Athens man sees flash in sky about time of loud explosion in Walton County
An Athens man may have seen a strange aerial phenomenon that caused a mysterious explosion that was heard across southern Walton County a week ago.
The explosion or enormous boom sound was heard across the county from Walnut Grove to Good Hope on the late afternoon of Nov. 26, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Keith Brooks said recently that he heard the sound himself, but the cause and origin of the loud boom has not been determined.
The only possibly conclusion, Brooks said, might be a sonic boom, although they do not have any information regarding military aircraft in the area.
A spokeswoman for the National Weather Service said Friday there were no weather conditions that day in the Walton County area that could have produced thunder.
About the time of the loud boom, Athens resident Bruce Johnson, who is a retired chemist, said he was in his car on Baxter Street at the Alps Road intersection awaiting a light change so he could turn left.
“In my left view, over the buildings of Beechwood Shopping Center, I saw a shrill white light appear in the sky. It was almost like a second sun. It wasn’t the simple snap flash like you get in a fireworks show,” he said.
Boom: Big boom over Walton County remains a big mystery
“After a second or so, it disappeared and in it’s aftermath I could see a cloud of brownish smoke,” Johnson said.
Johnson spoke of his sighting to a friend who is an amateur astronomer, and this person thought what he saw might be a meteor event.
“I’m a retired scientist so I’m obsessed with time keeping. I remember consciously thinking to myself, ‘Let me take a note of what time it was.’ It was 4:48 (p.m.),” he said.
Johnson, who said he never heard a corresponding sound as a result of the celestial event, explained he has an interest in fireworks so due to his knowledge he eliminated that as the cause.
Unable to explain what he saw, Johnson said he came up with a theory that maybe the light was a reflection off an aircraft making a rapid turn and the brownish smoke was a result of the high-powered jet blasting its engine to make a sharp turn.
In any event, the strange celestial event observed by Johnson, occurred to the west in the direction of Walton County and in the same approximate time of the loud boom.
“This is the first time I’ve seen something that odd in the sky,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens man sees flash in sky possibly linked to explosion over Walton
