Unknown over Mancos, CO
A conventional explanation is favored by the record but was never formally confirmed.
The report, as filed
Around 10:15 PM I saw this light in the sky. It was something traveling slowly from north to south (right to left in photo). It had a wide wide beam of light behind it (pointing north). The trail of light stayed in the sky for a few minutes after the object was gone. SpaceX launch from Vandenberg [NUFORC annotation: Rocket - Probable]
Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #177061). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.
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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 2023-07-16 → 2023-08-02