2010-07-04 - Piney Flats, TN - Other

fireball (looked like flames) with some type of top over it traveling above clouds in straight line east to west

Rural setting. We were watching fireworks that the neighbors were shooting off for the Fourth of July, so our eyes were on the sky. I noticed a very unusual "firework" that was higher than the low-flying clouds. I pointed and asked my boyfriend (we are both over 50 and were not drinking)"What the heck is THAT?!!" The object we both saw was coming from the east and headed in a straight line toward the west. It definitely looked man-made because it appeared to have flames on the bottom, but it was so high up that it could not have been a normal kind of fireworks. The fact that we could detect flames even though it was so high up made us think the actual "object" had to be fairly large. It traveled at a speed that was like if you watch the ISS go over or something like that except that it was much closer to earth than that (the ISS) or even satellites. We have no idea what it was we saw, but neither of us had ever before seen anything like it. My boyfriend has! been a novice astronomer for many years, fyi. We weren't timing it but I am guessing it took a little over a minute before it faded out of view still flying on course. There was a top on it above the flames, but it's been almost a month now and I honestly cannot remember well enough to describe the part above the flames.

I was listening to George Noory last night and heard mention of the Fourth of July sightings. I had no idea where to report this phenomena at the time, but hope this report will be of help even though it's approximately a month old.