Strange Vertical Light Seen by Several Witnesses in Night Sky. Photo Taken.

Location of Sighting: Manvel, Texas
Date of Sighting: April 1, 2016
Time of Sighting: 11:20 PM

Description: On April 1, 2016 (not an April Fool’s joke), I pulled into my driveway at approximately 11:20 PM and immediately spotted the vertical orange light. I raced inside to get my 16-year-old son to come out and see it, too. I was so worried that it would disappear in the time that it took me to get him to come outside, but it didn’t. As we watched the light, my son called two friends who live about 10 miles south of us. They went outside and saw the light as well. I called my other son, who lives on campus at Texas A&M in Galveston. He was unable to see the light from his location. There is more light pollution where he lives, however.

I wanted another adult outside of our family to see it so I called my neighbor. He came out and watched it with us on the driveway for about 8 to 10 minutes. He later told me that when he went back inside, he watched it from his bedroom window as he Googled explanations. We both searched the local media sites that night thinking we might find news of a plant explosion or something similar that may illuminate the sky in some way. There was no such news.

After searching further for an explanation, I think it may have been a light pillar, but it was interesting how it tapered at both ends. The bright orange slice in the sky dimmed and brightened, back and forth for 20 or more minutes. The light was seen at a bearing of 155 degrees (south-southeast) and was approximately 30 degrees off of the horizon.

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