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Metallic sphere in a cloudless sky.


RenikNorthEngland

Skilled Investigator
It was around 11 years ago. I was with five other lads playing football on the feild at the bottom of my street- an immense summer afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky for miles around. We were playing three against three. I had the ball at one point, surging down feild when one of the opposing side dived in with a menacing tackle- put me flat on my back. I took a moment and looked up at the sky and that's when I noticed it- a metallic spherical object just sitting there. I struggled to percieve a distance and size, but it was low enough to see exactly what it was, and to make it even more spectacular, a ray of sunlight bounced off the side. I alerted everyone to it and we all witnessed it, but every one of them passed it off as "probably a satelite" and encouraged the game to continue, absolutely uninterested. I didn't take my eyes off it for a good two, three minutes before it just vanished from sight.

I made an effort in the following days to check newspapers and internet sources for any reports but there was never any- shame, but one for the memory bank.
 
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It was around 11 years ago. I was with five other lads playing football on the feild at the bottom of my street- an immense summer afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky for miles around. We were playing three against three. I had the ball at one point, surging down feild when one of the opposing side dived in with a menacing tackle- put me flat on my back. I took a moment and looked up at the sky and that's when I noticed it- a metallic spherical object just sitting there. I struggled to percieve a distance and size, but it was low enough to see exactly what it was, and to make it even more spectacular, a ray of sunlight bounced off the side. I alerted everyone to it and we all witnessed it, but every one of them passed it off as "probably a satelite" and encouraged the game to continue, absolutely uninterested. I didn't take my eyes off it for a good two, three minutes before it just vanished from sight.

I made an effort in the following days to check newspapers and internet sources for any reports but there was never any- shame, but one for the memory bank.

Thank you for posting your sighting! Did the sphere that you watched move in a way that could allow you to exclude the possibility that it was a balloon of some kind? If so, can you give us some more details?
 
There was no movement whatsoever. It hung in the same spot for all the time I watched it, and then literally just disappeared. I'm certain it wasn't a balloon, and actually that possiblity had never crossed my mind. At the very least, I'm 100% sure it wasn't a hot air balloon, nor was it a balloon that had perhaps escaped the clutches of a child. It could have been a mogul balloon I suppose ;)
 
...that disappeared in a cloudless sky. Sure it wasn't a bubble of swamp gas? :D
Interesting reaction by the other guys. A low-flying satellite at daytime. But of course, the game was more important and UFOs don't exist.

Small metallic sphere sightings don't seem to be that rare. I've been personally told of two sightings (just hearsay, but still interesting), description here. And I think I've read about some more, always football sized or not much bigger. Or do you think yours might have been a large one?

Btw. the farmer in the second report I'd heard about didnt believe in UFOs before or after the sighting. He was like "this thing was clearly real and everybody knows UFOs aren't, so this can't have been a UFO". I call that compelling logic.
 
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Their reaction was baffling, I doubt they'd even remember it ever occurred. I think in terms of size It could have been around the size of a football, as if someone had kicked a ball straight up in the air and it got stuck at it's highest point. On the other hand it could have been around the height of the average commercial airline flight and be a bit bigger, perhaps the size of the nose on an aeroplane. I guess not gigantic.

The story about the farmer is interesting- compelling logic indeed. I think it's good testimony though, someone who still doesn't believe it was a UFO, leaving him only to tell the story as it happened and have others make of it what they will. No embelleshments and no motivation to fabricate a fable.
 
There was no movement whatsoever. It hung in the same spot for all the time I watched it, and then literally just disappeared. I'm certain it wasn't a balloon, and actually that possiblity had never crossed my mind. At the very least, I'm 100% sure it wasn't a hot air balloon, nor was it a balloon that had perhaps escaped the clutches of a child. It could have been a mogul balloon I suppose ;)
Shiny spherical foil like balloons aren't hard to manufacture:

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Unless what you saw behaved in a way that was impossible for known manmade technology, something like these can't be ruled out.
 
I would probably subscribe to the idea of it being some kind of balloon, such as the ones in the photographs, were it not for the fact that it vanished into thin air but also, with a balloon I would have expected to see at least some movement as opposed to the static position it was in during my sighting.
 
