Reader Submitted Report
[Unedited]
5-1-10
Hello,My name is Xxxx Xxxxx. I witnessed something yesterday morning that I could not explain, and after my work day ended last evening, I decided to do a web search to see if anyone else might have posted anything on the internet about witnessing this event as well.[Unedited]
5-1-10
First, let me say that I have been an airplane / aviation aficionado since I was a boy of 10 years old. I am 39 presently. I can almost identify any aircraft past or present just by sight. I grew up in Xxxx, XX just North of Grissom AFB, and joined the Marine Corps at the age of 18. It surprised no one that I went into the Marine Air Wing, and spent my time in the Corps on multiple Marine Corps Air Stations or Naval Air Stations. I became an avionics electrician, and flew as an aircrew member aboard a KC-130 Hercules aircraft.
I would also like to say that I have always been interested in Astronomy, getting my first telescope also at the age of 10, and still own a very high tech model to this day. I took two years of astronomy in high school, and another year at the University of California, Irvine. I've also taken a workshop just a few short years ago at IUK as they have an outstanding telescope array for this particular area of Indiana.
I am very knowledgeable about FAA Regulations, and the strobe lights that all aircraft, military or otherwise, are required to have and operate while in flight. I have had friends and loved ones throughout the years see something in the night sky thinking it's a UFO, and I have easily dismissed this by pointing out to them the strobe lights, or aircraft flight patterns, either fixed wing, or that of a helicopter.
I have also pointed out to numerous people that the planet Venus is NOT a UFO, as it seems commonly mistaken to be since it appears to alternate colors due to the diffraction of light in Earth's atmosphere when the planet passes through certain apogees and angles. I am very well aware of the different planets' positions and constellation locations as they relate to the changing seasons and time of year. I often point these out to my four children, whom all have taken an interest in astronomy as well.
I am presently employed as a Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx xx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxwhere I am working on my XXth year, being employed with Xxx Xxxxx xx Xxxxxxx. I do not drink, and have never taken any illegal drugs. I state this only as a precursor to say that what I witnessed yesterday morning between 0430 and 0500 on my way to work I am somehow at a loss to explain or to understand.
I live approximately eight miles due Xxxxx xx Xxxxxx Xxxx, Xx. I typically leave for work in the early morning between approximately 0430-0440 as my report time is 0500. I was driving South on US 31, and as I was driving, I noticed two bright amber lights in the sky that appeared to be further South of Bunker Hill toward the Kokomo area. I was between Pipe Creek Elementary School, and County Road 500 when I first noticed these two bright lights.
At first glance, I dismissed them as aircraft, but then I noticed that they did not appear to be moving. I slowed my truck down to examine them better, and quickly noted that there were NO strobe lights on them whatsoever. I knew that there are no planets during the late spring / early summer in this particular position in the early morning sky, and thought that they were perhaps something else. I was amazed that their apparent magnitude was easily a 1 or a 2 on the brightness scale for celestial bodies. I knew that they were not stars, and as they were stationary and not moving, I knew they were not meteors or falling space debris either. I thought perhaps they were military flares, but there were NO aircraft anywhere near, and they appeared to come out of nowhere. I also noted that the GARB did not have any landing field lights on, nor were their tower lights in a circular pattern as they are when night operations are being conducted. There appeared to be no military activity at all, and no aircraft visible anywhere near the horizon or above where the lights suddenly appeared.
As I continued driving Southward, I noticed that two vehicles had pulled over to the shoulder and the occupants were out of their vehicles looking toward the lights as well. I was glad to see that I was not the only individual that noticed the strange, peculiar nature of what I was witnessing. They were bright, amber lights that appeared to come from nowhere, one being approximately 45 degrees Southeast of US 31 at an altitude of approximately 900 feet; The other appeared to be 30 degrees Southwest of US 31 at an altitude of approximately 1100 feet.
I witnessed these bright, glowing "orbs" in the sky for approximately 3-4 minutes, then the one to the left at the lower altitude suddenly vanished. Approximately five (5) seconds later, the higher one to the right vanished. I felt a knot in my stomach immediately upon seeing this, because I knew that I had just witnessed something that did not make sense with my understanding of aircraft, military and otherwise, and of astronomy. I was disturbed about it when I arrived at work, and asked several other staff members that I work with if they had seen anything strange in the sky just South toward Kokomo. As dismayed I was that no one stated they witnessed it, I did take solace in the fact that I saw at least two other persons along the side of the road that knew as I did; That they were seeing something very uncommon and unusual.
When I did an internet search last evening, I found multiple sightings of a similar consistency with that of what I witnessed yesterday morning (April 30, 2010). I cannot understand or make sense of what I saw. I was involved in Desert Storm, and had been involved in multiple combined arms exercises while serving as an aircrew member in The Marines. What I am quite certain of is that what I witnessed WAS NOT military aircraft flares. The lights appeared to come out of nowhere, and as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. I knew after reading several of your postings that others have witnessed this same type of occurrence. I thought that I would share my experience as well full well knowing how unusual this event was.
I do not mind if you use my sighting of this event on your blog or website, but I would ask that you do not print either my name or occupation . . .. Thank you.
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