2020-12-31 - Tempe, AZ - Oval

orange light traveling east then slows, turns north and stops. 20 seconds later fades out

On December 31st at about 21:00 hours I just finished dinner and walked outside and sat down on the patio. I noticed two aircraft flying in the southern sky from the west to east, one larger, higher up and further out and one smaller closer and lower in altitude. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw another aircraft flying the same path in the space between the two other aircraft but behind. The speed of it did not seem out of the ordinary.

This one got my attention. I got up and walked out away from the patio and watched it. What caught my attention was it was orange with no other blinking lights as general aircraft would have. I was trying to see other lights on it and its altitude verses the other aircraft traveling the same path.

My initial thought was it was higher than both. Then I saw it slow and seemed to turn north but then stop. I thought only a helicopter can do that but its too high and no other lights can be seen on the aircraft. Now I am wishing I had my camera. It stayed in that position for about 15 to 20 seconds then just faded out. My thoughts where it left the sky in a southern path directly in opposite line with my sight of it.

I have seen over the year’s flairs dropped during military exercised in the very distance and I have seen missiles launched also. This was neither.

I stood and watched for about 10 minutes the area where the light faded out to see anything and nothing appeared, it was gone. During the entire time of this sighting, I witnessed no sound from the aircraft.

I am only making this report because of these facts, I have never seen anything like this in my 58 years. We live south east of Sky Harbor Airport and have seen large jets to small aircraft in our southern skies for 35 years. The sky was clear, and this object traveled in a horizontal path with no discernable arch.