SIGHTING: MAZATLÁN, DE
Witness Testimony
"((NUFORC Note: We have amended the date to December 01, 2001, based on follow-up correspondence, posted below. PD))about 300 saw a bright comet-like object flying too fast and too low from SW to NE at 21:10 on 12/2/01 at about 23°N106WWe were attending a music concert outdoors and we all saw this object flying a leveled pattern from about south west to north east until it disappeared in the horizon, too low (ten o'clock), too bright and too fast for an airplane; (actually there was no way to mistake this for an airplane), too leveled too slow and too white for a meteorite. It was a ball of light, not like fire, but more like the color of a soft light bulb with a tail like a comet. although it was flying too low for it, we thought it might be the space shuttle reentering and on it's way to Edwards but it was not to be launched until the following weekend. It was partly cloudy and it entered the low clouds illuminating some of them or momentarely entering a thiker one that made it disappear for fractions or a couple of seconds. It was published in the local newspaper as "some" astronomical phenomenon related to a "rain of meteorites" that had taken place about 10 days prior. We are at about 23° N 106° W((FOLLOW-UP MESSAGES))Dear Mr. ((deleted)),Thank you very much for the excellent report! Is it possible that the date of your sighting was Saturday, Decemer 01, 2001?? I ask, because that was the night that a major space debris re-entry occurred over Texas and the Midwestern states in the U. S., and your report makes me wonder whether that might have been the event that caused your sighting.Thank you very much for taking the time to share the information with our Center!Cordially,Peter Davenport((RESPONSE))DEAR MR. DAVENPORT,THE REPORT WAS NOT SO EXCELLENT SINCE I SEEM TO HAVE GOTTEN THE DATE WRONG.I AM SORRY, YES IT WAS A SATURDAY SO IT MUST HAVE BEEN DEC 1. I WILL RECONFIRM WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WERE WITH ME AT THE TIME… ((remainder deleted))SINCERELLY((NAME DELETED))((END))"
