NUFORC Sighting 36830

Occurred: 2004-05-08 14:10 Local
Reported: 2004-05-11 00:03 Pacific
Duration: 3-4 seconds
No of observers: 2

Location: Tracy, CA, USA

Shape: Disk

15 meters brilliant silver object slowly floats then zips away on a clear day - gone in a fraction of second

I was driving a BMW with a passenger along the I-5 freeway near Tracy, a couple miles from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)at 2:10pm when suddenly, emerging from the clouds, approximately 1 mile away and 1/2 a mile up a silvery object, due to its brilliance, caught my attention against a backdrop of white stratocumulus, slightly to the right of my car. The object was easily visible from near perfect sky.

Thinking that the object was perhaps a cargo plane, I banked to the left lane and immediately ask my passenger if there was any air traffic in the vicinity other than the object. The reply was negative. As I completed the lane change, the unknown object suddenly appeared at my 1 o'clock position (no more than a mile away) to change shape. And it was definitely not a cargo plane. The upper section, not concealed by any cloud, was gray, and on the lower section there appeared to be one or two reflective bright silver panels. The object was approximately 13 to 15 meters in diameter. Suddenly it accelerated and vanished from what I believe was a slow moving position. We gave chase but the object was gone. An animation is created for a clearer picture. You can see it here. http://autotails.tripod.com/ufo/ufo.htm

Posted 2004-06-04