Birmingham UFO Group Case Report
Author: Dave Hodrien
Release Date: 12/10/2022
Last Updated: 13/10/2022
Note: For privacy reasons certain location details have been omitted
This case report covers the second of three sightings reported by a man named Steve Wheeldon on 25th September 2022. In addition to the incident covered here, he has also had a historic sighting back in 1975 in Majorca, and a later sighting which prompted him to initially get in touch and which he managed to capture on camera.
Due to the fact that these three experiences are separate to one another they have been written up as three individual reports. There are links at the base of this report which lead to the other two.
Sighting Details
Steve enjoys looking up at the night sky. There was a full moon on the night of 11th August 2022. At around 9pm Steve was out in the back garden of his house in Marston Green, marvelling at the clarity of the moon. It was fully dark and the stars were visible overhead.
The back garden faces to the South West West. He suddenly noticed a bright white orb of light off to his left coming in from the South and heading Northward. He initially thought it might be a satellite brightly reflecting the sun’s rays.
As the light travelled to the North on a straight course at a slow speed he realised it was going to pass in front of the moon. When it reached the edge, it looked like it passed behind it. Steve waited for a number of seconds, expecting it to reappear out of the other side. However it did not. The light did not re-appear, which he found quite confusing.
He continued to stare at the sky to see if it would come back but there was no sign of it. After a while he headed back inside the house.
Sighting Analysis
White orbs of light seen crossing the night sky can have a number of explanations. It was moving far too slowly to be a meteorite, and certainly appeared to be outside of the atmosphere, although this can sometimes be hard to judge.
If it was in the atmosphere then possible explanations could include a distant aircraft, drone or even a white coloured LED balloon.
Marston Green is immediately North East of Birmingham International Airport so obviously there are going to be quite a few planes in the area. However a satellite in orbit seems far more likely based on the witness’s description.
Assuming it was a satellite, it is possible that it merely appeared to pass behind the moon, and instead was travelling in front of it, lost in the brightness of the glow. Also it is possible that as it passed in front of the moon it rotated in a certain way which meant it was no longer catching the sunlight. This would give the appearance of it having vanished without trace. Based on the facts I feel this is the most probable explanation for what was observed.
While this sighting is likely to have a mundane explanation, Steve has had two other sightings, both of which are arguably more unusual. To view the case report on his sighting on holiday in Marjorca back in 1975 click here. For the report on his most recent sighting with videos and photographs, again from Marston Green, click here.
Copyright Dave Hodrien 2022
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