646

Possibly on 26 September 1982.

An amateur astronomer, Ron Tredrey, of Wernlas, Whitchurch, Cardiff, saw an object over the Bristol Channel, slightly south-west of Cardiff and below a big bank of cloud. He watched it through powerful binoculars mounted on a tripod.

"I saw what at first appeared to be a star of medium size. Then I realised that it was changing colour in the way that no star could possibly do. It was pulsating white, blue and occasionally red. Then it began to move and when it did so the light intensified greatly, so much so that it was even reflecting on the cloud behind it. The white light got very bright and there were two red lights then one either side.

As an astronomer I am naturally interested in satellites and I know what they look like. It was definitely neither a satellite nor a high-flying aircraft."

Duration of sighting: 5 minutes.

Source: 'Western Mail' Monday 27 September 1982.