2009-07-03 - Clinton, MO - Fireball

Glowing ball just west of Clinton, MO on July 3rd, 2009

We were in the city of Clinton, Missouri shooting off fireworks at roughly 10:30 pm on the night of July 3rd, 2009 when we saw an object that I can only describe as a UFO. Of course, I say it is a UFO, not an alien because I believe it may possibly be able to be described.

I was not the first person to see it, but it was drawn to my attention within a minute of its appearance. The night was semi-cloudy, and there was a haze from everyone shooting off fireworks. There were few stars, and the moon was not a factor given the objects location.

It was probably somewhere between 1,500 and 3,000 feet off the ground, several miles west of Clinton, traveling south to north. It appeared to put off its own light, and was roughly the color of fire.

My first thoughts were that it was a meteor that was starting to enter the atmosphere, however I quickly dropped that idea because it did not leave a tail, did not seem to be breaking apart, and was moving at a slow, steady pace at the same elevation.

It can only be described as a glowing ball. It did not flash or change colors, and the brightness stayed roughly the same.

I do not believe it was a conventional aircraft. I grew up in the area, and it is only about 30 miles from Whiteman AFB. This was not a typical flight path for the aircraft from that base, and it was too low to be a commercial jet. It is possible it was a helicopter from an odd angle, but again, the speed and color make that highly unlikely.

The object was moving probably somewhere around 150-300 miles per hour, as it was in the normal speeds of aircraft that I have seen.

I was mostly writing because I was hoping that someone else had witnessed this as well and would be able to explain what my entire family saw.