Unusual “Satellites” Over Hawaii
Date/Time: November 1997, around 9 PM
Location: Kihei, Maui, Hawai’i
Conditions: Clear Skies
Back in November 1997, while living in Maui, I had an intriguing sighting, alongside another notable one involving a black triangle in ’04. Almost every night at that time, a couple of friends and I would lie on bamboo mats, gazing up at the sky after work. We were mesmerized by Hale-Bopp, beautifully visible on the western horizon, and while we were on the lookout for satellites, we spotted three lights fairly close together. I pointed them out, and my friends quickly located them.
The lights were moving at a typical “satellite speed,” but it was unusual to see three of them so closely aligned—definitely a rare sight back then, especially before the age of Starlink. Suddenly, we found ourselves all exclaiming “what the heck!?” at the same moment when all three lights simultaneously made a sharp right-angle turn and started moving in a different direction. We had just observed a satellite travel from horizon to horizon, so we knew what we were seeing. These three changed course together, and we tracked them until they disappeared from sight.
I’m curious if anyone else in this community from Hawai’i has experienced anything similar. The clarity of the night skies allows for some remarkable views!
That sounds like an incredible sighting! It’s not every day you get to witness something so unusual in the sky. The fact that you, along with your friends, experienced this together makes it even more intriguing. Changing course like that in perfect unison is definitely not typical behavior for satellites.
I wonder if anyone else in Maui that night had a similar experience! Given how clear the skies are there, it seems like a prime location for unusual sightings. Have you done any research into what it could have been? There have been a lot of reports of unexplained aerial phenomena, especially in places like Hawaii. It would be interesting to hear if others have come forward with similar experiences.