NUFORC Sighting 19567

Occurred: 2001-09-16 15:30 Local
Reported: 2001-09-16 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 39 min
No of observers: 2

Location: Garden City Park, NY, USA

Shape: Unknown


Something in our troubled NY skies?

After a long and very tragic week here in the NYC area, I feel compeled to watch our skys more vigilent. With commercial air traffic stopped for 3 days, the skys were sadly quite. I do not wish to add to the current state of confussion, but feel I must note any strangness in the skys around NYC. On this day Sunday Sept 16 2001 at 3:30 pm in sunny warm cloudless skies I saw what I thought could be a Mylar balloon or satelite at high alttitude. The size of the object when first sighted was 1/2 to 1/4 the size of a marbel held at arms lenght. The strange aspect of this object was it appeared rock steady showing no movement. It also showed no dissernable shape, and seemed highly reflective of the bright sunlite. Because size was hard to determine, I would guestimate an altitude of 20,000 feet( a full size commercial jet appeared in the sky but not near the object) the jet appeared as large as a marbel at arms lenght but at only 1/2 the objects altitude. At the time of the sighting I was sitting on the stairs of the Garden City Long Island railroad station, facing due east. The LIRR runs east to west for easy referance. As I had 2 young children in my care at the time, and because of close proximity to the train tracks, I could not study the object to closely. I decided to walk the children 3 blocks to there home. In the 15 to 20 min walk home the object did not move at all. Once home I ran into the house for a pair of Busnell 10 x 50 binoculars. The object appeared to be over central Nassau county in the area of Mithcel Feild/ Uniondale.( a side note this object would have had a clear line of sight view of the World Trade Center 22 miles away) If I were to point at the object my arm would be at about 60 degrees. SMy freind also looked at the object through the binoculars, we both feel this object did not look--- and more immportanly act like a balloon. I ran into the house and went online for an AOL weather report for our zip code, here is the live weather for the sighting. Clear sunny skies temp 70 degrees--winds south at 8 mph---humidity 49%--barometer 30.07 . I next ran to the local grocery store and brought 3 crome look mylar balloons. Since the object was to my east one would excpect when I released the mylar balloon it would follow on that path ( if the object was also a balloon too). The balloons when released acted like what I would excpect a balloon to act like, and followed the winds to the south, 45% away from the object I first viewed 39 min earlier. I should also note the balloons had nowhere near the same reflectivity as they twisted and turned on thier accent, with an occassional flash of sunlite, simular to a cameras flashbulb. Also the balloons I released stayed low in the horizion, and went no higher than 25%, but that could be attributed to the amount of helium in the balloon. It was futher determined, that infact the object did raise up in altitude, or reduced in size slowly through out the sighting untill it was no longer visible. I feel confident this was no balloon or satelite and will be even more vigilant of our great cities skies.

Posted 2001-10-12

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