Location of Sighting: Winchester, Virginia
Date of Sighting: August 31, 2016
Time of Sighting: 9 to 9:30 PM EDT
Description: A woman and her neighbor saw a star-like object swing like it was at end of the string. The object was yellow, but flashed red and green. The object had been seen on the previous night. However, the witness and her neighbor had never seen the object before the previous night (Aug 30, 2016) and both have lived in the area for several years. The area is quite dark and devoid of city light “pollution.” The object was visible for about 30 minutes. It would move back and forth like it was at the end of a string. The object then got bright, disappeared and re-appeared in another one-half across the sky 10 minutes later. The object seemed to move away from aircraft flying over the area. Skies were clear at the time of the sighting. The area is mountainous and remote. Note to Commenters: If you are reporting a sighting, be sure to include the location (city, state, country), date and time of your sighting. Be detailed in your description. You may also use our report form to report your sighting. Comments will only be published if they are in "good taste" and not inflammatory. Also the name that you list in the comment will be posted. Use abbreviations or aliases if you don't want your name listed.
I live in a mountainy, fairly wooded area of Northern California. I have seen these floating lights before in different parts of the sky, usually in the northern sky. I can’t remember the dates or times. I’ll notice them every few weeks, maybe once a month, usually late at night or early early morning. They are a common sighting for me. Last night (August 31, 2016) was the last time I saw one (in the northern sky). I have trouble sleeping so I usually just stare out the window. I noticed the floating light and thought it was a dim star until it turned red, disappeared, then reappeared (in the same spot) brighter than before. It swung like a tiny pendulum. It would brighten, then dim, then brighten again before blipping out and reappearing (again in the same spot). At one point it started slowly drifting up at a diagonal angle. It would then start swinging again, staying in the same section of sky. It did this for a while, moving at diagonal angles up and down before slowly moving straight down and faded away. I have to say that I watched all this as a reflection on my easterly facing window. It was open giving me the perfect angle to watch. Having seen and watched these lights plenty before I knew what I was seeing was actually happening. It was not an optical distortion. Maybe 30 minutes later it appeared again only this time it was in the eastern sky far away, but a straight view outside my window. It swung like a pendulum and changed from dim to bright, white to red. It would disappear and reappear just like always. I noticed that everytime a plane flew through that part of the sky it would either dim or disappear completely and then reappear. At one point it started to drift diagonally upward, then down a little, freeze then drift some more. After a while it slowly went straight up and out of my line of vision. I thought the show was over and continued to stare out my window. Twenty or maybe thirty minutes later it appeared again back in it’s original spot in the eastern sky. It was low to the horizon. It was still swinging like a pendulum and it drifted in the opposite direction as before. All the behavior and movement was the same just in the opposite direction as before (like a mirror image). After maybe an hour it slowly disappeared and didn’t come back (that I saw). In total I would say the whole show (both sightings) went on for 2 to 3 hours.
I find these lights hypnotic to watch. They were startling at first and not a scary thing just unfamiliar. I find them fascinating. It is a reminder of how big the universe is and how tiny we are.