NUFORC Sighting 145860

Occurred: 2019-04-24 22:30 Local
Reported: 2019-04-25 16:20 Pacific
Duration: 10 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Palm Desert, CA, USA

Shape: Chevron
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Emitted other objects

This was a sighting at night above Palm Desert, CA. featuring an angular object from which four other objects flew away and came back.

Last night I was sitting in my hot tub and facing due east so the jet of water could hit my lower back. My husband had already gone inside, so I was alone and staring up, hoping to see a meteor. I heard something that caused me to moved my gaze straight up and I saw something moving fast -- it was huge, moving fast, and intermittently visible. It was like a ship whose cloaking device was sputtering. The object was not lit, but it seemed like it was reflecting the light from the cities below.

It was flying higher than planes coming into PSP airport, but below the level of planes flying from LAX to the East Coast (which one can still hear and see with their flashing lights). In the distance it seemed to suddenly stop, and then four or five separate objects flew away from it for a few seconds and then they flew back and merged with the object, and then the object suddenly seemed to fly straight up really fast and disappear.

Honestly, it could have been a stealth bomber flying out of March AFB in Riverside -- they probably don't publish their training missions so it would be hard to verify. It is not impossible that the objects i saw flying away from it could have been panels reflecting city lights. But it didn't seem to behave like a bomber would -- streaking across the sky, making a bit of noise but then no more noise, suddenly stopping and disappearing and appearing, and then suddenly streaking straight up. I did not see any trails or exhaust or jet engine plumes that a fighter might make, but I don't know how the B2's mask those.

I have seen B2's fly in the skies above So Cal during events like the Rose Parade, and this didn't look like that and it certainly didn't behave like that. At that hour, around ten thirty at night, it was very dark and the moon was not visible. The Coachella Valley is in the desert but it is fairly heavily developed so there is considerable light pollution. There are plenty of undeveloped areas around, so if the AF wanted to fly training missions, why would they fly right over a populated area with a busy airport? I ran inside and told my husband what I had seen to try to keep "contemporaneous notes" and to try to explain and understand what I had seen. I was in a hot tub thus didn't have my phone at hand to take any pictures (and probably wouldn't have had the time anyway). Needless to say I have never seen anything like this before and have never filed a report like this either.

Posted 2019-04-25