THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996 TAG: 9609260303
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 33 lines
What's that light in the sky?
A lot of folks were asking that Wednesday evening as they studied a twinkling, multicolored object in the western sky. And there were no ready answers to explain it.
The light triggered calls to several media outlets in the area. Callers described it as a ``flashing'' and ``pulsating'' light that was alternately white, green and red.
One woman, who lives along the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, said she and her family had watched the light through binoculars for more than a half-hour with no sign of movement.
From downtown Norfolk, the light was visible in the western sky, about 10 to 15 degrees above the horizon.
It was visible in a sky so hazy that no other stars or celestial objects could be seen on or near the horizon.
And while most often white, it did occasionally appear to turn red and, a few times, green - but not in any sequence, as with aircraft lights.
An employee of the Naval Eastern Oceanography Center at Norfolk Naval Air Station said he noticed the light as he came to work about 6 p.m.
He thought it unusual because it never appeared to move.
Robert J. Hitt, Jr., director of the Chesapeake Planetarium, said he knew of no star or heavenly body to account for the light, and a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Wakefield said his office had not been notified of any military activity that might explain it.
KEYWORDS: UFO by CNB