Sphere over Charleston, SC

The report, as filed

5 green lights were seen moving from the SSE to the NNW at 10:09 PM, on 8/30/2014, in Charleston, SC. Two groupings were seen, three lights in front, two in rear. Lights were moving relative to each other and stars could be seen between the lights indicating they were not connected by any solid object. All lights were moving at generally the same speed in the aforementioned direction. The first three lights moved only slightly in relation to each other. The trailing two lights moved at great speed in relation to each other, where one light moved 270 degrees around the other light in approximately 10 seconds. The movement was not in a perfect arch, again suggesting the two were no physically connected. While the trailing lights were performing the 270 degree movement relative to each other, one of the leading green lights became intensely bright relative to the others. This could best be described as seeing a laser pointer that was suddenly pointed direc! tly at the observer. This lasted approximately 5 seconds. Lights did not blink and were constant, and their brightness in comparison to each other was similar, with the exception of the sudden brightening of the one object. Light intensity could be described as that of a slightly brighter than a standard green airplane navigation light at approximately 1,000 to 2,000 feet (as compared to known aircraft landing at CHS on most any other night). Absolutely no noise of any kind was heard during the entire sighting. Lights were first seen approximately 45 degrees from directly overhead and it took approximately 60 seconds to move to the corresponding 45 degree angle. 90 degrees were covered in approximately 60 seconds. The objects were seen for another 90 seconds, moving to the NNW, until they slowly faded from sight. No additional movement relative to each other was seen at that point. Many flights go over the house in the direction of Charleston international airport. The direction of these lights was different in that it was 30 degrees to the west of the normal flight pattern to the airport. Sky was clear, no clouds. No haze was observed. The pattern below generally reflects the relative position of each light although there were subtle variations of this during the observation. The distance from the lead light to the trailing light was the distance from the pinky to the thumb with full spread of fingers at arm’s length when the objects were directly overhead. The distance from the two trailing lights to each other was approximately the size of a half dollar at arm’s length. X X X X X Given the speed the trailing two objects moved relative to each other, it gave the impression that these objects were not at any appreciable height. The general speed of the objects across the sky was much slower than an aircraft landing at CHS. A landing aircraft takes approximately 15 seconds to cover the same 90 degree arch these lights covered in 60 seconds. However, landing aircraft are only visible for approximately 20 to 30 seconds where these lights were visible for 90 plus seconds before they slowly faded into the distance. That gives the impression these lights were higher in altitude which contradicts the impression of a lower altitude given by the relative movement of the trailing two objects. My wife observed the objects for 10 to 15 seconds before calling me outside to see them. We were the only two witnesses that we know of.

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #113061). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.