NUFORC Sighting 162935

Occurred: 2021-01-03 00:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2021-05-03 15:44 Pacific
Duration: 1 minute
No of observers: 2

Location: Westcliffe, CO, USA

Shape: Circle

Blue circular object with small whitish arms(?)

Object spotted above our property - south of the town of Westcliffe Colorado, around Jan 2nd, 2021 (guess could've been 3rd). I was using binoculars staring straight up at somewhere near the milky way, probably midnight or later. A blue circular object enlarged toward me (apparently) and slowly rotated with two whitish outwardly opposed arms in a short spiral shape. It had to be quite high since I was focused towards the milky way, and it was perhaps only visible with binoculars. I could only think, wow, an angel.

But my technical mind thought more like it was a satellite maneuver captured from below? But the intensity of the blue circular color seemed to be too bright to be a thruster of some kind. I was for a time looking into the possibility that it was a high altitude test of water release into the upper atmosphere, but it was too clean of a circle. Then I considered Electric Hall Sensor thrusters, which look blue and circular when 'burning'. But I was wrong again, since the size would have been way too large for that kind of thruster. (when considering the distance this thing was viewed at).

I have yet to find any clue if it was man made, or some kind of supernova? It was only visible for a short time (less than minute?), then appeared to almost rotate out of view - to me it may have been a cone shape, only by the way it disappeared through the binoculars - but that's a guess. (As in looking into a cone's large end and then rotating the cone to the side - virtually disappearing from view). But this was bright and blue with what looked like a round core object centered inside. There were lines projecting outward from this core. I could only draw an image of it. Sorry I had no way to capture it, and did not record time or coordinates.

Posted 2021-05-20