Appearance / Description of Object(s)

It looked star-like, but the flickering was very different from real stars. It was more stroboscopic. The object looked somewhat ethereal, less clear and steady than a normal star.

Size of Object(s)

It was point-like.

Distance to Object(s) & Altitude

Impossible to say. It must have been somewhere in the atmosphere.

Description of Area / Surroundings

It was an urban area. Low buildings in the neighborhood.

Full Description & Details

On Sunday evening 17 January 2010 I was in the city of Utrecht, The Netherlands. At 5.45 PM I saw a bright star moving along the sky, but I realized this was he International Space Station (ISS). I later checked the passage times of the ISS and this was correct. After a few minutes the ISS disappeared in the South-East. Some five minutes later I suddenly saw low in the South-East a flickering star-like object that was not very bright but yet clearly visible. It stood about 20 degrees above the horizon and did not change position. Real stars were also visible in the neighborhood. I saw a clear difference between the star-like object and real stars. The light of the object went out and on at varying rates. Sometimes the rate was fast, about five times per second. Than the rate changed to about two or one time per second. A few times the object disappeared completely but appeared again a few seconds later and went on flickering at varying rates. The flickering was very different from normal stars: it was really completely out and on. I looked for about ten minutes at this strange phenomenon and than went away. The object was still there. Some months later was was at the same place in Utrecht at daytime and saw no buildings or other objects at that place in the sky.

Can sighting be explained as any conventional man-made or natural object?

As an amateur astronomer I know celestial objects very well. It was not a star, not a planet, not a satellite. It looked the most like a helicopter, but why stood the object 10 minutes at the very same position in the sky and why did it send these peculiar flickering light signs?

Witness Background

I studied physics at the University and in my youth practiced amateur astronomy.

Views on UFOs, before and after sighting

I read a lot about UFOs (e.g. the viewpoint of George Adamski) and I believe they exist. I believe like Adamski that UFOs are indeed space ships from other planets. This sighting did not change my views on the subject.

Reported Sighting? 

Reported To: 

Name: 

Your Location: 

Age: