2003-08-13 - Portland, OR - Sphere

Sphere over Portland with Military Jet

I was merging onto I-205 northbound very slowly behind a semi truck and began to look around out of boredom. I saw a sphere of reflected light hovering over the city, which appeared to be just north of I-84 and west of I-205, but well south of PDX. It did not appear to be moving. I watched it while driving (not too safe, I know!) and putting along in the slow lane. I exited the freeway about two miles down, turned east so I could not see it, then turned north again and caught it for a few moments more. I went into a store for about 5 minutes or so, then saw it again when I returned to my car. It was now moving very slowly south. I returned to the freeway and saw a military plane approach it and seem to circle around it. With this perspective, I could see that it wasn't very large or very high in the air, maybe just a couple thousand feet up. I passed a tall hill, common in Portland, and could no longer see it. When I returned south on the freeway some 30 minutes later, I could not see it.