Cedar Rapids, Iowa, August 6, 2012 — Three witnesses filmed a bright light near the moon that shot erratically across the sky. Both videos have been blocked or removed.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTING REPORT
2012: Cedar Rapids, Iowa UFO|UAP Sighting – Video
On August 6, 2012 at 11:12 PM, three people in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — two brothers and a friend — watched a bright light next to the moon. They weren’t sure what it was: a star, a plane, a light. Then it moved. It shot across the sky in a pattern the witnesses described as “shooting and dancing,” and they captured the moment on two cell phones. They posted the footage online. The video has since been blocked or removed, and with it went the only physical evidence this sighting ever produced.
⚠ EDITOR’S NOTE — PRIMARY EVIDENCE LOST:
The video that constituted the primary evidence for this sighting has been blocked or removed from its original hosting platform. This page preserves the witness account for the archive record, but without the video, the case cannot be independently evaluated.
Date: August 6, 2012
Sighting Time: 11:12 PM
Day/Night: Night
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Linn County)
Urban or Rural: Urban
No. of Entity(‘s): None reported
Entity Type: N/A
Entity Description: N/A
Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light) — Point-source luminous object observed at night. No structural detail reported.
Duration: 30+ seconds (from initial interest to rapid departure)
No. of Object(s): 1
Height & Speed: Initially appeared stationary near the moon. Departed at high speed across the sky.
Size of Object(s): Not estimated (appeared as a bright light)
Distance to Object(s): Not estimated
Shape of Object(s): Point-source light (witness described “disc” but no structural detail was observed)
Color of Object(s): Bright light (glowing)
Number of Witnesses: 3 (witness, brother, and friend)
Special Features/Characteristics: Initially appeared stationary near the moon, bright enough to attract attention. Then rapidly accelerated and moved across the sky in an erratic “shooting and dancing” pattern. Two cell phone videos were captured simultaneously. Video has since been blocked/removed.
Source: Not specified (online video upload, now blocked/removed)
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary/Description: On August 6, 2012 at 11:12 PM, three witnesses observed a bright light near the moon that initially appeared stationary. The light then rapidly accelerated and moved across the night sky in an erratic pattern. Two cell phone videos were captured simultaneously by different witnesses. The footage was posted online but has since been blocked or removed, eliminating the primary evidence.
Related Cases: 2012: UFO in Coralville, Iowa — Video | 2008: Altoona, Iowa | Iowa Sightings Archive
Detailed Report
The witness, his brother, and a friend were outside at approximately 11:12 PM on August 6, 2012. They noticed a bright light in the sky positioned near the moon, glowing conspicuously. They were initially uncertain of its nature — possibly a star, a light, or a plane.
The light then began moving rapidly, described by the witness as “shooting and dancing across the night sky.” The friend captured the event on his cell phone, and at least one other video was taken simultaneously. The witnesses’ initial skepticism shifted to what the primary witness described as curiosity, followed by feeling “fairly freaked and creeped out, and a bit shook up.”
The witness posted the footage online, describing it as “real footage captured and caught on tape.” The video has since been blocked or removed from its hosting platform. The page notes “video is blocked.”
Researcher’s Notes
The Video Nobody Can Watch
- Hynek Classification Correction: The original page listed this as CE-I (Close Encounter I — within 500 feet). No distance estimate was provided by the witnesses. The object was described as a bright light near the moon — a point-source observation with no structural detail, no confirmed proximity, and no features that would distinguish it from a distant luminous source. The correct classification is NL (Nocturnal Light).
- Lost Evidence: The video — the only physical evidence this case possessed — has been blocked or removed. Without it, the case rests entirely on the witness narrative. Two simultaneous cell phone recordings from different devices would have provided potential triangulation data and independently corroborated the visual observation. Their loss is significant.
- Conventional Candidates: A bright light near the moon that then moves rapidly and erratically has several conventional candidates: a satellite flare (Iridium flares can appear very bright and seem to “move” as the observer’s eye adjusts), a high-altitude aircraft with afterburners, a meteor, or — given the erratic “dancing” description — a perception artifact from tracking a bright point source against a dark sky (autokinetic effect). Without the video, none of these can be confirmed or eliminated.
- Witness Pool: Three witnesses capturing the same event on two devices is a credibility-positive factor. The witnesses’ initial uncertainty and genuine emotional response (“shook up”) read as authentic rather than performative. However, three people watching a bright light is not the same as three people confirming structural features or anomalous performance at confirmed close range.
A video-evidence case without the video is a witness-testimony case. Three people saw a bright light do something unexpected. They filmed it on two phones. Those films are gone. The case stays in the archive as what it is: a reported sighting with confirmed multi-witness observation, classified NL, and a dead link where the evidence used to be.
SOURCE
A UFO Was spotted in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (USA) at about 11:12 PM on August 6th, 2012.
The back story of the video:
My brother, friend and I were able to capture the UFO, or saucer, or whatever you call it–on film.
My friend happened to be filming this flying UFO on his cellphone as well. At first, we were not sure if it was just a star, light, plane, or what, but it was right next to the moon–glowing pretty bright. But the second the light took of and started shooting and dancing across the night sky, our skepticism jumped to curiosity. I don’t want to get into the discussion of UFO’s being real or not, but what we saw here–up to the moment it beamed across the sky (galaxy)–I am still fairly freaked and creeped out, and a bit shook up.
The sighting is real footage captured and caught on tape video is blocked
