NUFORC Sighting 27127

Occurred: 1997-09-15 22:30 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2003-01-17 09:15 Pacific
Duration: 3 seconds
No of observers: 2

Location: Woodstock, CT, USA

Shape: Sphere

Bright, fast low flying object crossed field of view at close range during drive at night

This occurred a few years back, I'm not sure of the date but 1997 is my best guess given teh circumstances. My sister and I were driving up a hill by a field with a line of tall trees on either side of the road in a very rural town. There are no street lights, so it gets very dark and clear. Out of nowhere a bright yellow-white spherical object shot across our field of view, right in front of us, covering the arc of sky we could see between the trees flanking the road (about 20 degrees of sky) this occurred extremely fast (a few seconds at most) but long enough to tell that it was a discrete spherical glowing object traveling horizontally. It appeared similar in size to the moon, but a little brighter (not blinding). There was no trailing tail or "halo" around the object...I've grown up in this town and seen plenty of fireball meteors (good viewing, no city lights) and this was nothing like them, I knew it the instant I saw it. Given its speed and size, I guess it was going several hundred miles per hour no more than a hundred feet over the trees. I was really impressed by how fast it moved.. that I especially remember. And thinking it simply couldn't be some very large, distant object...it would have to be moving insanely fast to have the same effect, then. My sister both were shocked, and immediately agreed that we had no idea what could possibly look or behave like what we had just saw.

I am a research scientist and have a background that includes astronomy and physics. My sister is a very bright, level headed student. This event was completely outside her conceptual experience and I was just as shocked as she was.

((FOLLOW-UP COMMUNICATION))

I should correct you on one point, I'm not a PhD, but a graduate student in ((subject deleted)). However I did take a large number of undergraduate classes in astronomy and physics. As far as further information, I talked with my sister and she didn't have anything to add, and didn't want to submit a report. We're still not sure of the date. I know that I was picking her up from a school dance, and that I was no longer in high school myself. That limits it to either 1997 or 1998.

Plus it was not winter (or summer). So it was probably fall or spring. I can tell you precisely where the event occurred, if that helps at all. It was traveling northwest, and the object crossed our path moving east/northeast. I don't have a map handy, but the area we were at was dead in the center of woodstock, CT, right by the intersection of Joy Rd and Rte 169.

hope this helps..

((END))

NUFORC Note:

Date is approximate. The witness has a very strong academic background in an technical field. We have invited him to try to establish the date more accurately, and to have the other witness submit a report. We believe we know the incident he alludes to, but we would like to have him reconstruct the date independently. PD

Posted 2003-03-21