SIGHTING: ULVERSTON, ENGLAND (UNITED KINGDOM)

Witness Testimony

"In the last week of July/first week of August 1998 I was attending a Buddhist festival in Conishead Priory, Ulverston, United Kingdom. I have never spoken openly about this sighting before, but it has perplexed me over the years. I was 18 years old at the time of the sighting, attending the Lamrim teachings and blessing empowerments of Je Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden with Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.Late at night, or possibly in the early morning hours, I was sitting on the grassy bank behind the temple, and was staring at the beautiful night sky. There is very little light pollution in this area, as it is located between the Lake District national park, and the Irish sea, so millions of stars are clearly visible to the naked eye, and I was enjoying the night sky. It was at this point that I witnessed a perplexing sight, which I have never been able to explain.A bright and steady white light suddenly came into view in the far west of the night sky, moving at such a speed to the east that I initially thought it was a shooting star. The light, which was single, bright and constant, abruptly stopped mid flight directly in my sight, but slightly toward the south-east, having travelled in a completely straight line. The object did not remain in its stationary position for more than a moment, before travelling at the same incredible speed to the south-west night sky, where it disappeared from view. There were no other witnesses with me at the time. The distance of the object/light was hard to gauge, but my initially mistaking it for a shooting star may give some idea of possible distance. During all movements, the object travelled in a completely straight line.I felt quite amazed and shocked by what I had seen, as I was previously dismissive of the likelihood of the existence of any aircraft which could move across the entire night sky in such a manner. I remember going through a mental check-list of possible explanations; a shooting star - no, it had a deliberate artificial change in trajectory, following a moment when it was entirely stationary. A laser beam - no, the night sky was entirely clear and cloudless, and the object appeared to produce rather than reflect light. An aeroplane - no, the speed was too fast and the trajectory impossible for any plane I had ever heard of. A satellite - no, the speed and trajectory were completely different. My experience left me with the knowledge that there are things which exist, which commonly offered explanations do not account for.I am unlikely to discuss this sighting with many other people, but am happy to record it here, if it is of any interest to those who catalogue such matters."