NUFORC Sighting 39212

Occurred: 2004-08-19 22:15 Local
Reported: 2004-09-09 22:50 Pacific
Duration: ~30 seconds
No of observers: 15

Location: Orange Beach, AL, USA

Shape: Circle

Orange Lights over Gulf of Mexico (Orange Beach, Ala.)

While sitting on the beach at approximately 10:15 p.m. CST in Orange Beach, Ala., many people on the beach and I oberserved orange lights to the southwest over the Gulf Of Mexico. They were too high in altitude to be a boat or oil rig. They did not flicker or move, so they could not be a flare. There were four or so orange dots with the center two closer together. They appeared suddenly and disappeared instantly thirty seconds or so later. They never appeared to move at all. They were just a solid orange color. I called the local news agencies the next day to report my sighting. They said that The Blue Angels were based close by in Pensacola, Fla. and could have been practicing out over the Gulf Of Mexico. If this was the case, wouldn't the lights have changed position? Wouldn't the intensity of the light change? I'm really stumped by what I have witnessed.

NUFORC Note:

We suspect that no aerobatic team practices precision aerobatic flight at night. The lights may have been flares, but that is only a guess. PD

Posted 2004-09-29