Sphere over Smithfield, VA

The report, as filed

I was at Ivy Hill Cemetery with a close friend on 07/03/19 waiting for the local fireworks show to start. About 15 minutes prior to the firework show, an orb appeared in the sky from behind a large tree. The orb was orange and flickered like a candle. It was like a ball of fire. It appeared to be very distant, maybe over the James River, but high in the atmosphere. Two more of these orbs appeared from the same location and they each went in separate locations until they formed a large triangle in the sky. From our perspective they seemed to be travelling slowly, but considering the distance and likely height of the orbs, they were probably moving quickly. Then one by one the lights vanished as the orange lights slowly faded out – from a sizable orange ball to a pin of light to nothing - they vanished slowly. Then, just as the fireworks began a fourth orb appeared from the same location and traveled like the first three until it was obscured by the fireworks display. After the fireworks, we stayed in the cemetery until midnight and did not observe more of the phenomenon.

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #147421). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.