Triangle over Eugene, OR
A witness account on file, unevaluated. Most of the archive rests here, and honestly so.
The report, as filed
I am a veteran of the military and an amateur astronomer so I am pretty good at aircraft identifications and where lights should be in the sky. Last night, 09/25/2016, at approximately 20:15 I saw what looked to be a triangle shaped craft over the city of Eugene, Oregon. I had just stepped out on my balcony for a smoke and sat down in my chair facing East overlooking most of NE Eugene and N Springfield. Looking in the sky above and well beyond the neighbor's house at the sight line of the power lines I saw 3 orange lights equidistant apart and in a triangle. It occurred to me that there shouldn't be bright stars in the sky in that area that time of night and time of year so I looked closer. As I looked closer, I saw the bottom most of the lights moving and then I thought to myself: that makes sense it is commercial aviation. So I looked back at the other 2 lights and saw they were moving together too and that it was one triangle shaped craft rotating on its center axis. All the while I noticed the bright orange lights were shining through what looked like heat shimmer coming off the desert floor. Very much like a scene from the movie, "Predator," the "cloaking" around it wavered for just a brief second and when it did I saw a large triangle shaped craft with smooth sides and a smooth metallic bottom with a smaller circular abutment in the center with a light bluish glow. The craft stopped rotating and it looked like a harrier jet pulling up its nose on a vertical takeoff and then it disappeared. It did leave but as it was leaving the "cloaking" kicked back in and it disappeared from sight. Like something out of the X files 2 helicopters showed up within 30 seconds of the object disappearing. Eugene is a small city and helicopters are fairly rare here with just a couple of overflights a day but these stayed on station for the better part of an hour circling over the Eugene/Springfield area.
Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #130211). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.
Ask for the records
What would the paper say?
For a dated, located U.S. sighting, FAA radar data and ATC communications are the records most likely to exist. Through Aletheca, the house instrument, anyone can commission the request — filed, chased, and published in the open, refusals included. The draft goes over already written: the records sought, and the date window they would live in.
Routed to: Federal Aviation Administration · records window 2016-09-22 → 2016-10-09
From the same sky
Related entries
August 23, 2023 · 12:00 AM · FLASH
Eugene, OR
I saw a bright light flashing, moving from south to north in the eastern sky. Approximately 45-55 degrees above the Horizon. Then suddenly it shot like a shooting star 10 to 20 degrees (at least from my perspective angle) to a sudden dead stop seemingly almost above me. It seems as if it was just a few blocks away or over down town, but seemed like it was only 500 feet above the city! It then began to flash a single bright flashing light every second to two second intervals very steady pace. Not making a single sound! Where it just hung out stationery for approximately ten minutes or so, silently. I called my neighbor out to watch it and witness it too. Which she did. Behind and above the brilliant flash I could see what seemed like a large bay window. Like maybe an observational window. It was an aqua color.Then it after what seemed like about ten minutes or so, it slowly went out of view behind the building as it moved in a N.E. direction. At first I went back to my porch then decided to walk all the way over to where I had last seen it going behind the buildings. I briefly saw it again but as it kept moving I lost sight of it. So I went back up to my porch. Next thing I knew it was in the deep southern sky traveling west and went out of sight behind the trees. What it seemed like it did was make a maneuver that was impossible for a human occupant to survive (thus showing off ‘’we are not human”) Then stopped directly in the middle of air traffic flight path from the Eugene Airport and hovered there for ten minutes or so, as if to say “so what are you going to do about it”? I am trained in deep sky observations, and using indirect field of view it see details as I have had a number of large telescopes and have sat on the board of directors of the Eugene Astronomical Society. I can’t say for sure what it was I saw. But I can tell you what it wasn’t. I am not ignorant to the night sky.
July 15, 2023 · 9:47 PM · CIRCLE
Eugene, OR
We were out just before the international space station was to fly over at 9:50 PM Pacific time. At 9:46 I noticed what I thought was the ISS near the star Arcturus (too early) and it was flying straight east the only thing different this object covered the sky from Arcturus to the horizon in about one minute, it takes the international space station 11 minutes to cross the sky. I checked all my online star maps- looking at recent launches and I don’t have an answer, Its description, About mag 0 maybe -1. No sound No course correction. looked like a satellite. (Just so it’s not from North Korea) [NUFORC annotation: Satellite - Probable]
May 19, 2023 · 9:45 PM · CIRCLE
Eugene, OR
A couple weeks ago I saw a bright light in the sky, but didn’t think anything of it, a couple weeks later my daughter saw it and said mom, there’s a bright light outside, so we started taking pictures and recording it, and it didn’t move at all. I looked the next few nights for it but it was Over cast so on Monday 5/22/2023 I checked the sky and it was not there anymore. [NUFORC annotation: Planet/Star - Possible]
December 8, 2022 · 5:45 PM · TRIANGLE
Eugene, OR
triangle is close and there was a light beam type shape going from ground up to clouds through it, it looked like it had rings moving inside vertical. Lasted for 10 seconds and was gone.
November 19, 2022 · 6:05 PM · CHANGING
Eugene, OR
I recorded but won't let me share from my phone. It had red, white lights went back and forth. Hovering and quick, then zig zag motions. Approaching from the east of our apartment came west looking like it was over Skinner Butte. It was not a police drone nor helicopter and not airplane. Then lights flashing.
July 10, 2022 · 12:34 AM · FIREBALL
Eugene, OR
Looking up at the sky one late night I saw a hovering, glowing, orangish yellow orb. At first I thought it was a meteor. But it was not falling. It slowly descended from sky closer and closer. It appeared to sparkle and glow and as it was getting closer I was mesmerized by how bright and huge it had to be for me to see it so detailed. I started to get a scared feeling. And when I did it stopped moving. It stayed in one place and I felt, watched me. I for a moment thought well this must be the end of the world. It’s gonna smash into us and blow us up. I ran inside w my son. Who was also watching and became afraid. But I was also very curious. I went back out and snapped a couple videos. Then it slowly started moving away to my right of my horizon. And then was gone. I have never seen anything like this object in movies or television nor books or magazines. There was no sound. But a very strong PRESENCE. I decided it has to be some kind of orb or ufo. But I obviously have found no proof of that. It would be interesting to see if anyone else in my area caught and footage of this incident. I did post it on Facebook. There are 2 videos. The erratic movement is me, my son grabbing my arm and wiggling it around and quickly going back inside my house and recording from the doorstep of my back porch. The photo is a close up screen shot of the sighting.