<<< That’s not what it looked like.

8:05 pm, I was getting in my car to go to the store, when I glanced up at the sky to the north of my home.  That’s when I saw it.  A red light, moving (apparently) slowly.  Not the blinking red light of an aircraft, but a solid, bright red light.  It seemed to hover above, and far beyond, the church across the street, and then seemed to be moving up and away from me, growing dimmer as it did so.  It quickly winked out, and after a moment I got into my car and continued on my errand to the store.

When nearing the store, I saw it again, in the northern sky.  When I found a place to park, and was able to look again, it was gone.  I’ve seen it (or something very much like it) there before.

Several years ago, about 2am, I was driving home when I noticed a bright red light in the northern sky.  I kept an eye on it as best I could as I was driving, hoping it would be there when I could get out of the car and take a look.  It did, and once I was peering intently at it, it seemed to be moving away as it gained altitude.  Tonight’s appearance was short lived, only a minute or so, but the previous sighting was almost 5 minutes (or so it seemed) in duration.  The first sighting appeared to climb out of the atmosphere, and was gone.  I had no way to find out what it was, and while it did not seem to be any aircraft I was familiar with, it could simply have been a misinterpretation on my part of some routine air traffic.  It could also have been something from the nearby Naval Air Base.

Some days later, once again around 2am, the red light made another appearance.  This time the behavior was noticeably different.  The red light hovered for a short time after I noticed it, then began the northerly ascent, apparently away from me.  Before it disappeared, however, a smaller, dimmer red light broke off from the bright light, and flew away in an easterly direction, at what appeared to be a very high rate of speed.  The “mother ship” continued it’s climb up and away, and after a few moments, faded from sight.

Some time later, I don’t recall how long, I saw a third red light in the sky.  Again, early in the morning, around 3am.  I was just getting home from work when I saw it in the northern sky.  This time it was, as best I could tell, coming directly at me.  It seemed to be gaining altitude as it came in my direction  The apparent ground speed slowed, and the brightness of the light decreased steadily.  This is what one would expect if one was watching a ship of some kind head towards orbit.  Eventually, the light faded to a level to low to see, still seemingly climbing into the sky.  I still have no idea what these lights were.

Tonight’s light was fainter, briefer, and apparently a bit erratic.  As I said, it was there when I got into the car, disappeared from view fairly rapidly once I was standing in the driveway watching it, but when I was driving towards the store, I saw it again.  I tried to keep an eye on it, as traffic allowed, but I had to devote my full attention to getting into the store’s parking lot.  Once there, I scanned the sky for my UFO, but it was gone.

Once I got home, I thought it had reappeared, as there was a red light off to the north again.  This time, however, the light was blinking, and there was a solid white light accompanying the red.  Clearly a private aircraft, it flew slowly across the sky towards the southeast.  It was not my UFO from earlier.

I suppose these lights are simply explained as military, commercial, or private aircraft.  They didn’t appear to be to me, but perhaps my affinity for such things makes me more susceptible to hopes.

ET, stop by for a visit.  I’ll find some Reeses’ or M&M’s for you!