NUFORC UFO Sighting 182491

Occurred: 2024-08-01 03:57 Local
Reported: 2024-08-04 02:13 Pacific
Duration: About 1 second
No of observers: 1 - Aviation Expert

Location: Boise, ID, USA

Shape: Changing
Color: White
Estimated Size: 10-20 feet, hard to say without knowing distance
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: SE (about 135 deg)
Angle of Elevation: 37
Closest Distance: 0.5 miles
Estimated Speed: 10-30 mph

Irregularly shaped white light seeing moving

At about 4 AM according to my fitness app, I went to go for a bike ride when I looked to the SE and saw an irregularly shaped white light move in the sky. Its color was an almost halo like glow, somewhat reminded me of a cool white LED. It seemed that its shape also slightly changed as it was moving and its luminosity may have slightly changed as well, although I am not as sure about that part due to the short duration and unexpectedness of the encounter. It then almost instantly vanished. My line of sight to it was unobstructed so it did not go behind anything. Although I did not have a sense of scale for it really, I had the feeling it was quite close, perhaps less than half a mile.

This was quite similar to a sighting I had (not reported) when I lived in Kitsap County, WA and was observing a lunar eclipse. I saw a rippling red light of a roughly triangular or V shape move across the sky at about 80 degrees of elevation. In contrast to this sighting, that light faded out much more slowly.
In both cases a good analogy for the rippling I witnessed is like if you have ever burned a Kleenex, the way the tissue and the glowing embers of it ripples and undulates as it burns and floats through the air.

I have had an extreme and keen interest in aviation for my entire life and am intimately familiar with the air traffic of both areas, as well as atmospheric illusions and optics, and how innocuous objects like Chinese lanterns can appear to be otherworldly—this was none of those.

Posted 2024-08-22