2013-01-01 - Midvale, UT - Fireball

Fiery yellow-orange ball in clear sky, hanging at 8:00 to Jupiter; it floated and drifted , then flamed out, but sphere remained

I am a 64 Yo Master’s level Professional Woman, socially responsible and not considered a kook of any kind. Although this was on New Year’s Eve night, I had nothing to drink or substance of any kind.

I was at my significant other’s house for the evening and decided to go home about 1:25 AM. I traveled about 3 mis north, then turned west on to 74 St South. Immediately, as soon as I was facing due west I saw a very bright orange light directly in front of me. It was moving very slowly in an erratic pattern appearing to move north, then drift in an easy turn to the east (toward me), then to the south, then straight up, almost straight above. I would say it was about a 1200 feet up and almost a mile or so away when I first saw it. I was so amazed and so entranced with the phenomenon, I called my friend to tell her to go outside, she did not answer. I called her several more times hoping she was would see it, too.

I could not continue to drive and watch, so I pulled over to stare with curiosity and a bit of trepidation. When I first saw it, I thought it was a helicopter, but within seconds realized it was too big, too bright and moving to erratic for a helicopter.

After I parked I knew immediately it was not a helicopter or plane. At that same second the intensity of the color got brighter and more yellow-orange. It was sitting in the sky at about 8:00 to Jupiter, just kind of hanging around, like it was a fiery balloon floating in the wind. It was not so large that it could have been easily covered in the sky by my thumb. As it started to climb straight up, the fire of it flickered more intensely, but the flame itself started to die out and soon it was extinguished. However, the “object” was still visible: it was not round, but I could see it was spherical. It did not emit much light, but yet, I could see that it was there, lighter gray than the sky and still doing the same lazy floating pattern of drifting. I decided I needed to get out of the street where I was stopped and go home to watch it from my back yard, which was only about 5 mins away.

I lost the object then. It was gone by the time I got home. There were more clouds, then, as if they just appeared out of nowhere; where it had been was not clear any longer. Jupiter was there as was some duller stars, but no object.

The object was very consistent with a fiery ball, although it did not sent out sparks or trail any flames or vapors, it was like watching a flame wax and wane, change color and intensity, get brighter, then snuff out. By the time I got home, I was so alert and hyper-vigilant that I am not sure I will be able to sleep for several hours yet.