Flash over Bluemont, VA

The report, as filed

We live out in the country on twelve acres with zero light pollution and a great view of the sky. We also have lots of air traffic from the major airports, but they are a good bit away and like many, I know what a jet liner looks like vs. other things. I’m also very familiar with iridium flares and what they look like. This did not resemble those. It should also be noted, this was definitely star level (if that makes sense) and the color of the flash and light was a very bright white light.. Stargazing is my thing, so it’s no surprise that I was looking up while I had to take my puppy out to do her business. It was around midnight and extremely cold. I had my flashlight with me so I could see if she went, or not. As I flashed it towards her, I caught a flash out of the “top of my eye” so to speak. It immediately made me look up because the source of the light was from above. At first, I thought maybe my flashlight was reflecting off of my glasses, but as I was looking up at the Big Dipper, I immediately saw a bright flashing light in the lower handle area of the constellation. It was stationary, not moving and was just flashing, but like a slow fade flash. Then, a few seconds later to the left, another light appeared..it almost appeared as if they were talking to one another in sequence. All the while, I’m standing there in disbelief, freezing and thinking, “I’ve gotta go get someone to see this or they’ll never believe me!” Not to mention the puppy is freezing too! So, I keep my eyes on these lights, and the second light begins to move towards the east, slowly fading in and out, meanwhile the first original light flashes bright again. Then, a third light appears slightly above the other two forming a triangular pattern. Now I’m really in shock and amazement because these are definitely NOT satellites the way they are moving and definitely NOT any normal aircraft that I’ve ever seen. I quickly yell for my anyone in my household to get outside ASAP and the first one to appear is my 14 year old daughter. She then witnesses the movements of the lights with me. All three lights are now flashing with one moving slowly eastward. The first initial light that appeared flashed extremely bright, moved directly to the left and then directly east, in a zigzag pattern. My daughter’s exact words were, “Whoa! That one was bright!” I told her to run in and grab my husband and my phone so I could try to video them and as soon as he opened the door they all went out! Go figure!! Now, what in the world did we see?!? Our background..business owners, married for 20 years, college education. You don’t need to contact me about this unless you want to. I just wanted to report it to have it documented. Hoping someone else saw it, too.

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #139338). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.