NUFORC Sighting 178732

Occurred: 2023-10-05 01:46 Local
Reported: 2023-10-08 17:18 Pacific
Duration: Just under 5 minutes tota
No of observers: 2

Location: Homosassa, FL, USA
Location details: Somewhere near the corner of Lecanto HWY, and Grover Cleavland Blvd

Shape: Changing
Characteristics: Changed Colo

We saw a giant red, motionless comet. We ran towards it, and noticed it was a vertical rectangle, tapered back to a point

We went on a night walk through our neighborhood the early morning hours of Oct 5, around 1:45 am. It is a small horseshoe-shaped road-- to walk the entire thing takes about 15 min.

1/4 of the walk from the house, facing east, slightly southeast, I saw what at first appeared to be an EXTREMELY large fireball/comet. I pointed it out to my companion in excitement, and he followed to get a better view. It was less than 2,000ft AGL, and AT LEAST from end to end, school bus sized. Moreover, as we sprinted about 40 yards to get a better look from behind my neighbors tree, I realized it was completely motionless. Not only that, but it was 100% not a comet. It was a bright crimson red rectangle facing West (since that seemed to be the front, not entirely sure) 'hovering' vertically, and tapered to a point or rounded point back towards the east side of it.

As my eyes adjusted to what my brain was processing, I blinked and squinted to force the object to make more sense, but instead it flashed a subtle rainbow wave along its bottom end.

We jokingly said "hello" and waved to it, trying to make fun of ourselves. Instantaneously, the entire motionless object disappeared. Not by leaving slowly, or fading away; but blinking out of existence.

We thought the experience was over, then no more than 2 seconds after disappearing, in the same exact patch of sky, it reappeared, but as a lonely twinkle of light that looked like just a star. Initally in this form, it was very bright, then its brightness lowered a bit. However, it was clear it was the same object, just in different form. Not only because we could sense the invisible parts of the object that we could see when it was bright red, but we remained watching it vigilantly as this "star" rotated from a Westerly facing direction, to an Easterly facing direction, and remaining at around 2000 ft AGL---couldn't have been much higher, or faster than 120knots--- it ambled in a southeast direction over farmland, until it got too small for us to follow with our eye.
It sincerely felt like when we said "hello" it reacted and tried to conceal itself. I know this is conjecture, but it was an intense feeling that I must note.
The sky conditions were completely clear. The moon was a bright half moon in the Northeast, and Orion was rising up out of the eastern horizon to the right of the moon from our perspective that night.

From where I stood, my best guess is this object was, at the beginning of the occurrence, at least 2mi to 3mi southwest. By the time we lost sight of it as it slowly trolled away as a star, I'd guess it was 12, 15 miles to the Southeast.

Ryan Montgomery

Posted 2023-10-28