NUFORC Sighting 37915

Occurred: 2004-07-03 11:35 Local
Reported: 2004-07-03 14:36 Pacific
Duration: 30 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Boulder, CO, USA

Shape: Sphere
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

The objects were not winged aircraft. They hovered and moved too slowly. The fighter jet was in the same area.

11:35 am. MST: I was sitting alone outside at Brewer's Market in Boulder Colorado having a cup of coffee reading the paper. The location is between Arapahoe and Canyon on Folsom street. The coffee shop patio has a panoramic view of the Front Range and continental divide. The skies were clear with some clouds to the south. I happened to look up and see a very small spherical, metallic white object to the west about 30 degrees above the horizon. It was very far away but had a uniform color, and spherical shape (i.e. not an airplane, jet or glider shape). Because it was spherical it was difficult to determine the altitude of the object; but I would guess that it was about 10 – 15 miles to the west, somewhere over the continental divide in West Boulder county. I would guess the altitude was at 20 – 50 K feet. It was not moving which I found to be strange. I marked the position of the object using a tree in the parking lot. I thought that it might be a weather balloon. I noticed that without my polarized sunglasses the object was almost unperceivable in the hazy blue sky.

11:40: I notice two airliners (DIA is 15 miles to the East). One was flying West about 5-10 miles North of the object at about 15-25 K feet; the other airliner was flying East about 5-10 miles south of the object at about 15-25K feet. Both airliners were traveling in regular flight paths into and out of DIA. I live in the mountains and watch aircraft fly into and out of DIA and Jeffco Airports regularly. I know the flight paths.

11:45: The object started to slowly move East toward my position. It moved too slowly to be an aircraft at any reasonable altitude. It moved too quickly to be a weather balloon propelled by the wind.

12:00 : The object had moved almost directly above me, from 30 degrees to 90 degrees from the horizon. It was still at a very high altitude. It was still a metallic white spherical object. It was at this time that I noticed another identical object moving past the first object heading due west both at similar altitudes. Both moving at similar speeds. I doubt that both objects were weather balloons, moved by the wind in opposite directions. Clouds had started to form to the west.

12:05: I watched the first object move slightly to the east of my position towards the sun. As it approached the sun it appeared to shine a red color around the object, like the light was shining thru or around the object. I soon lost the first object in the sun and clouds. I tried to find the second object that had moved to the West, but was unable.

12:08 To the west at a very high altitude I spotted a fighter jet moving towards the West at about 45 degrees above the horizon. It was clearly a fighter jet, not a Lear or Gulfstream, or airliner. It has wings swooped back at a sharp angle. It was moving very quickly, even at the high altitude. I would estimate the jets altitude at 20-30K feet.

Conclusions: The objects were too high to clearly discern any features other than the spherical appearance of the object based upon the way that light reflected from them. I was surprised to see the fighter jet. The appearance of two objects passing each other did not support my theory that the object were balloons. They did not appear to be any type of aircraft that I would recognize. They were not gliders that frequent the Boulder skies. These objects were very high up. There were barley visible to the naked eye, but definitely objects.

((COMMENT FROM READER))

The fighter Jet this person is talking about is most likely a Mig-15. I am a private pilot and fly out of Jeffco Airport. There is a private pilot who has restored a Korean War Mig-15 and flies it all the time. By the flight path and swept back wings and altitude I would guess this is the fighter he saw. The only fighters in Colorado are Air Guard and those are F-16's. And we all know they always have a wingman, they never fly a mission solo. Just my .02

((END))

Posted 2004-07-08