SIGHTING: BANGOR, ME

Witness Testimony

"Five yellow/orange orbs flying across sky at low altitude over 15 minute period seen by 5 peopleOn December 25th, 2012 at 8:30 +/- EST, I observed five objects cross the sky from northwest to southeast over a 15 minute period. These objects were all yellow centered with an orange corona, appearing much like the rear view of a fighter jet engine at take-off. None of the objects made any noise nor showed any visible contrail or vapor stream. Being a moonlit night such streams are visible even with aircraft at higher cruising heights. We live on the pathway to Bangor International Airport and regularly see a variety of aircraft including all type of military aircraft as the facility hosts a military installation. The objects observed did not have any flashing lights as is required on all aircraft. from our vantage point, the objects appeared to be at a height similar to that used by light aircraft, so on the order of 1000 to 1500’. At this height, and compared to the size of the moon on this night, the objects appeared to be 1/10th the size of t! he moon, or as a reverse comparison quite a few times larger than the largest star visible. In terms of brightness, the yellow portion of the object was as bright as the brightest star. When I first noticed the object it appeared to be coming toward me and I thought it was the headlight on the front running gear of a large airliner, as it had a similar brightness. However as the object came closer and no longer was coming at me but going by me it had no shape other than an orb and on such a moonlit night it would have been easy to tell if it had wings or resembled a standard aircraft. Five members my family witnessed these objects.I contacted the Maine Stage Police who sent a trooper to patrol the area for signs of fireworks or flares, but reported back that nothing was observed. On the next day I contacted Bangor International Airport, and through a few calls ended up at the air traffic control tower. My call was returned later that day, and in talking to the tower they mentioned that the previous night one of the people on duty had noticed a bright light to the west (which would be toward where I am located from the airport), thought nothing of it, and when he returned to the window it was not present. I was told that radar did not pick up anything out of the ordinary, but they are only tracking things with transponders. "