NUFORC Sighting 176207

Occurred: 1996-03-16 17:55 Local
Reported: 2023-06-11 13:09 Pacific
Duration: 10 minutes or so
No of observers: 5

Location: Pearl River, NY, NY, USA
Location details: Veteran's Memorial Highway

Shape: Oval
Characteristics: Lights on object, Emitted beams, Changed Colo

My husband and I saw a UFO in daylight, pretty close.

We were driving east on Veterans Memorial Highway at 5:45 p.m., going about thirty-five miles per hour. Halfway between the Blue Hill Plaza and Lake Tappan we noticed a low flying object to our right (south) traveling at the same speed and direction as we were. Although the roadside was lined with trees, they had no leaves on them yet, and we saw the strange object out the passenger window, through the tree trunks.

At first I thought it was a helicopter but its slow speed and its extraordinary array of lights made me curious. With the object still in sight at an altitude of about 1200 feet I turned right on South Blue Hill Road, and stopped the car. As my wife and I got out to have a better look, the object came to a stop over Lake Tappan and then began to rise slowly.

The viewing conditions were perfect: the object stood out against the clear sky and was illuminated by the low sun (sunset was not until 6:04 p.m.). It was roughly spherical in shape, about 20 feet in diameter.

It had no wings, no rotor blades and though it made no sound, was definitely not a balloon. Its movements were smooth and steady with no wobble or flutter. Its most prominent feature was the amazing number of lights that studded its surface, rapidly flashing bright amber and white in a seemingly random fashion. My wife said it looked like a piece of gaudy junk jewelry. The lumpy spherical body of the object appeared dark in color, not shiny and metallic. At the top center, sticking straight up, was a delicately tapered pole whose length was about one-third that of the object’s diameter. This pole or antenna was topped by a small ball like many a flagpole.

As the object began to rise above the lake, a car stopped in front of ours and a man got out to join us in watching. It was reassuring to our sense of reality (as well as sanity) to know that others were also seeing this spectacle.
The object’s ascent rate appeared slow at first but must have increased because within two minutes it could barely be seen. If my estimate of its size is correct, this altitude would be about 8,000 feet. At this point we and our fellow observer exchanged a few expressions of awe, shrugged, and got back in our cars.

As we were turning back onto Veterans Highway we saw a woman and two young boys standing beside a parked car looking skyward. We stopped and asked what they had seen. The woman said she stopped because the boys had seen something strange but she didn’t know what. The kids had no such uncertainty: they said it was a UFO which went up very high and then went ‘that way (northeast) fast.’

I am a retired research scientist and an experienced observer of nature. I have carried out many scientific studies and observations using Navy research aircraft, Coast Guard helicopters, and a variety of charter aircraft. I can state unequivocally that what we observed was not any natural phenomenon nor was it a known type of aircraft, device or vehicle. The two boys named it correctly: it was an Unidentified Flying Object.

I attach a sketch of what we saw.

Posted 2023-07-10