NUFORC Sighting 141996

Occurred: 2018-06-17 17:20 Local
Reported: 2018-06-30 11:35 Pacific
Duration: 8 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Marshall, WI, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

Black triangular object in SSE sky near Madison, WI.

Sunday 17June2018 at approximately 5:20 pm CT, I noticed a small black object moving quickly in the South Southeast sky. The day was mostly clear with only a few cumulonimbus clouds. I watched the black object for approximately 4 minutes. The object was high in the sky and I had difficulty determining its shape but it appeared to be a three dimensional object that was wider on the bottom and came to a rounded peak at the top. The object moved quickly but stayed in roughly the same 20 degree area of the sky. The object moved right to left, up and down, and diagonally. I did not observe any exhaust, contrail, or other emission from the object. I did not hear any sound emanating from the object. Sometimes it would appear to disappear for a short time (~10 seconds) and then reappear seemingly where it had been previously.

I thought at first it was a bird but at times the object would maneuver and I would see a bright flash of light as if it was made of a reflective surface. It appeared to be at the same height of the cumulonimbus clouds. The sighting occurred approximately 15 miles east of the Dane County Regional Airport (Madison, WI). I observed a commuter plane fly in the direction of the object and the unknown object appeared to disappear. At 5:24 pm CT I went inside to get my husband and son to see it.

At approximately 5:25 pm CT we saw the object again. My son was able to see it but my husband could not. My ten-year-old son reports that the object was black and shaped like a triangle with smooth sides. At approximately 5:27 pm CT we heard what sounded like a fighter jet come from the Northwest and sound as if it was moving towards the East. We did not see the jet. Within a minute of us hearing the jet the object was gone from our view. We watched that area of sky for the next hour and we did not see the unknown object again.

Posted 2018-07-05