2009-12-31 - Austin, TX - Disk

New Years Eve Unkown object in the sky above Downtown Austin Texas

Right before Midnight on New Years ever, we were standing on 6th street downtown Austin, Texas in front of the Silver New Years eve ball with a big crowd of people. We waiting for the countdown to New Years Eve, there was music playing, people dancing, balloons etc. It was very cold and there fast moving clouds in the sky. The Moon was very Bright that night allowing you to see past the clouds and the stars beyond.

I was standing there and looking at the Bright Moon along with a huge search/event light from some event somewhere circling back and forth against the clouds and the sky. As I was watching and starring at the moon, my eyes caught a dark, round dot looking thing moving inside the fast moving clouds. It was hard to see but you can at times clearly see it was round as if watching a perfect dot (circle) in the sky and dark, it was jerking back and forth in different patterns. Moving very fast, back and forth in different patterns and directions. Then it stopped and lit up very bright and it was gone. As soon as I noticed it the first time I pointed it out to my son and my wife. He could not see what I was looking at , at first, then he noticed it right before it lit up and he said after it lit up it took off at a hi rate of speed. My wife was also trying to see it and she got a glimpse of it at the last moment. I was pointing up at it trying to get the crowd to see it, but did! n’t notice anyone else looking at it, besides the search/event light would have made them look at that first and distract from the object. Balloons were being released and I compared the object to a balloon but balloons never made it that hi up and would not have been as big at that height. I work as a computer engineer; my son is active duty army. The object was directly above us when noticed. If it was a balloon it would have been much smaller and harder to see at that height, along with why did it light up then disappear?