NUFORC Sighting 05328

Occurred: 1999-01-10 19:04 Local
Reported: 1999-01-11 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 1 to 2 sec
No of observers: 3

Location: Tyson's Corner, VA, USA

Shape: Circle

Bright green circularly shaped light moved downward and easterly through elevation angles from 30 degrees to 10 degrees and 20 degrees of azimuth azimuth.

On January 10, 1999 at 7:04 PM EST my family and I were driving east-sourth-east on Route 7 near Tyson's Corner, Virginia (suburb of DC). The family consists of two adults and three children ages 13, 12, and 8. I, my wife, and my 12 year old son observed an unknown moving green light. The strangeness of this sighting impressed all three of us, and I immediately dictated a few notes on our observation. The disc of light was larger than the pipoint of light usually seen from a star or meteor. The visual angles subtended were similar to what one would see from a green stop light at a distance of about a quarter of a mile. We viewed the object when looking out the left-side van windows while traveling at about 50 mph in an east-south-east direction. Since the disc did not appear to chane size and moved in a left to right direction as we looked in the north-north-east direction, this lead to the perception that the object was moving roughly in the same direction as we were, but of course falling as well as moving forward. Although we could entertain guesses as to distances and speeds, I don't believe there is any objective basis for doing so. The trajectory swept a path from a elevation angle of 30 degrees to an elevation angle of 10 degrees, while the azimuthal angle swept through approximately 20 degrees. The visual duration was between 1 and 2 seconds. Both my wife and my son reported the path as being curved downward. The duration of the image was so short that I am not sure whether I perceived the path as a straight line or curved. The color was distinctively green, much like a stoplight green with not as much blue in it. The sighting took place approximately a mile west of tyson'S Corner. The sky was partly cloudy and although some stars and airplane lights could be seen, there were none in the vicinity of the unknown object sighted. I would be interested in hearing if there were any other simultaneous sightings in this area.

Posted 1999-02-16