Are there any airplanes that fly in the night sky with a single white light on without blinking?

Question

I saw a moving object in the night sky. It was bright, and it looked like a star. It was white color, it was not blinking, and every couple of seconds the light would increase and glow more and then normalize again. I see planes in the night sky all the time and they don't look like that.

Answer 1

I saw my neighbor flying a drone around at night. It had a few lights on it. They got larger and larger, then I realized it was actually an airliner that was flying in a straight path that was directly towards and above me

Answer 2

Small aircraft or possibly a satellite.

Answer 3

That would be every aircraft. All aircraft have a forward facing "headlight".

Answer 4

Odds are you were viewing a satellite - or maybe even the space station.



If you lived in a really dark and isolated part of the country, like I do, you see quite a few every night.



I am not under the flight path of any airlines. Virtually everything I see in the night is in outer space.

Answer 5

Yes. The navigation light at the rear of the airplane is a steady white light that does not blink. Also, there is a steady red light on the left (port) wingtip and a steady green light on the right (starboard) wingtip. If you are seeing a steady white light that pulses, it's not an airplane.

Answer 6

Put that blunt down and go to bed.

Answer 7

You saw a satellite. Probably slowly tumbling "space junk".

Answer 8

That would have been a satellite, spinning for stability, and different parts reflecting sunlight more.

Answer 9

In the U.S., the forward-facing white lights on any aircraft are equivalent to a car or motorcycle's headlight. They don't blink.

If a white light is blinking, it's one of the aft strobes on the wingtips or tail. And it will appear fairly close to one of the solid lights of another color used for identification.

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Edit to add:

Those standards for navigational lighting don't just apply "in the U.S." They are international rules.

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Given the variation in brightness you describe, it sounds more like a searchlight on a helicopter that gets pointed in different directions.

Answer 10

A police helicopter with a such light, or a UFO