KTOWN in Cyprus
A Disturbance in the Force
On 22 June, 2010 at approximately 22:05 local Cyprus time (20:05 GMT I believe), my wife and I noted an object in the sky to the south (best estimate) of Oroklini Village (near Larnaca), Cyprus that initially looked like an airplane (perhaps a landing light) departing from Larnaca airport to the north/northeast (again, best estimate), but with a distinct orange color. As we watched the object, it's glow increased in intensity and it began to display a "comet-like" tail, of significant length. Unlike a meteor though, the speed was comparable to that of an airplane in the sky. My wife and I are avid satellite spotters/watchers, and live just north/northeast of Larnaca airport and are very familiar with both satellites and aircraft (and their associated lights and flight paths to the Larnaca runway). I am also a pilot with nearly 3000 hours. We have also been witness to countless "shooting starts" and meteors (including the one over Cyprus on 8 July 2008 that was mentioned on your site). THIS WAS NOT AN AIRCRAFT (at least not one I have ever seen). Sky conditions were clear and the humidity was low and the "comet-like" tail was nothing like a normal aircraft contrail. We watched the object continue north/northwest/west in the sky for approximately 30-45 seconds and the "comet-like" tail remained even after the object faded for 5-10 seconds, reappeared, and then disappeared from view. The object was traveling in a northwest to westerly direction (similar to where the sun currently sets from our position) and we continued to watch the sky for approximately another two minutes when the orange glow suddenly reappeared (on it's original path...which appeared to be in a straight line) and became extremely bright with initially a "comet-like" tail as before, but then the tail grew to enormous proportions (reminiscent of the space shuttle explosion in Florida in shape, but still "comet-like", but MUCH wider and longer). The "point of light" )object) remained just slightly larger than the planet Jupiter or Venus in size in the sky, but glowed MUCH brighter (similar in brightness to the 8 Jul 2008 meteor/rocket booster reentry)! It was visible for approximately one minute before the light disappeared, but the enormous "comet-like" tail remained for over 5 minutes. I attempted to capture a photo of the object and/or tail, but was unable to get a photo with my camera. Neither my wife, nor I have seen anything like it. We have been witness to meteors, comets and space-junk reentries, including one in the Maldives in May of 2007 that we could actually "hear" (yes hear), but nothing compares to what we saw last evening. ANY IDEAS WHAT IT WAS or COULD HAVE BEEN? KTOWN in Cyprus.
