NUFORC Sighting 179955

Occurred: 2024-01-07 18:12 Local
Reported: 2024-01-07 17:54 Pacific
Duration: 1 minute
No of observers: 1 - Pilot

Location: Gun Barrel City, TX, USA
Location details: 32.3186305, -96.1110210

Shape: Light
Color: White
Estimated Size: Light 3x a star, haze around light 3x wider
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: South southwest to south
Angle of Elevation: 25
Closest Distance: 10 nm
Estimated Speed: 800 kts
Explanation: Rocket - Certain
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Aircraft nearby

Unusual fast moving glow on south-southwest horizon moving east. Appeared surrounded by a haze but clear night. Very fast mover.

Saw a glow on the southwestern horizon. Thought it was a helicopter with the search light on, but nope. Ran inside and grabbed the phone. The video is panning from south-southwest to east (the dish points due south) and stops almost due south. As it passed the dish I stopped recording because the light disappeared. This light was moving twice as fast as the usual commercial air traffic and was moving against the usual flight pattern for this area (the Cedar Creek Reservoir VORTAC is nearby). Checked weather-no haze (see photo). Checked ADS-B only a small GA plane (shown in FlightAware photo attached southeast of my blue dot) which also appears near the wires in the attached video. I'm former LEO and GA pilot. This was not a helicopter, GA aircraft, or commercial aircraft.

NUFORC Note:

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Posted 2024-02-15

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