Sphere over Salem, VA
A witness account on file, unevaluated. Most of the archive rests here, and honestly so.
The report, as filed
I was walking my dogs and started watching the end of a fireworks display when I noticed a green sphere off in the northeastern sky far from where the display was going on. Put the dogs away and just watched the sphere from my pouch through a set of power lines. The green object changed altitudes several times as viewed through the power lines then turned to a glowing red and sped off the northwest. It reappeared after a few minutes to the previous position and turned back to a green color where it stayed for a while. After the display was over the object turned red and shot straight up in the sky. I need to mention the weather, which was solid low cloud cover with no stars visible and thunder storm clouds with some variable amounts of sheet lighting.
Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #128384). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.
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Routed to: Federal Aviation Administration · records window 2016-07-01 → 2016-07-18
From the same sky
Related entries
June 24, 2023 · 9:31 PM · LIGHT
Salem, VA
Sitting on our back porch we can see NW across the Blue Ridge mountains. It was sunset and there were dark clouds. We usually can see planes or even rarely comets, but there was a red light flying eastward, but then stopped. Turned white then red several times, and jets do not stop, change directions and hover. It also went higher and then circled back and forth about two times, then it just disappeared. I could no longer see it. I told my wife it was a drone, but she thought it was too far away, since it seemed to go in and out of that dark cloud ( the light would come and go as if it was going through the cloud).
May 14, 2022 · 9:00 PM · CIRCLE
Salem, VA
I left work picked up my kid went to a friends house Saw something resembled a star I assumed it was falling star or something maybe even a lantern, because it was going straight down then It disappeared because we couldn’t see past the trees then it came back but from left part of the sky to the right I thought was odd so my daughter took a picture or filmed it and then I filmed it with my camera I don’t believe in aliens but we did see something odd . We looked for airplane lights we listened for airplane noise but it was silent and we couldn’t see the blinking lights for airplane at least I hope it was an airplane. But I wouldn’t think it would just vanish in mid air . .. regardless of what it was .. maybe there is something in the video I am wrong about idk
June 14, 2019 · 10:00 AM · LIGHT
Salem, VA
As I was listening to a friend talk to a group of four of us, I saw a light as bright as the full moon but smaller in size, which was about 1/8 the size of the moon, travel in a perfectly straight line horizontally across the sky and disappeared into absolutely nothing. There were no clouds and the moon was full and bright. The light traveled faster than any airplane and was not a shooting star. There was no tail or lagging light behind the object. The size of the object was so large it could never be misinterpreted as an aircraft. The manner at which it disappeared into thin air was a complete mystery. I have never seen anything similar to this, and matter of fact have never seen anything other than aircraft and an occasional shooting star a handful of times. As I yelled “Did you guys see that?” I actually startled everyone because they actually did not see what I had because it was behind them. This is definitely a little scary, mysterious, and totally unexplainable.
September 26, 2017 · 8:45 PM · DISK
Salem, VA
Took out cellphone and began recording object for over 40min. Took still photos as well. Object then proceeded to move off away from my vicinity but stopped to hover again. I walked up the road to get a clearer view away from the tree lin and the object proceeded to loiter around the area for a long time. It would move left to right then come closer to me never getting as close as I would have liked. All lights on this object were red and moved in irregular patterns sometimes the horizontal lights would go then the vertical would flash. I do not believe this object was a standard aircraft as it made no sound. And I do not believe it was a drone because of ! lengh of time of observation and battery kimitations on drone vehicles. I went to retrieve a neighbor to witness as well but on returning the object had left. I had a similar sighting about 8 years ago from much further away in the early am and on that occasion 2 F-16's gave chase. Witness elects to remain totally anonymous; provides no contact information. PD
August 9, 2015 · 10:12 PM · CIRCLE
Salem, VA
No sound was heard and the light/globes were well below the cloud line between the ground and just above the Poor Mountain range.
May 15, 2015 · 10:10 PM · LIGHT
Salem, VA
I saw a bright flash in the sky that was not lightning, had a circular shape and lasted about a second, and was somewhat brighter than lightning with a blueish-white color to it. Seen AS SOON as I walked to my window. Witness elects to remain totally anonymous; provides no contact information. PD