NUFORC UFO Sighting 181388

Occurred: 2024-05-02 21:07 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2024-05-03 22:12 Pacific
Duration: 10s (after sighting)
No of observers: 1

Location: Morgan Hill, CA, USA
Location details: SE corner of town at San Martin border, almost directly overhead.

Shape: Fireball
Color: Bluish-white cloud
Estimated Size: Unknown.
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: SE
Angle of Elevation: 75
Closest Distance: Looked to be 2-3K ft, but unknown scale.
Estimated Speed: Unknown.
Explanation: Rocket - Probable
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Aircraft nearby

Looked up when in yard. Saw hazy cloud w/bright center. Tried to take video, but picture instead. As soon as picture taken, it vanished

I went to my back yard in evening (9:07pm) to discard some trash. Looked up to see a single, large, hazy object seemingly still and noiseless high up in night sky. It was smaller than a full moon, circular from my vantage point, but it had the character of having a spherical envelope. Scrutinizing it more it had a bright center with blue-white cloud-like corona encircling it & seemed to be moving up and slightly SE.The cloud was not expanding or contracting, just stayed the same size. I thought it looked like the moon partly obscured by clouds; then realized it was an otherwise cloudless sky! I quickly grabbed my iPhone 15 from my pocket to take a video, but it snapped a long exposure picture instead. I was focused on the phone controls momentarily to change to video. When I didn’t see the image on screen anymore, I looked at the sky directly to find the object had instantly and completely disappeared: no cloud, no bright light, no remnants at all. Just a perfectly clear sky! There was a plane about 30-degrees to the North flying generally NW at the same time. I wondered if its occupants had seen it. I’m familiar with rocket launches; this was very similar except contrail usually persists for some time afterward. There had been a SpaceX launch from Vandenberg SFB, but that had been earlier in the morning. No other launches publicly declared. I did a social media inquiry, but no responders saw it.

Posted 2024-05-05