We watched a UFO at night through binoculars.

I do not recall the exact date, as the sighting was years ago.  It left an indelible impression on me.   I know that it occurred at night over Houston, TX between 1973-1974.
We were attending a men’s flag football league game at Memorial Park.  My husband was one of the coaches.  I was seated in a lawn chair watching the game.   I saw what I thought was an airplane crossing the sky, but it suddenly came to a full stop.   I mentioned it to the lady sitting next to me.   She said she had binoculars in the car and would get them.
What I saw through her binoculars (and other people there, too) was actually not just one light, but a string of lights.  I do not recall the exact number of lights in a row that I saw, maybe 5-7.  They were close together.
My husband was getting exasperated, as the football players all wanted to watch the object through the binoculars.
As we watched this object, it appeared to be turning slowly in various directions.   The string of lights would change into a narrow oval, gradually expanding until it became a full circle of lights.   It kept hovering for approximately 45 minutes, continually changing shape from a string of lights, to an oval, and to a full circle, the reversing the direction of turning.   It even turned so that it was completely vertical, with what looked like flares coming from each light, yet it appeared totally stationary in the sky.   There were no colored lights, just bright white ones.
All of a sudden, the object ascended in a southwestly direction and was gone within seconds.
Witness indicates that the date of the sighting is approximate.  PD