NUFORC Sighting 90621

Occurred: 2012-05-12 17:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2012-07-07 19:05 Pacific
Duration: 5 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Tokyo (Japan), , Japan

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Left a trail

Glowing orange fireball that traveled through the sky, made a left turn and moved in a different direction.

I went out to the balcony to shake out a rug, and as is my habit, I scanned the sky to admire the view. I live on the 4th floor here in Koganei, a suburb in Far West Tokyo and have a great view. I can see Mt. Fuji and have an almost 180 view facing West.

It was about 5-5:30 PM and I saw in the distance, location at about 11, a glowing orange ball. It was very tiny, and at first I thought it was a plane reflecting the light o the sun. I have seen that before, but turns out that wasn’t it.

I went back in to the apartment to replace the rug and came back outside to look at the orange ball. It looked like a plane that was on fire, falling from the sky, but very slowly. It continued on the same path, and it seemed to get larger. No smoke though, and only a slight glowing trail behind it.

I continued to watch it for another few minutes and it kept getting bigger. It was coming in from the SE to NE direction, all silent. It was still quite far away, but obviously glowing and not a plane. I got binoculars, the good ones, and it was an orange ball of light. No plane visible.

I called my husband out to look, and he said it must be a plane, but it really didn’t look like the planes he has seen, so he said it must be reflecting the sun. He doesn’t believe in strange things in the sky, but as I continued to watch it, and nag him about looking, too, he came out and said, well, it could be meteorite or maybe a satellite burning as it fell. He went back inside, nothing more for him.

I stayed and watched it and then it made a turn ! A left turn, and it appeared to head due West. At that point I knew it was neither a meteor nor falling satellite, so maybe it was a plane. Back to the binoculars – still orange, still a ball, but got smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared.

I have no idea what I saw, but it was lovely and exciting all the same. My background is as a professional international educator. I am 60, female, and a watcher of the sky. I believe you will never see anything if you don’t look up.

NUFORC Note:

Witness indicates that the date of the sighting is approximate. PD

Posted 2012-08-05