aircraft formation?

090015Z JUN 07, southern italy

....and there i was lookin up at the stars, relenting that i have never been blessed with a ufo sighting, when i saw this....

aircraft formation?

there were three small white "lights" moving somewhere much higher than where planes would fly, but not as far out as a satellite. i got really excited at first, but quickly became confused. the three lights seemed to be moving at a uniform speed, much as you would expect to see a satellite. at first heading due north, and then, while maintaining the triangle formation, flew off into the north-eastern horizon. total duration of observation was around 1.5 minutes. they were moving very quickly!

i have never seen anything like this before. does this qualify as "unidentified"?


dkp

Except how can you tell they were higher than planes normally fly? There's no way you can tell the altitude a plane is at looking up at it from the ground. You can tell something is "really high" but that's about it. The only way to tell is to have some kind of flight tracking software.

Yeah, hard to tell without being there. But, great little presentation to describe what ya saw.

Cuhail

Originally posted by Zaphod58
Except how can you tell they were higher than planes normally fly?

i am not sure, exactly....that is just how it seemed to me. the problem is that they struck me at first as really quick satellites. but they were much brighter than any satty i have ever seen. so i assumed they were closer.

point being: i have no idea how far away they were.

better?

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a jerk about it, and that does sound rather interesting. It just bugs me when people say "I saw another plane flying at the same altitude" when there's no way they could possibly tell.

I have no idea what you saw though, but it sounds very interesting.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
Except how can you tell they were higher than planes normally fly? There's no way you can tell the altitude a plane is at looking up at it from the ground. You can tell something is "really high" but that's about it. The only way to tell is to have some kind of flight tracking software.

if you have a camera and take a picture then know the mm of the lens
when it was shot and take the size of the plane i think that you could
find out with in a reasonable distence how far a plain is to your location ..

Sure, but we don't even know what this was. To know the size of the plane we have to know what KIND of plane it is.

Could have been NOSS satelites.

One of the interesting sights in the night sky are the Naval Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) satellite formations, each having two or three satellites in close proximity to one another. Normally these satellites are relatively dim to the unaided eye, but on occasion they brighten sufficiently to be easily seen in a dark sky.

Normally, under favourable circumstances, 2nd generation NOSS satellites reach magnitude +5 to +6, observable with 7x50 binoculars. Occasionally, they brighten to magnitude +2 to +4, readily visible to the un-aided eye.

Rarely, they outshine the brightest stars. One observer of such an event commented, "Imagine seeing Venus in formation with itself separated by less than 7 degrees, with Saturn trailing along; that's what the spectacle looked like."

the description which you have given of the NOSS satellites seems to be what i saw. another webpage says that most people mistake them for UFOs.

i just knew they were only satellites.

darn.


dkp

Originally posted by tgidkp
darn. dkp

Still an interesting sighting. Keep watching as you may be someone who sees a non-terrestrial craft one day.

tgidkp your simulation showed them changing course, I don't think 3 satalites would do that in formation.

I think its my family returning for me (they prob forgot which planet they left me on)

i am willing to give a little on the change of heading of the tri-formation......i was looking at it lying down, and i stood up suddenly, and i had to re-acquire...

maybe the change of heading was in my head...

but i would have sworn i saw the thing turn into another direction....


dkp