SIGHTING: HESPERIA, CALIFORNIA (UNITED STATES)

Witness Testimony

"I went to the porch to have a cigarette. i have great views from there and was looking at the silhouette of the mountains and clouds. sunset was probably 40 minutes earlier and the new moon was nearing the horizon to set over the mountains to the west. i leaned against the rail, looking south-east. i came from behind the eaves of the porch. a solid white light, bigger than a star, slightly bigger than venus on a good night. first i thought it was a meteor, and it might well have been. what got my attention though is there was no tail, no change in brightness, no breaking-up or flaring-out. and it visibly slowed down twice. then it went behind a low cloud and was gone. it appeared to be going about the speed of a meteor/shooting star. but again, slowed down noticeably twice. i was a watch-stander in the merchant marine for 5 years. i've seen a lot of meteor showers from many oceans, aircraft of all sorts, and it was my job to be an observer. my eyesight is better than most. i've never seen a meteor quite like this. "