NUFORC Sighting 82237

Occurred: 2011-07-04 22:00 Local
Reported: 2011-07-05 17:51 Pacific
Duration: 3-5 minutes
No of observers: 3

Location: University Place, WA, USA

Shape: Sphere
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Changed Colo

07/04/11 - University Place, WA - Spherical UFO with vertical running electric flames on the side of the craft

On the evening of July 4th, 2011 my family and I were shooting fireworks legally at a park called: "Cirque/Bridgeport Park" in the city of University Place, WA. University Place is just south of Tacoma, WA.

It was 10 PM and dark. The lights in the park had just shut off, so I do know it was just about dead on 10PM.

There was no detectible wind at all. I was looking directly south, (I know this because the road entrance goes directly North-South.) I just verified this on a map so that I would be absolutely sure.

An object was heading due south running parallel to this entrance road. I immediately knew this was no aircraft. It had none of the required FAA lighting on the craft.

I am an amateur astronomer and an aircraft enthusiast since I was young. I can tell you what a B-25, B17, Lancaster, 707, F-22 Raptor, etc. all look like.

The first thing I noticed is that it was spherical in nature and had these flames surrounding it. I immediately thought, "bolide." No.

As it was at my highest Zenith point to me, approximately 80 degrees over the western horizon it had no tail or flames at all trailing behind it. The flames were a dark reddish hue, hugging the craft on the sides and seemed to have an electric/plasma effect to it that made them appear to adhere to the craft in vertical, striped patterns.

The way that I can further explain this effect, is this: In an old TV set, there is a yoke on the back of the picture tube directing a scanning electron beam to the front. This is what the vertical electrical/plasma pattern was appearing to me to give off this unusual visual effect. It was to me an electromagnetically controlled plasma.

This above explained reddish pattern would be replaced by a more yellowish underlying glow that would switch back in forth, pulsing every 3-5 seconds. I just timed this in my video.

Now I will try to describe the size, speed, and trajectory as best that I can. I was the first to see this between the three of us. I was looking north. I would say it was approximately 60 degrees above the Northern horizon, and ever so slight West by approximately 2-5 degrees.

When I first saw it, I would say it was the size of a pea at arms length. But when it came at our Zenith my 13 yr old son said it would about the size of a penny at arms length.

I could not see this because I was busily trying to keep this centered & steady on my camera from this point forward.

Speed was steady the whole time, never wavering at all and was completely silent. The height is almost impossible to determine in the dark! But the one thing that I would say, is it appeared not to be more that 20-30 feet in diameter.

The trajectory is the easy one. It flew directly in front us in an exact North South direction following parallel to that entrance road. Speed is a little tougher, but it did appear a consistent speed that maybe a private 2 engine Lycoming engine based aircraft would be doing while it was in cruise.

The entire sighting I would estimate to be 3-5 minutes in length in which it traversed 150 degrees of the sky. We saw it until it completely disappeared into the southern horizon.

When I was a young boy I saw 2 bolides in the sky flying in parallel, one slightly ahead of the other with 2 long flaming trails. This was even more fascinating!

My conclusion in all of this is that it was constructed and controlled. I need not speculate any further.

Posted 2011-07-06