What Happened
At 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, a Berlin, New Hampshire, resident was in his backyard, watching his dog relieve itself. While the dog was occupied, he looked up and saw a bright white light cross the horizon. It moved quickly and silently, with no visible aircraft lights, traveling north at an angle of about 45 degrees above the horizon. The witness said the light was large enough to catch his attention immediately and remained visible for one to two minutes.
The witness ran inside to get his cellphone and try to record the sighting. Trees around the house partially blocked the view, making the video blurry, but it captured the flashing light. Afterward, he searched online for a scheduled rocket launch in northern New Hampshire at that time and found nothing, which left him even more astonished.
Technical Context
The report was logged in the NUFORC database under case number #197554. An analysis of the International Space Station’s (ISS) trajectory that evening shows that it crossed the Berlin area around 9:06–9:14 p.m., before the exact time of 9:15 p.m. given in the report. The ISS is known to appear very bright and is often described as a “fireball” as it enters the atmosphere, making it the most likely explanation.
Why the Sighting Is Interesting
The report highlights several details that draw attention:
- No sound: The light passed silently, a characteristic of phenomena at high altitudes.
- No navigation lights: Unlike an aircraft, the light showed no red or green lights.
- Brief duration and steep angle: A flashing light moving quickly across the sky can prompt questions about its source.
Although a pass by the ISS is a possible explanation, the observer did not recognize the station’s characteristic features, such as the speed and rhythm of its light, so the sighting remains unexplained for now.
Summary
The sighting shows how everyday observations can lead residents to report compelling unexplained lights. So far, there is no definitive evidence that the light was anything other than a planet or satellite, and the report remains an “unconfirmed eyewitness account.”
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This article presents the details as provided in the database, balancing scientific curiosity with caution in interpreting the sighting.
