NUFORC Sighting 08479

Occurred: 1999-06-22 22:33 Local
Reported: 1999-07-25 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 2 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Reston, VA, USA

Shape: Sphere

large, spherical, very bright object, flew very fast from south to north, disappeared in an instant.

I observed the above-mentioned object which was about the size of a dime held at arm's length. It sped much faster than any aircraft I have ever seen, appearing from the southwest and racing in ascending path toward the north (it appeared at approximately 30-35 degrees off the horizon, and climbed to approximately 50-55 degrees). Then, about two seconds later, it simply vanished. It didn't diminish in size, or fade, or slow down. It was just gone, leaving no trace behind. In terms of how close it was to me, I can only estimate. I am five miles from Dulles Airport, in a flight path for that airport, and this object was between me and Dulles. I'd say it was no more than a mile from where I stood, probably closer than that, and no more than 5000 feet in altitude, and probably less than that. Its actual size I estimate to be about that of a passenger jet (a Boeing 727 or thereabouts). The sky was crystal clear that night. In fact, it was probably the clearest sky we've had here all year. Many stars were visible that are not, usually. I was on my balcony at the time of the sighting, and I spend a lot of time there, sky-watching. I'm very familiar with the kinds of aircraft that usually swarm about this area, and watch them all, in order to become familiar enough with them that I won't be fooled by one into thinking I've seen a genuine UFO when it is, in fact, an airplane. The object I saw on this night went incomprehensibly fast, and was absolutely without sound, and I know it was not any kind of conventional aircraft. The fact that it was ascending indicates it was not a meteorite, and I learned later that an Iridium flare traveled the same route as my object, but three minutes AFTER I saw the object. Having gotten the URL to a website which gives times of Iridium flare flyovers, I went out to see one the next night, and I did see one, and can say with certainty that what I saw on June 22nd was NOT an Iridium flare. I just do not know what it was. One other detail about the object: it was the brightest white light I have ever seen, and it had a pale blue rim that blended into the white light. The overall effect was of a "bluish-white" light.

Posted 1999-08-10