Around 7:00 pm in the evening my brother suddenly called out for me to quickly come to where he was standing. He was on the back deck of my home and pointed to the west. The home sits on the bench of a mountain overlooking a valley and lake. The light that he was showing looked like a giant spot light, but much bigger and brighter. It almost looked like a lone beam of sunlight that breaks through the clouds, only it was dark and the moon was nowhere in sight. The beam of light started at one point and gradually grew wider, giving the light the shape of a giant cone. About 10 seconds after I first saw the light it began to slowly dim. As it dimmed I could see a spiral of light leading up to the source. The light didn't just go out either. It seemed to disperse into a haze or cloud. Sorry if the description is hard to follow.((NUFORC Note: U. S. Navy missile launch. PD))