NUFORC Sighting 177593

Occurred: 2023-08-14 20:55 Local
Reported: 2023-08-14 21:56 Pacific
Duration: 15 to 20 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Taos Canyon, NM, USA
Location details: Heading North through Taos Canyon toward Taos Between the Penasco turn off and the Horseshoe.

Shape: Other

An object in the shape of a vertical dorsal fin about 60' top to bottom, very fast with an extremely bright blue flame out the back.

I was driving North through Taos Canyon. I was timing the drive from one end of the canyon to the other so I was vary aware of the time. I entered the canyon at 8:38 pm. Just beyond the Penasco turn off to the east, about 15 minutes through the canyon, I saw an object that at first glance looked like an an object on fire getting ready to crash. I was in the shape of a vertical fin.l It was about 60 ft. from top to bottom and had an extremely bright blue flame shooting out the rear end. The flame was consistent (even) from the top of the rear of object to the bottom. It barely cleared the hill to the west of my truck. The trajectory of the object was about a 45 degree angle heading downward.The blue flame was so bright it was bit frightening. It was traveling at a very high rate of speed based upon how fast it came into view from the East side of the highway until it cleared the hills on the West side of the highway. I immediately slowed down to a crawl and was certain I would witness a huge explosion. With the trajectory and the speed of the object I was sure it would crash any second. I waited for a bright light or explosion...but nothing. That is when I realized that the object made no sound at all. After it went just beyond the hills on the West side of the highway it just disappeared. No sign of it at all. I went up the road just a bit to try and see around the hills and when I had a clear view in maybe 1 minute there was nothing. It was so clear, fast, and bright and mind boggling there is no way I can compare it to anything I ever seen. I worked on the airfield at Joint Base Balad in Iraq and I have seen many types of aircraft day and night but I have never seen anything like this in my life. At 9:50 pm I called the NM State Police just to see if anyone else had reported this sighting and they hung up on me.

Posted 2023-09-10