The bright cloud many observers saw at the Texas Star Party resulted from a Falcon 9 fuel dump on April 21, 2025. Credit: Molly Wakeling
One night, out at the Miami Valley Astronomical Society’s observatory near Dayton, Ohio, I saw a bright light hovering in the sky to the southeast. It appeared stationary, just hanging there. Watching closely, I saw it drift to the side … and then came the sound of jet engines as it flew overhead, nothing more than a commercial airliner on approach to the Dayton International Airport with its landing lights on. The observatory is in just the right position that incoming aircraft appear to hover in place as they head in our direction.
Many of us have seen an unexpected light in the sky, but essentially every case is likely explainable. Let’s break down how to turn unidentified flying objects into identified ones.
