NUFORC Sighting 44241

Occurred: 2005-05-28 11:35 Local
Reported: 2005-06-02 20:12 Pacific
Duration: 5 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Vacaville, CA, USA

Shape: Disk
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

Disk shaped object hovered briefly then travelled eastward, captured video footage of it as it left.

Went out to the backyard to check on the pool. (Sometimes, the Polaris sweeper gets stuck or tangled, which requires regular babysitting when it is in operation.) While doing so, I heard a plane flying nearby. I like airplanes so I try to catch a glimpse of them when I hear them. I could tell it was close by the sound but couldn't see it anywhere.

A few seconds later, I saw it pop up from behind some trees that were blocking my view to the northwest. It was a small single-propeller airplane, probably a Cessna. As I watched it for a second or so, I noticed a dark object roughly in the same line of sight as the plane but approximately twice as far and about twice the altitude.

At first, the object seemed to be changing shapes and I thought it was a bird or perhaps a garbage bag that the wind had gotten hold of. As I kept watching, I noticed that the object was stationary. By then I was fixated and I realized that the object was not changing shapes but rather was changing its orientation, which made it appear to change shapes.

The way the object's profile was changing was consistent with a disk shape that seemed to be wobbling, much like the way a spinning coin wobbles just before it rests on the table... only much slower. While I watched, I saw it start to move slowly and steadily towards the east. When I first saw it, it was directly north of me in my backyard.

There was a layer of scattered clouds at the time and they made for a good background to provide contrast for the object. Once, the sun peaked out for a few seconds and I caught a glimpse of a shine that made the object appear metallic.

As the object moved away, I mustered up the will to peel my eyes from it and ran into the house to get the new camcorder I bought a little over a month ago. My wife was napping at the time so I didn't have to explain my odd behavior.

By the time I returned to the backyard, the object had gotten very far. To further exacerbate the situation, I'm not very proficient with the video camera and had to use "Easycam" mode and hope for the best while I tried to control my excitement. I captured approximately two minutes of footage showing the object moving away from me in an eastward direction.

I zoomed in on the object a couple of times to highlight it but most of the footage is unzoomed to keep surrounding trees and structures within the frame for reference. The camera that was used is a Sony DCR-DVD403. I have sent a copy of the DVD that it produced to your address in Seattle. The third clip on the disk has the most useful footage.

As for me, I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering (B.A.Sc.) from the University of Ottawa. For the past twelve years, I have been cultivating a successful career in the field of IT. I am currently employed by a major IT outsourcing company as an Infrastructure Specialist. Due to the attention that this may draw, I would prefer to remain anonymous, or at least have my personal information withheld.

Posted 2005-06-20