A light emitted other other lights

This is another strange thing I have seen in the night sky as an amateur astronomer.  I was out with my telescope around two in the morning and about ready to call it a night when I noticed a star directly overhead.  It was not especially bright but I knew that it did not belong in that constellation of stars.  As I looked at the constellation and was telling myself that it didn't belong, it grew brighter and brighter.  It did not move at all; it just got brighter.  It came to a point when it was brighter than any other star in the sky, which made me think I was about to get nailed in the face by a meteor. You know what they say; if it ain't moving, it's coming straight for you.  So, you're saying to yourself, big deal! That's around the time of the Persied (maybe Leonid, I forget) meteor shower. I know that and I know what meteors look like.  Well, the best part was that , as I watched for the impact, the light sent out about 5 or 6 dimmer lights in quick succession, one at a time, in separate directions.  In fact, it seemed as if they shot out in a perfectly geometrical design.  The little lights moved off in straight lines then the central light that first drew my attention started going dim.  It grew dimmer and dimmer until I could no longer make it out.  It never moved laterally.  I figure something came into the atmosphere straight down over me, let smaller craft loose, then went vertically back out of the atmosphere. I've seen meteors that fragment but they never break up symetrically.
Date is approximate.  One of two excellent reports submitted by same witness, who appears to us to be an excellent witness.  Both reports from Brea, CA, during 1977.  PD