Opinions on potential UFO sighting?

Bare with me, this is my first proper post and the main reason I joined ATS, for outside opinions. I've researched the UFO phenomenon quite a bit but a second opinion can never hurt, and before all the Mulders come running at me, I just want to say I used the term UFO because that's what it was, an Unidentified Flying Object. Whether or not it be Celestial in origin, aviation or something on the opposite side of the scale, I don't know and that's why I am here.

Last night, around eleven just as it was starting to get dark, the sky was clear, the moon was visible behind the trees and few stars were able to be seen. I was upstairs looking out from the window when I saw a large, bigger than any star and brighter ball of light coming in from the North East heading West. It moved a little faster than a meteorite and was way to big and bright to be one, at least compared to ones I have seen which is often. I ran downstairs and out the back door to get a better look and I'd thought I'd lost it, till it emerged from behind a tree obscuring the view. It was still pretty bright outside at this point and the object was insanely bright. The light was almost pulsating then it would start to dim then get really bright again. There was no sound whatsoever or anything like a tail, then it went down behind some hills. I called my mom out to take a look and she's sure it's the same thing she pointed out to me last year, I can say it was in the same place and looked the same. Maybe my imaginations running away with me or something more mundane. What do you think?

If you're on the east coast of the US, There was a comet visable around 11 pm last night.

a reply to: Brian4real

I'm in Scotland.

a reply to: Scorpio77

West coast?

a reply to: Scorpio77


Someone else saw it too, so your not dreaming. Let me go find his post for you.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: Peeple

North West

a reply to: Scorpio77

Strike three.
Comet.

a reply to: Diabolical1972

Thank you!

a reply to: Peeple

Although that's a possibility, I gotta' say, it didn't look like a comet,the way it moved, it was almost elegantly, with precision. I was like a super bright flash light moving through the sky and it didn't have the usual 'tail' or other give away signs, I haven't seen anything like it before, it was like it was controlled. Not to mention my mom was certain it was the same thing as last year and it would have been around the same time. But that doesn't mean it's not a comet and it doesn't mean it is a comet either, If I see it again I'll do my best to get a video.

a reply to: Diabolical1972

That's got to be it, good job!

a reply to: Scorpio77

I guess we can rule that one out then.

a reply to: Brian4real

Put two and two together and apparently we have a super bright meteor!

a reply to: Scorpio77

a good app for your phone is FlightTracker when seeing objects you cant identify in the sky, I use this when and if I see anything I cant identify.

The ISS and other satellites are sometimes visible that start really bright and slowly dim as they go accross the night sky, there are websites where you can track the location of said objects.

The ISS one is here www.isstracker.com...

I thought I would add this into this thread as it may assist you in logically removing certain things in the skies from what you think they are and add a bit of reality into the mix.

In terms of your sighting, it does sound a lot like a comet.

a reply to: Brian4real

Comets NEVER appear to move to the human eye, they are thousands if not millions of miles away from earth. While moving fast, their distance away prevents their motion from being detectable.So scratch that explanation.

a reply to: pigsy2400

Thanks, it seems that it was a bolide, (see above video).

a reply to: pigsy2400

Seconding the ISS. When you happen to catch it going overhead it is brightest just at dusk, moves steady and fast from horizon to horizon.

originally posted by: Scorpio77
a reply to: pigsy2400

Thanks, it seems that it was a bolide, (see above video).

Couldn't have been if you had time to run downstairs and see it again, fireballs hardly ever last that long.

Ever see this one caught on film in 1972? Earth 'grazing' meteor that leaves a track, it grazed the earths atmosphere, coming in one side and gong right out the other (lucky US)--

Then theres intentional 'deorbiting' of space junk, also a 'flat trajectory' designed to burn stuff up in the upper atmosphere so it doesn't hit the ground. Ignore the newsbots, this video shows space junk reentering and burning up. This also has a tail...The object you saw took longer to cross from horizon to horizon didn't leave a trail or make any sound, was probably the ISS.

If it had been a comet or meteor large enough to be visible that long, it would have been tracked by a multitude of space agencies and reported as such.

Just be glad it wasn't. Past a certain size, they can do incredible damage, even if they don't actually hit us.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: pigsy2400

Seconding the ISS. When you happen to catch it going overhead it is brightest just at dusk, moves steady and fast from horizon to horizon.

In general, the ISS would not look to be moving from the northeast toward the west when viewed from NW Scotland. That is counter to the ISS orbit, especially when viewed from a relatively high northern latitude (such as Scotland).

Plus, looking specifically at ISS passes on heavensabove.com, there was no ISS pass that matched his observation from his location.

There was another thread today about someone who said they were in Pittsburgh (USA) and saw a bright fuzzy ball at the same time that they were viewing the ISS, so in that case (and taking that account at face value) the object he says saw was not the ISS.

Here's that other thread: www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: Scorpio77
Why are you accepting bollide or meteorite as an explaination. By your post you say there was not a visible tail yet all videos of bollides and such have visible tails.
More likely it was an aircraft with its landing lights on. When they come head on you their lights are very, very bright and because they are coming head on they seem to hover or not move at all.
So the question is are you within 20 miles of an airfield, it might be civilian or military as their holding patterns can range way out and are not always used regularly.