Silent Lights at 12:38AM on Northern Horizon – Not Satellites or Meteors?

Silent Lights at 12:38AM on Northern Horizon – Not Satellites or Meteors?
Last night at around 12:38 AM (Central Time), I observed something strange in the sky from Omaha, Nebraska. Over the course of 5 minutes, I counted 24 distinct lights moving silently across the sky — all within about a 10° field of view, roughly 18° above the northern horizon.

Any flashing light is an identified aircraft from flight radar24.  The other lights are the ones of interest.

Some key details:
	•	The lights faded in, moved steadily, and faded out or vanished.
	•	No sound, no blinking or strobe like typical aircraft.
	•	They didn’t streak like meteors. I considered the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, but the radiant point wasn’t in that area, and meteors don’t behave like this.
	•	I also ruled out satellite trains (e.g., Starlink). At 12:30AM, most satellites are in Earth’s shadow and wouldn’t be visible — especially not 24 in such a narrow view over such a short time.
	•	These were visible to the naked eye, but only about a third of the total objects could be seen without assistance.

I’ve been filming the sky consistently for the past month and have hours of similar footage showing strange light activity. What I saw last night was just the most concentrated and repeatable instance.

Anyone else seeing anything like this? I’m open to conventional explanations but struggling to find one that fits all the behavior I’ve documented.

Time: 5/6/2025 12:38am
Location: Omaha, NE