SIGHTING: PORT HUENEME, CALIFORNIA (UNITED STATES)

Witness Testimony

" it was shortly before midnight and i was watching tv in the dark when my wife, who was on our balcony which faces sw, brought this object to my attention. i stepped onto the balcony and immediately observed it hovering to the sw. no way to judge distance or size. brightly flashing primary colors, far brighter than any star, in no apparent order is all i was able to discern. i estimated magnitude -5 or more based on my many sightings of the iss in the past which is roughly magnitude -3.7 to -4. i estimated the elevation above horizon ranging between the index and middle finger of my fist when the base is lined up with the horizon. after a few minutes i was able to determine it was descending, almost imperceptibly except for a trio of palm trees near line of sight with the object which i was able to use as reference. again after another few minutes it began to ascend at near the same rate. about the time it began to ascend my wife brought me binoculars which didn't resolve any more detail of the object. other than binoculars i would occasionally shift my gaze and focus on a different object before looking back in the hopes of making out any details. throughout the sighting the size, brightness and behavior of the object never waivered. i wound up watching it for 20 minutes before i had to get to bed. personally i am loathe to cry ufo despite my clear fascination with the phenomenon. alien/ufo as well as space/science subject documentaries are a favorite pastime of mine. i also enjoy the rare occasion i can watch a launch from vandenberg afb as i just witnessed the space x launch of the spanish radar satellite this morning. at first when i see this i rather expect it to resolve into an aircraft (lax is and hour drive to the east) as has happened numerous times in the past. when that expectation begins to fade after several minutes i want to continue watching so as to dispel any possible notion that it could be a terrestrial aircraft by reasoning since there is no lateral movement it is either directly approaching or distancing itself from my location. the reason i don't suspect a helicopter is vertical vortices that happen when they hover out of ground effect for long periods resulting in loss of lift. even if a helicopter was travelling in a straight line to or from my position i would have observed a change in brightness at a minimum. a little information about me. 4 years navy aviation electronics technician, 12 years navy master at arms. avid aviation/space enthusiast for most of my 43 years. "