2011-08-17 - Reno, NV - Disk

Reno area fast traveling object

I am a typical sky watcher in the evenings when I go out to smoke. My field of view is mostly overhead to east south east, and south, with tree blockage to the west of me. Most of the city light is blocked out in my back yard, but with typical diffuse light to the eye.

I think I am pretty good at identifying that, which is an airplane in the air, or other having grown up around aviators, and people in the space industry.

What I saw tonight was moving not as fast as say a meteorite would, like a streak, nor was it the slow steady pace of an airliner over head. I am pretty familiar with the flight patterns and speeds of various craft overhead, helicopters or what have you, and with Reno airport nearby, it is easy to tell airplanes around.

This “ufo” was orange in color, very high in the sky. There were lower lying clouds tonight overhead, so I could tell it was above that cover. It was moving from west to easterly direction, and man, this was not any airplane I have ever seen. Very fast moving, but with purpose. It was saucer to egg, to oval shaped, leaving no trail behind it. There was no noise, though from my location sometimes you can hear very high up aircraft in later evenings.

This was pretty weird to me, enough to want to report it, but was also wondering if anyone else in the Reno area saw something they questioned tonight. Were there any low flying satellites tonight in that trajectory and time, that is possible what I saw? I honestly don’t think it was THAT high, not space high; definitely in airspace air.

Thanks.