Posted: May 18, 2009

Date of Sighting: 16th May 2009
Time: 23:35 pm

Witness Statement: I was cycling my bike and stopped to watch what I thought were the landing lights of civil aircraft entering the Sudbury hold for finals to Stanstead Airport when I realised these solid very bright lights were approaching the Bury St Edmunds area.

They were traveling faster than a civil jet would at altitude, and were as bright as if not more so than when a satellite is when illuminated by the sun. This is the best way I can describe their intensity. There were four in all, and they "over flew" the Bury St Edmunds area in the direction roughly of the NNE. As they passed over I could see that they appeared to consist of two bright lights very close together. As each "Light" passed over, I also realised that there was a great deal of distance apart of each other - forwards and to the side of each other.

There was no sound, as I expected them to be helicopters with a downward pointing searchlight or possibly military jets flying into Lakenheath/Mildenhall airspace which is north west of where I made my sighting. They also had a bright light blue incandescence to them.

As soon as I got home I phoned 118118 for an RAF Lakenheath number, and reported this sighting to them and they told me that no military activity was in action at that time and that they could not see anything on their radar tracking system. I was then advised to phone the Police and did so, calling the Martlesham Heath - sightings report dept. (which they do have).

I have seen satellites passing over, and they tend to lose the reflection of the sun and disappear. Civil high altitude jets have flashing navigation lights and they can be heard from the ground. I have seen oriental lanterns floating upwards and into the wind, but they produce a flickering light and normally tend to burn themselves out.
The collection of lights I saw, traveled the complete arc of the night sky at speed.
At the time of my sighting I am aware that Space Shuttle Atlantis is above us along side the Hubble telescope, but these would be seen as one bright object and not four separately spaced out bright objects.

About 15 years ago I saw the Mia space station pass overhead (it was well publicised) and was equally as bright as the objects that I witnessed, but then again, with Mia - the suns reflection faded making the space station disappear from view.

As I was returning home from work on my push-bike I didn't have any co-witnesses and I'm afraid there wasn't anybody in the vicinity to corroborate my sighting.