NUFORC Sighting 97653

Occurred: 2013-04-13 20:30 Local
Reported: 2013-05-09 14:08 Pacific
Duration: 5 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Holmen, WI, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object

Intense Star-like Object in Night Sky Over Holmen, WI

At about 8:30 p.m. on 04/13/13, I left my house to get something to eat for my wife and I. I immediately saw what appeared to be a very bright star, somewhat orange-red in color, and it seemed to pulsate. It was bright enough to have a penumbra around it. It was very high in the sky, but slightly to the north-east. I honestly thought that a very intense star had suddenly appeared in the sky. It was impossible to miss.

I got my wife so she could see it. By the time she came outside, it seemed like it was slightly less bright and a little smaller, but still definitely too big to be a star. I took a picture with my Samsung Galaxy S, but it doesn't do it justice. We both watched it for a minute more. She wondered out loud if it was slowly moving. If it was, it was going up and straight away from us, because it did vanish out of sight.

Afterward, we tried to rationalize what we had seen. She speculated it might be one of those sky lanterns that someone set off. I have seen a flaming meteorites before, and this was not that. I speculated that maybe what we saw was a rocket launch with the flame going away from us. I looked online and asked a bunch of people whether they heard anything. No one has. I have never seen anything like this. There has to be others who saw it.

Posted 2013-05-15