NUFORC Sighting 179191

Occurred: 2023-10-30 18:55 Local
Reported: 2023-10-30 19:59 Pacific
Duration: approx 5 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Santa Fe, NM, USA
Location details: Travelling West to East 70 - 80 degrees up from Southwestern horizon over South region of Santa Fe C

Shape: Orb
Explanation: Rocket - Possible
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Emitted beams

Glowing pure white circular orb with halo and small brighter circular center that comprised about 10% of the area of the orb.

The object was a very prominent pure white orb with a contiguous white halo and a brighter circular center about one tenth its overall diameter. It was seen for about five minutes traveling through a clear dark sky prior to the moon rising. The object, including its halo, was about the diameter of the mid-day sun. It was traveling at a constant pace from West to East approximately 70 degrees up from the southwest horizon. The object appeared to be within the atmosphere. An approximation of its size would depend on its altitude but it was far larger than a commercial aircraft, satellite, surveillance balloon or meteorite. An approximation of its speed would also depend on its altitude. If it was flying at 30,000 feet I would approximate its speed as twice to three times that of a commercial jet or military transport. If it was in orbit it would be traveling about the speed of a satellite. The speed, altitude and trajectory did not change during our observation of its path. Additionally, there was a narrow diagonal, linear white light, separate but in close proximity to the orb, emerging upward at about 1:00 to 2:00 and about equal in length to the diameter of the orb including its halo. No sound was heard during its passage. The vertical linear "tail" appeared to move to a position of about 11:00 and separate from the orb slightly as the orb traveled toward the mountain horizon to the East. Remarkably, as the orb approached the mountain horizon in the East-Southeast a three dimensional conical vaporous light field emerged from the orb with its small base located at about the orb's 8:00 position. The conical field rapidly grew spreading downward and to the left lasting five to ten seconds before it rapidly dissipated. I would approximate that the maximum length of the cone was about 30 times the diameter of the orb and its diameter at the large end of the cone about twenty times the diameter of the orb.

I am a retired Ph.D. having spent 40 years in Silicon Valley advising corporate leaders on strategy, running a multidisciplinary behavioral medicine clinic and serving for a time on the clinical faculty and medical staff at Stanford. My wife, who also observed the UAP, is a retired manager of quality and performance systems for three hospitals at Kaiser Permanente Medical System. She has three master degrees.

Posted 2023-12-09