- #1
TehNetherlands
- 5
- 3
Hi! :) This is my first message here.
The reason I joined this forum is because there are some knowledgeable people here who might be able to shed some light on an observation that I cannot explain. It happened during the night of July 28, 2013, at around midnight, and it still keeps me pondering.
It was a warm, clear night and I was sitting in my parent's garden with my neightbours, parents and a friend.
I was stargazing a bit inbetween conversations, as I typically do on such a night. I did not have any visual aids.
Satellite flares were clearly visible and I pointed them out every now and then.
Suddenly my eye fell on what appeared to be three white dots of light straight overhead. They were somewhat brighter than the average star, but less bright than the brightest stars. There was no apparent atmospheric twinkle either. They were traveling in a rigid delta formation, further apart than typical airline strobes. At first I thought it might be faint lights on the underside of a large military airplane. I called out to everyone and pointed at the lights. Everyone could see them except for my dad, whose eyes were probably still adjusting to the darkness.
Within about five seconds the delta appeared to rapidly expand and engage in fluent maneuvers. Up until that point, I was convinced that they were part of one solid object. That was also the point where I realized this was unlike anything I'd ever seen in my many nights of stargazing. Everyone was completely baffled. I ran over to a darker corner of the garden in hopes of getting a better view. The objects converged back into a delta and continued their path in the same direction, towards the northeast. They were moving at significant speed and soon went out of sight. All throughout there was no sound or change in their brightness.
Now, I'm an aviation enthousiast, and this was unlike what any airplane is capable of. It was reminiscent of the maneuverablitiy of multirotor rc helicopters which I happen to fly.
I spent the next two hours watching the sky but they did not appear again. It was the first time I could literally not think of any explanation for what I'd seen, and I haven't seen anything remotely like it before or since. Neither did anyone else who was there.
Also, I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who saw this, else I'd probably never mention it again. I have no video or photo, as it all happened very fast, and was probably too faint to show up on smartphone video anyway.
I have included a simple drawing of what it roughly looked like.
Does anyone happen to know of atmospheric phenomena that might manifest in such a fashion?
Has anyone witnessed something similar?
Enlighten me with your knowledge and speculation. :)
The reason I joined this forum is because there are some knowledgeable people here who might be able to shed some light on an observation that I cannot explain. It happened during the night of July 28, 2013, at around midnight, and it still keeps me pondering.
It was a warm, clear night and I was sitting in my parent's garden with my neightbours, parents and a friend.
I was stargazing a bit inbetween conversations, as I typically do on such a night. I did not have any visual aids.
Satellite flares were clearly visible and I pointed them out every now and then.
Suddenly my eye fell on what appeared to be three white dots of light straight overhead. They were somewhat brighter than the average star, but less bright than the brightest stars. There was no apparent atmospheric twinkle either. They were traveling in a rigid delta formation, further apart than typical airline strobes. At first I thought it might be faint lights on the underside of a large military airplane. I called out to everyone and pointed at the lights. Everyone could see them except for my dad, whose eyes were probably still adjusting to the darkness.
Within about five seconds the delta appeared to rapidly expand and engage in fluent maneuvers. Up until that point, I was convinced that they were part of one solid object. That was also the point where I realized this was unlike anything I'd ever seen in my many nights of stargazing. Everyone was completely baffled. I ran over to a darker corner of the garden in hopes of getting a better view. The objects converged back into a delta and continued their path in the same direction, towards the northeast. They were moving at significant speed and soon went out of sight. All throughout there was no sound or change in their brightness.
Now, I'm an aviation enthousiast, and this was unlike what any airplane is capable of. It was reminiscent of the maneuverablitiy of multirotor rc helicopters which I happen to fly.
I spent the next two hours watching the sky but they did not appear again. It was the first time I could literally not think of any explanation for what I'd seen, and I haven't seen anything remotely like it before or since. Neither did anyone else who was there.
Also, I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who saw this, else I'd probably never mention it again. I have no video or photo, as it all happened very fast, and was probably too faint to show up on smartphone video anyway.
I have included a simple drawing of what it roughly looked like.
Does anyone happen to know of atmospheric phenomena that might manifest in such a fashion?
Has anyone witnessed something similar?
Enlighten me with your knowledge and speculation. :)