NUFORC Sighting 109776

Occurred: 2014-05-25 12:00 Local
Reported: 2014-05-27 15:40 Pacific
Duration: 4-5 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: New York City, NY, USA

Shape: Oval
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object, Changed Color, Aircraft nearby

small grey/silver metallic object, mostly circular in shape seen hovering and moving slowly at high altitude over the Hudson River

While spending Memorial day weekend in the Long Island/NYC area, I visited the USS Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. The day was Sunday, May 25th, 2014.

After touring the top deck and interior I made my way down the stairs to the adjacent dock area. There were already multiple news and tour helicopters making their way up the Hudson River, while a US Coast Guard MH-65 was performing a Search and Rescue Demo (for NY Fleet Week) over the waterfront so naturally I had my eyes towards the sky, at just after noon (anywhere between 12:00 and 12:30) I noticed a small object at high altitude over the Hudson.

At first I suspected it to be merely a balloon, however after examining the object for a few seconds I noticed it appeared to be considerably larger than a normal balloon and it was hovering in place as if not affected by the present winds which a balloon would be. Its coloration was also interesting, it appeared to mostly be a metallic grey or silver on the! surface.

I pointed it out to my father who quickly dismissed it as probably being a balloon (although he said he couldn't see it very well). I began snapping photos of the object with my IPhone 5. I estimated the objects altitude to be around 4,000-5,000 feet because it was a lot higher than the helicopters flying up the Hudson but much lower than the occasional passing commercial airliner out of JFK airport, I had no way of guessing the objects size due to its distance and lack of anything close enough to it to compare it with, though it did appear to be larger than a balloon.

After a few minutes the object began a slow flight path moving diagonally but remaining at the same altitude, I began backing up to keep the object in view while taking pictures but it soon passed over the deck of the Intrepid and out of sight. Although I didn't run into any other witnesses I think it is unlikely that I was the only one who saw it due to the sheer number of people in the area.

Upon uploading and reviewing the photos on my computer the following day, I noticed several things that I didn't notice while viewing the object, The first few pictures showed exactly what I saw, a small rounded shiny metallic object hovering. However, as I looked through the pictures I noticed the object had a darker, shaded edge in some pictures giving it more of a definitive shape (this may have been due to the sun reflecting from the other side of the object) while in other photos the object appeared to be very bright and shiny. One of the photos the object is completely dark except for a small ring of light in the center that appears to be generated by the object, the rest of the object appears much more like a structured craft here with less of a circular shape and two corners on one side.

The final photos show the object again to be metallic and silver with the upper half being brighter (almost a whitish blue) and the lower half being a darker grey, there are also several dark patches on the edges of the object.

I have always been intrigued by the UFO phenomenon but have mostly remained a skeptic however I am questioning it now. All I can say is that while knowing a lot about aviation and can easily identify most airplanes or helicopters, this object I witnessed and photographed did not move like or resemble any normal aircraft that I have seen in my life.

Posted 2014-06-04