I would probably subscribe to the idea of it being some kind of balloon, such as the ones in the photographs, were it not for the fact that it vanished into thin air but also, with a balloon I would have expected to see at least some movement as opposed to the static position it was in during my sighting.
I would have to agree with your skepticism. A possible explanation for the lack of movement might be that the balloon was tethered by a thin line that you could not see at your distance. Possible explanation for it's disappearance might be that it simply burst for some reason, or perhaps that the atmospheric conditions were just right so that the bright ray of sunlight glinting off it saturated your eyesight and then suddenly stopped because it was released, causing the reflective surface to blend into the background momentarily, and while your eyes adjusted it simply rose away from where you were looking and you never spotted it again, or perhaps was rapidly reeled in and went below the horizon. Because this happened at a football field also brings up the possibility that someone may have been trying out some sort of camera balloon. Also football fields are often associated with schools and universities where some sort of experiment involving a balloon may have been taking place.

Are there any reasons you can think of that would not allow us to rule out those possibilities?
 
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I would have to agree with your skepticism. A possible explanation for the lack of movement might be that the balloon was tethered by a thin line that you could not see at your distance. Possible explanation for it's disappearance might be that it simply burst for some reason, or perhaps that the atmospheric conditions were just right so that the bright ray of sunlight glinting off it saturated your eyesight and then suddenly stopped because it was released, causing the reflective surface to blend into the background momentarily, and while your eyes adjusted it simply rose away from where you were looking and you never spotted it again, or perhaps was rapidly reeled in and went below the horizon. Because this happened at a football field also brings up the possibility that someone may have been trying out some sort of camera balloon. Also football fields are often associated with schools and universities where some sort of experiment involving a balloon may have been taking place.

Are there any reasons you can think of that would not allow us to rule out those possibilities?

Your reasoning is entirely plausable. It would have to have burst as apposed to vanishing behind the horizon because there would have been some kind of movement if it were reeled in. My only quarm with it being anchored somehow in the air is that the line it may have been attached to would have to have been some miles long, leading me to believe that such a thin line or teather would not keep as still as it was. I wont rule out my percieving it as being still due to the lack of background to trace motion against- it could have been bobbing slightly, I just can't help thinking I would have noticed it given the clarity of the object and the time I was given to analyse what I was seeing. There's always the possibility that it could have been some kind of motorised device, perhaps a balloon camera or some kind of experimental instrumentation. Far more likely an explanation than the satelite sugguestion my buddies offered.
 
I saw a report on Gary Heseltines(?) website I believe, also in the UK, where at least two guys in a chopper spotted a small disk that was hovering right above a person who happened to be out walking a dog. This person was not aware of the object above him, and the disk soon sped off out of sight. The object was only a couple feet in diameter. Your sighting reminded me of that.
 
Your reasoning is entirely plausable. It would have to have burst as apposed to vanishing behind the horizon because there would have been some kind of movement if it were reeled in. My only quarm with it being anchored somehow in the air is that the line it may have been attached to would have to have been some miles long, leading me to believe that such a thin line or teather would not keep as still as it was ...
Thanks for discussing your experience. I think I may have missed something important. I've been assuming the object was closer. To help me get a clearer picture, can you describe the size of the object? For example the size of a bright star planet like Venus, or as compared to something circular held at arms length, e.g. as big as a dime held at arms length. Or even better get a clear ruler with millimeters, go outside, hold it up to the sky at arms length, imagine the object as best you can, and count the millimeters wide you remember it as. Also could you see any surface details at all like seams or sections or markings?
 
Thanks for discussing your experience. I think I may have missed something important. I've been assuming the object was closer. To help me get a clearer picture, can you describe the size of the object? For example the size of a bright star planet like Venus, or as compared to something circular held at arms length, e.g. as big as a dime held at arms length. Or even better get a clear ruler with millimeters, go outside, hold it up to the sky at arms length, imagine the object as best you can, and count the millimeters wide you remember it as. Also could you see any surface details at all like seams or sections or markings?

