Hi, everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone who lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area saw the same light as my friends and neighbors did tonight, and if so, if you can tell me what it is.

Here's a brief description:

At 7:44 pm, I received a phone call. Around 8:00, I listened to the message my friend left, who told me that he was driving home, and saw a bright light in the sky. He wanted me to go out and see if I also saw it. He told me to look in the northwest sky. I immediately walked outside to the park next to my townhouse complex, and sure enough, I saw a very bright light in the sky. VERY bright. Airplanes were flying in that area also, but they looked tiny and very dim, compared to the light.

My neighbor walked into his house and brought out some binoculars. He let me look through them, and what it looked like to me was maybe something that was rounded on one end and flat on the other, but very bright, so it was hard to make out the edges. There also seemed to be a darker area in the center.

I called my friend in Tempe, who said that she could also see it.

I finally came in around 8:15 or so, because the light hadn't moved for about a half an hour, so I figured it was probably a bright planet. But I have never, ever in my life ever seen a planet that bright.

Anyone know if Venus is out this time of year? I got some pictures with my digital camera, but it only looks like a bright star....but I"ll post them in a few minutes. I tried to get one with a plane flying below it, but I think I snapped it too late.

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Addendum: my friend just called and he told me he's going to e-mail me the pictures from his cell phone. He took the pictures when the sky was very light, and also when it was dark.

I don't think it was a star, because it was too light for stars to come out when the sky was as light as it was when he first saw the bright light.

[edit on 11-6-2009 by nikiano]

I also live in Phoenix in the Northwest valley and observed the same. Your timing was right on the mark when we got the call and went out to look.

I assumed it was also a star but extremely bright. Brighter than any other star I have seen before.

I went back inside and returned 15 minutes later and it had disappeared. No sign of movement when observing.

damn completely missed this one...

drat...

i'll be at the Merc bar, by the Biltmore after 11:00 tonight, if you want to discuss this i'll buy you a drink... ask Simon behind the bar for SDK, totally being serious...


no joke, always looking to add to my network of trained eyes






[edit on 11-6-2009 by mopusvindictus]

Thanks, everyone for their confirmations....and for the offer for the drink.

I might just take you up on the offer, because I don't have to work tomorrow.

Ok, I have 5 photos I want to post, but I don't know how, because I've never posted photos before. Do I have to post them to my photo album first, before I can post them to the thread? Or can I post them directly to the thread.

Just heard from the local news that it is a research balloon heading east? They say the altitude is about 41,000 feet high.

Now they say (channel 3) that the balloon is sent by a company out of New Mexico and heading East, but that just doesnt make a lot of sense.

They did provide pictures and it clearly looked like the outline of a balloon.

Cool. Can't wait to see the pictures. It's gonna suck if it turns out to be a star though.

Ok, here are the 5 pics. Some of them are really bad, because my hand was shaky, and so it looks like a streak of light, but a couple of them turned out well.

Pictures 2 and 4 seem the best to me. I moved my hand while taking the pictures in the other 3, but I'm posting them, anyway.

I hope I'm doing this right...let me know if you can't see the pics.

picture 1:



picture 2:



picture 3:



picture 4:



picture 5:




Niki

A friend just sent me a couple pictures. He saw the same light...says it just vanished all the sudden.




top right

Dup post!

[edit on 6/11/2009 by greeneyedleo]

I live in New Mexico and I have seen these balloons many times. They are spectacular and are huge. They do hang in one place for a long time.

The first time I saw these things I also thought it was a ufo. It was a ufo until Ch 7 clued us in because of the many calls of ufo siteings. Weather balloon.