My Old UFO sighting

I promised previously, when talking about UFO sightings over Bangor, that I would record my own here.

As I mentioned then, this doesn't imply alien craft, but an unidentified flying object, and I'll pretty certain this wasn't such a craft, or if so, the pilot probably needs an extensive driving ban. Anyway, here's my record from my log book at the time.

Date: 26th September 1991, Observers: Myself, Dad, Tom Nelson
Seen: Saturn at 117x, Seeing: II, Transparency: Very Good

Saturn seemed exceptionally clear but broke up at 166x. It is descending further into the south of the sky. A 17 day old moon foiled another attempt at M31.

I noted a series of about 6-10 flashes from 10:00 pm to 10:25 pm. I was one of the "objects" at about 10:20 pm. About 3-4 Hours Right Ascension, 60 - 80 degrees Declination. It looked like a wobbly meteor with a flash easily magnitude, say, -2 or brighter. Saw another at 10:30 pm. No further flashes. Could have been an astronomical event or some domestic problem.

I'm glad I recorded this carefully. The then president of the Irish Astronomical Association (of which I was a member then) was from Bangor, and was laughed at for his similar report, so it was helpful to have some more evidence. I still don't know what I saw, it was very bright for a meteor, and of course, they should go in a straight line. I have speculated that there was a rupture in the side of the object from which gas was venting, perhaps causing it to travel in a helical path which would have looked "wobbly" from my perspective on the ground. You can click on the thumbnail of my sketch at the time to see my sensational artistic talent.

Posted by Colin Turner