NUFORC Sighting 129139
Occurred: 2016-08-09 23:00 LocalReported: 2016-08-10 00:05 Pacific
Duration: 15 seconds
No of observers: 2
Location: Portland, OR, USA
Shape: Flash
Orbiting object flares, separate flash appears, then object disappears.
A co-worker and I were outside having a smoke and looking for Perseid meteors, when I spotted what I thought was a satellite. The "satellite" was heading in a north to south direction and traveling at a typical speed for a satellite. It looked yellow/orange-ish, like most satellites do.
A few seconds into viewing the object, it flared, increasing greatly in brightness and then dimming. I am aware of what satellite flares are, so I was not surprised at this point.
The object continued to dim and then a bright white/green flash appeared below (?) the object, about the diameter of a quarter if held at arm's distance. About a second or two later the object dimmed out of view completely.
If it wasn't for the anomalous flash in the vicinity of the object, just before it disappeared, I would assume what I saw was just a flaring satellite. I'm pretty sure whatever it was was outside of the atmosphere.
Posted 2016-08-16
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