 minutes after I left the car to go into the store-on my way in-I showed a clerk to look up at it-and she tried to figure out what she was seeing as well. There were no blinking lights, just one bright white light about 10 times brighter and larger than any typical star in the sjy-but there were no other stars in the sky at the this time. The light never appeared to move-just faded out. It seemed to just "hang" there.

NUFORC Note:

We wonder whether the witness intended a date in 2004, not 2003. We have amended the date above. The object may have been Venus, which is in the western sky during the early evening. PD

Posted 2004-01-17