NUFORC Sighting 63776

Occurred: 2008-06-06 23:00 Local
Reported: 2008-06-09 05:45 Pacific
Duration: approx 2 minutes
No of observers: 3

Location: Mebane, NC, USA

Shape: Unknown
Characteristics: Lights on object, Changed Color, Aircraft nearby

strange moving light in the night sky above Mebane, North Carolina

I, including my brother and his girlfriend, witnessed a strange moving light in the night sky in Mebane, North Carolina (about 12 miles West of Chapel Hill).

It happened the night of Friday June 6. The sighting began approx. 11PM, and lasted a few minutes.

I was talking with my brother on my back deck (his girlfriend was talking on a cell, but witnessed the event as well) and we were also looking at the western sky, enjoying the stars, when I noticed a exceptionally bright, white, stationary star just under the spoon of the big dipper. I thought it a little strange because I didn't remember there was a large star near the big dipper, and from what I know most air traffic is in the north and eastern part of the sky in my immediate area, I do commonly see air traffic there, and there was a few passing around at that time in the east (air traffic headed towards RDU airport I would imagine).

I looked down briefly, and my brother said, "I think it's moving...that's not a star", sure enough it did, and it traveled in an easterly direction at a smooth, quick pace. Whatever it was seemed to me to be at relatively high altitude.

I noticed It didn't have a trail like a meteor/meteorite.

I was also looking to see if it had tail lights or blinking lights, and I saw none.

It traveled for a distance, and it seemed to shrink into a red light about half as bright and size... it strangely turned at an abrupt angle in the opposite direction, traveled again, then remained stationary for a few seconds, then seemed to zip out of sight like it was traveling upwards at a high rate of speed.

It happened so quickly I didn't have time to retrieve my cameras.

Posted 2008-06-12