Strange Light Over Richmond

On the evening of January 26, 1968, an observer in Richmond, British Columbia, witnessed an unidentified aerial object for approximately 15 minutes, beginning at 9:05 P.M. The witness, who was looking out of a bedroom window toward Vancouver Airport, first observed a white light resembling an aircraft taillight emerging from behind a neighbor's roof. The object initially traveled from north to south before executing a wide 90-degree turn to travel westward. During this maneuver, the object changed color to an orange hue and adjusted its speed. Approximately five minutes into the sighting, a commercial four-engine jet passed near the object, allowing the witness to estimate the object's altitude at 500 feet. The witness subsequently moved outside with their brother to continue observing the phenomenon. The object was seen crossing the constellation Orion, specifically five degrees south of Betelgeuse, where it began to flicker irregularly, resembling a candle flame about to extinguish. During this phase, the object appeared to move in jerks and exhibited a disappearing and reappearing behavior. The observers eventually moved back inside to a west-facing window, where the object continued to move in a wide arc toward the north before finally flickering out permanently at approximately 9:20 P.M. The witness explicitly noted the absence of standard aircraft lighting, such as flashing red beacons or wingtip lights, and ruled out common explanations like balloons or flares due to the lack of smoke or flame and the nature of the light source.