NUFORC Sighting 124973

Occurred: 2015-12-07 22:35 Local
Reported: 2015-12-30 19:28 Pacific
Duration: 5-7 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Keene, NH, USA

Shape: Orb

At approximately 17:00 on December 7, 2015, I was about to get into my car to pick up my girlfriend to attend a Christmas party when I noticed a bright orange/yellow orb in the sky directly east of Nelson, NH. The orb seemed to be traveling away from me, toward the east, at a distance of several miles from my position, approximately 20 degrees above the horizon. It traveled at the same rate a speed a satellite would. This sighting lasted only about 30 seconds.

Later that night, after being dropped off by friends with whom we carpooled to the Christmas party, my girlfriend and I got into our car and headed north on Route 12, heading toward the city of Keene. At the junction of Route 12 and Flat Roof Mill Road I noticed a bright orange orb hanging in the sky to the left of our position. I pulled over to get a better look. My girlfriend could not see the object from the passenger's side, so I pulled her over toward me until she could see it. The orb was traveling south at a distance of perhaps a mile from our position, at an estimated altitude of 1,500-2,000 feet. Estimated speed was 25-30 mph. Looking at it through binoculars I could see that the orb had an aura about it, with a bright orange center. I was convinced at that point that what I was looking at was a Chinese lantern. I put down the binoculars and continued to observe it as it made a slow change of direction, away from us, heading now west. The turn continued until now th! e object was traveling north, and nearly at twice the distance at which we first observed it. The maneuver lasted about one minute. It was now heading north, against the prevailing breeze. After watching it travel for another minute or so, it vanished abruptly.

Were it not for the fact that the object changed direction, I would not be reporting this sighting, nor the one from earlier that evening. Having myself investigated independently the UFO phenomenon for over 30 years on two continents, I've become a bit of a skeptic, and am convinced that a great number of sightings are the result of misidentification. The meteorological conditions that evening were clear, with a light north-south breeze.

This is the third time I've observed orange orbs transiting the sky in this region: the first time was two years ago, at approximately 3am. This orb moved faster, at an estimated speed of 80-100 mph, at an estimated altitude of 5,000 feet, traveling east to west, at a distance of approximately five miles from my vantage point. Said observation was from inside my home, through a window facing north. The intensity of the light remained constant throughout the period it was visible, with no other lights visible, until it disappeared in the distance.

Let me be clear that I have observed on many occasions aircraft on approach to Manchester Airport, something which at first glance sometimes resembles these orbs (as the aircraft travels directly toward the observer it can lend the illusion that it is a stationary luminous object), and am acutely aware of how common it is for people to mistakenly report these as UFOs. I also monitor air traffic via an application on my smartphone, which provides accurate aircraft ID and flight information, with the exception of military aircraft.

Posted 2016-01-05