NUFORC Sighting 25853

Occurred: 2002-10-11 16:15 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2002-10-29 15:47 Pacific
Duration: 5min
No of observers: 2

Location: Randolph, MA, USA

Shape: Cylinder
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

Daylight sighting of High Altitude Light

While I was sitting on my back porch reading, a low flying Lufthansa aircraft caught my attention and I looked up to watch as it flew overhead. Above the Lufthansa which was banking northward toward Logan Intn Airport from the east, was another, higher altitude aircraft heading in an easterly direction.

Farther up, above the higher aircraft I noticed what appeared to be an orange light. It wasn't much more than a speck in the sky and I'm amazed I had even spotted it.

It was very high up but seemed to be reflecting the sun's light making it appear as an orange light.

The sun was on it's way down but the sky was still bright. Nothing was giving off that orange glow when the sun is setting, not even the higher altitude jet-liner which was just white(no vapor trail).

The light appeared to just be hovering. I sat and watched for maybe 30 seconds when I had decided to run in the house and grab my 30X Spotting Scope and alert my brother to what I was looking at.

We both got outside and the light was still at the same spot in the sky. As I tried to get a better look at it with the Spotting Scope, it began to slowly move NNW which caused me to have to jump of the back porch to keep it in my sight as I feared it would go behind the tree overhead. My brother was having a bitch of a time spotting this thing by the way.

As I wormed my way through off the deck, the object stopped just at the edge of the leaves of the tree, luckily, since I was nearly pressed up against the house trying to get the thing in my scope.

Once it stopped, I managed to get it in my scope and saw it to be a cylindrical object, orange in color, possibly from the sun reflecting off of it.

At this time I had my brother jump of the deck as well and used the leaves as a reference point for him to look and then he finally caught sight of it.

Seconds later, it slowly drifted off to the NNW and dissapeared behind the tree.

I ran out to the front yard but failed to find it again.

I was thinking it to be possibly the International Space Station but, to my knowledge, the Space Station doesn't stop then move on again,,,does it? Would it even be possible to see the Station during daylight hours?



NUFORC Note:

Time and date are approximate. The ISS is sometimes visible during evening hours, but it does not stop. PD


Posted 2002-11-04

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