NUFORC Sighting 11886

Occurred: 2000-02-03 19:45 Local
Reported: 2000-02-06 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 10 minutes
No of observers: 3

Location: Crystal River, FL, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Emitted other objects, Changed Color, Aircraft nearby

Unusaual object moved across the sky at a rather low altitude, twice dropping some kind of glowing embers from the bottom.

While walking back to our apartment my girlfriend and I noticed a bright star-like object in the sky. The object was coming from the east, star-like object in the sky. The object was coming from the east, traveling in a westerly direction toward us. (We are 6 miles from the west coast of Florida) The object grew larger in size as it approched us. The only way to explain it is that it was a large mass of light, white in color. Our first thought was that is was something launched from the cape, but as it got closer we could tell that it was traveling at a rather low altitude. Suddenly it dropped something from the bottom of it like glowing embers that rained toward the ground. When it dropped the embers, the color of the light mass turned to a more reddish color. It continued to move closer to us, and turned to the south. At it's closest point to us we could see that something large was projecting from the light mass. I believed it to be a flat beam of light however my girlfriend believes that it looked like it was of substance, and not light. It slilently moved by us slower than a plane, but faster than a balloon. As it traveled away from us to the south it's color slowly changed back to more of a white color. When it was a couple of miles away it again dropped these embers, which again rained down through the sky, and it again turned to a more reddish color. The object was visible for about 10 minutes until it was just a small red star in the distance, and then we lost sight of it. I'm not good with altitudes, but if i had to guess I would say that it was only a couple of thousand feet up. As far as size, the light mass seemed to be about 100 feet in diameter, and whatever was prjecting from it was three times that width. I am 38 years old, a college graduate, a business owner, and until now, a non-believer in UFO's. Whatever this was, it was like nothing that I have ever seen before. It prompted me to call law enforcement, and my local newspaper. But to my dismay, my girlfriend, myself, and one neighbor were the only people to wittness this event.

Posted 2000-02-16