Appearance / Description of Object(s)

Five points of light in triangular formation (none blinking). Color was white with magnitude that of a little less than Jupiter and closer to Saturn when viewed with naked eye.

Size of Object(s)

I could not estimate exact size but with my arm stretched out in front of me, my middle and index finger together would cover the object

Description of Area / Surroundings

Area was urban (business/factory zoned), but object was seen in northeast sky probably 20-30 miles further north. The only known special sight in that direction (which I did not know at the time) is Selfridge Air Base.

Full Description & Details

It was the early morning hours (approx. 4:30 am) in August, 1978. I worked in isolated area of a dairy plant. I was sitting on steps outside my work area which faced north. I observed what appeared to be military jets flying in a triangular formation (about five points of light with lead light and two down each side to form the triangle. I assumed there were five "distinct" objects moving in what would be a normal speed for jets at high altitude. It was very quiet at that time of the morning, and found it strange that I could not hear the usual sound associated with jets (i.e the faint echo of the engines), nor see the usually familiar blinking lights. I could not tell the exact altitude, but would assume that these "jets" were at normal cruise altitude. Other than these observations, nothing else appeared strange until after viewing the object(s) for 15-20 seconds. At that time, the object(s) began to zig-zag very quickly for 2-3 seconds and then took off in a northwesterly direction at an extremely high rate of speed. It was at this point that I realized that it was not jet aircraft because nothing I had ever seen could move that fast. In addition, I also concluded that it was a single object that I viewed and not five distinct objects (assuming that five aircradt could not move that fast in a synchronized fashion).

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

I thought that maybe these lights were caused by a spotlight which would obvioulsy be ground based (the kind seen in store openings). However, there was no noticeable beams shining up to that area and given the time of day would have been unlikely. I would have thought nothing of the object other than jets flying in formation, until the zig-zag and speed it left the area.

Witness Background

Assistant prosecuting attorney for 15 years; law degree; undergraduate degree in business; worked my way through law school in various summer jobs (loading docks, painting houses, etc.)

Views on UFOs, before and after sighting

I have also been interested in space studies, but not particularly in UFOs. I once did a term paper for a writing class on UFOs, but was never much more interested than the average person. I was 19 years old when I saw the object, and have not seen anything like it since then. I have been to northern Michigan many times and have been able to observe satellites cruising overhead because of the clearness of the sky. However, the object I saw in August 1978 was not a satellite or any type of military aircraft in my opinion. what the object was I can't say for sure and still wonder to this day. I believe the universe is vast enough to support other forms of life (even intelligent life). I am also aware of the great distances involved in any space travel betwen even the closest stars to our planet. However, I'm also aware over the last 25 years that we are learning that there is so much unknown about the universe, that to discount anything would be short-sighted. The universe has now been dated to around 14 billion years and our solar system is only 4.3 billion years old. The possibilities of other universes and dimensions seems to be accepted by the astrophysics community (I subscribe to Discover magazine to keep up on science subjects). I can't say that what I saw was something from "outer space", but I also can't believe it was anything from this planet. Since that time, I don't discount the UFO phenomena that people experience and automatically label all of the hoaxes. I think some experiences really can't be explained and probably never will.

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