2008-12-13 - New York, NY - Changing

Orange tinged translucent amoeba like object moved upwards into sky until it became a speck of light that disappeared past moon

I've referred to the email I sent some friends over a decade ago to ensure my recollection is still the same.   The unusual sighting was during a supermoon of sorts (moon was 15% larger), very bright. I was on the 13th floor / penthouse and had stepped onto the terrace to appreciate the moon and sky. Not long after, I saw a couple of comets or meteors fall to the North - one appeared to be quite large (I later learned that the Geminid showers were happening during this time).

I can't recall if I had stepped back inside first or if I was outside the entire time. But, not long after the comets, from the North (Greenpoint, Brooklyn or Long Island City, Queens), I saw something in the sky heading South towards where I was. At first, I thought it may be a cluster of rogue helium balloons or a flock of birds. But, ironically, I also saw a flock of birds fly by in a v-shaped formation and this was not what I was witnessing.

I waited for 5, 10 minutes as this object or group of objects moved closer until I noticed that it was a large amorphous, seemingly organic shape moving slowly in the sky upwards. It was somewhat translucent with a tinge of orange. It would change shape as it moved. I described it to my friend that it looked like a ghost-like amoeba, undulating a bit while moving upwards. I distinctly remember I had closed and opened my eyes 3 times to make sure I was not hallucinating.

My camera was three flights below, and I did not know how long this object would be visible, so I continued to watch and wait for it to get closer to the moon so I could see it even better.

I then remembered that we had a telescope on the other side of the living room, which I retrieved. The moon was so bright that it hurt to try to locate the object, so I gave up and just watched with the naked eye as it continued past to the right of the moon from my vantage point until it was just a small bright glowing speck that finally disappeared.

One of my housemates returned home soon after, and he suggested it was probably a weather balloon. But after googling - it was clear that it was not a balloon of sorts that I saw.   The next day I googled to see if anyone else had mentioned the sighting of an amoeba like object, but nothing. It would have been easily seen by many but key words did not yield any posts. Additionally, nothing came up online of anyone ever having seen such an object before. I essentially got teased by friends who asked what I'd been smoking! Subsequent to that sighting, I did actually witness a deflated weather balloon descend one afternoon, and it was completely different from what I'd seen. What I saw almost seemed to be swimming or moving upwards in a systemic fashion, and it did not appear solid.