NUFORC Sighting 44405

Occurred: 2005-06-15 00:15 Local
Reported: 2005-06-14 22:53 Pacific
Duration: 3 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Shilo, IL, USA

Shape: Flash

High velocity pulsating light

I walked out to my SUV in my driveway to get something at approximately 00:15 CDT this morning.

As I approached my vehicle a "twinkle of light" caught my attention. My first reaction was that it was a lightning bug. The twinkle of light pulsed again but this time it had significantly progressed towards the northeast.

I became very focused on it now and watched very close for it to happen again. And it did do so five or six more times before it exited my horizon to the northeast. The pulse of light was consistently not very bright and looked more like a "thin rod" that I can best describe. It was hard for me to judge its altitude.

The initial pulse that I thought was a lightning bug seemed to be just above roof top level. But as I focused on the remainder of the occurrence I realized I could not accurately determine its altitude. The whole event took less than three or four seconds at which time it had gone from horizon to horizon.

It was a pretty clear night, a fairly bright moon in the western sky, to my back and city lights, (O’Fallon, IL) slightly illuminating the north/northeast horizon. I guess it could have been a meteor but none like I've ever seen. It appeared to be traveling at a "level altitude". It did not appear to ascend or descend. It was traveling to fast to be any known type of conventional aircraft that I'm aware of.

NUFORC Note:

Pulsing lights in the night sky can be tumbling boosters in orbit. However, they do not travel from horizon to horizon in four seconds. They usually proceed across the sky at approximately 1 degree per second. PD

Posted 2005-06-20