Light over Reno, NV

The report, as filed

I was sitting on my back porch listening to the radio and night sky watching when I observed what at first appeared to be a shooting star. The light traveled from my left to my right about 5 degrees above the hilly horizon which site North East to East of my home. The speed was much slower than a shooting star. The light wasn't sharp or bright brilliant it was as if it was below the surface of the water or behind dairy glass. It was only a white light as there were no green or red lights which you would see on an aircraft. No engine noise at all, completely silent. As the light moved left to right it passed behind a large tree. Expecting it to come out from behind the tree, I looked to the right side of the tree. It didn't come back into view. I then observed the same blurred light flying back to the left and spiraling in a clockwise motion and climbing. Then the light moved back in a right direction which is south. Again I see it spiral back to the left and upward. Now I'm thinking this is not a normal event and I glance down at my table and look for my phone. I wanted to capture a few pictures if possible. This is where I lost track of the light. I didn't see it again. This entire event lasted maybe 5 to 10 seconds. I was unable to see a shape only the muted white glow. Thinking about this it was similar to watching a large spotlight on clouds. However the night skies were absolutely clear..no fog, clouds...no haze or smoke present. An absolutely beautiful night sky where the Milky Way was so clearly observed. I'm at a complete loss trying to make logical sense of this sighting.

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #148452). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.