UFO

Guess what? I just witnessed a UFO!

Can you believe it? My pardner was gazing out the backyard picture window and called me over to take a look. Naturally, I couldn’t resist. Trust me; I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.

A little background about me: I’m an amateur astronomer, have been scanning the night skies since my youth, and there’s a Celestron telescope sitting pretty in my basement. Oh, and I’ve had my fair share of flying as a pilot.

The conditions were perfect—clear sky, no wind, and no thermal distortions. Venus was shining bright, and the emerging stars were crystal clear and steady. Not a single aircraft in sight.

So, here’s the scoop. The bright red, pulsating object caught my wife’s eye as it moved toward her. She tracked it across the sky until it suddenly stopped. Curiosity piqued, she opened the window for a closer look and to catch any sound it might make. Guess what? Silence. She observed it for a good 3 to 4 minutes and then decided to give me a ring.

Stepping up to the window, I saw this massive, way larger than any aircraft, high-altitude, stationary, oblate-shaped object. It was glowing orange and pulsating, shifting from orange to a vibrant red. Hovering about 40 degrees above the horizon, it outshone Venus in brightness.

I watched in awe for about a minute and immediately called my son, who happened to be in the basement. Unfortunately, he was on the phone, and it took a bit to get him moving. Meanwhile, my wife, seizing the moment, headed outside. We met on the back porch, but by then, the mysterious object had vanished.

My son, peering through the window, saw the object disappear. According to him, it didn’t traverse the sky but seemed to move directly away, dwindling in size, dimming, and then vanishing swiftly.

I’d estimate the whole spectacle lasted less than 30 seconds, probably closer to 15, considering it took me that long to reach the backdoor.

I’ve seen and heard meteors that left contrails, exploding in the sky. Never missed a passing comet, observed eclipses, sun dogs, high-altitude cirrus, standing alto lenticulars, aurora— you name it. I’ve always been skeptical, but after this, I can’t easily dismiss what others claim to have seen.

This tops the list as the most unusual thing I’ve ever witnessed in the sky. Regretfully, the observation was brief, and I’m even sorrier I didn’t keep my eyes glued to it.

✨

Cheers, D 🌴🌊