I took heed of your suggestion and checked it out with a ruler at arms length. I would say it covered a 1 1/2 - 2 centimetre diametre. It looked smooth like a ball bearing, no definitive markings that I could make out, and the edges were well defined. I didn't have to move my eyes or my head to follow it- I was literally looking straight up above my head. I couldn't bring myself to blink for fear of losing sight of it- and then it just wasn't there any more.
 
I saw a report on Gary Heseltines(?) website I believe, also in the UK, where at least two guys in a chopper spotted a small disk that was hovering right above a person who happened to be out walking a dog. This person was not aware of the object above him, and the disk soon sped off out of sight. The object was only a couple feet in diameter. Your sighting reminded me of that.

They put me in mind of some kind of analytical devices, drones or surveyors, although I can't imagine why they would be following individual people around. We could well have all been followed by one of these mysterious objects at some point in our lives and never known about it.
 
I took heed of your suggestion and checked it out with a ruler at arms length. I would say it covered a 1 1/2 - 2 centimetre diametre. It looked smooth like a ball bearing, no definitive markings that I could make out, and the edges were well defined. I didn't have to move my eyes or my head to follow it- I was literally looking straight up above my head. I couldn't bring myself to blink for fearing of losing sight of it- and then it just wasn't there any more.

Ah, OK thanks. That clarifies things considerably. There are a few basic principles involved with observing things within the Earth's atmosphere.
  • Even the cleanest outdoor air contains some particulate matter, moisture and light scattering, than causes objects in the atmosphere to fade.
  • The human eye is only capable of perceiving so much detail.
  • Temperature variations and air movement cause distortion of objects.
  • All the above are amplified over distance.
Given the above, combined with your description, the sphere was probably closer than you thought it was, most likely less than a mile. For example at 1 mile distance the sphere would have been around 100 feet wide to appear as large as you say it did, and beyond that distance atmospheric conditions would introduce minor distortions such as slight fading and edges would lose their crispness. It's also unlikely that it was a balloon larger than 100 feet wide. Even if it were some sort of craft that was much larger and farther away, the atmospheric distortions would still reduce clarity and detail. So again we're back to something under 100 feet in diameter and no more than about a mile distant. This means that a tether isn't out of the question. It's also entirely possible that at that distance without just the right illumination, a balloon that was just the right color and texture could suddenly blend into the background. I've seen this happen with aircraft numerous times, and as soon as I got the binoculars on them, there they were again.

So, given the information so far, the most likely mundane explanation remains a balloon of some kind. Now if, as some other sightings have reported, it had suddenly darted around from place to place, that would be another matter. In the case of the silver sphere observed here in Calgary, it was perceived to have been much closer, about 200 feet up, and to move with extreme speed both toward and away from the witnesses with instantaneous acceleration and deceleration. It was almost as wide as a house in the circle of houses over which it was seen, so it was potentially about the same size as what you saw. So it's possible that what you saw was something like that, but there isn't enough definitive information. The only other thing I would ask is what your personal impression of it was? For example, nobody else seemed particularly impressed, but you felt compelled to watch it. Did you get any feeling on an intuitional level that this just wasn't a "normal" thing? If so can you describe why?
 
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The balloon explanation, given the above info, does make a lot of sense. I could run with that. In terms of personal impression, at the time, there were conflicting feelings- on one hand I felt I knew I was witnessing something incredible, but on the other hand there was a degree of denial where I almost couldn't comprehend such a thing would happen, therefore a plausable explanation must be out there- and of course, it is, but I have to say, now that there is a good explanation, I have feelings of doubt. I don't think it's because I want it to be an alien spaceship because I've always welcomed the possibility of the mundane, so I don't know what that is.

Thanks for the feeback it was fun breaking it down.
 
The balloon explanation, given the above info, does make a lot of sense. I could run with that. In terms of personal impression, at the time, there were conflicting feelings- on one hand I felt I knew I was witnessing something incredible, but on the other hand there was a degree of denial where I almost couldn't comprehend such a thing would happen, therefore a plausable explanation must be out there- and of course, it is, but I have to say, now that there is a good explanation, I have feelings of doubt. I don't think it's because I want it to be an alien spaceship because I've always welcomed the possibility of the mundane, so I don't know what that is.

Thanks for the feeback it was fun breaking it down.

Your style of participation is very refreshing and it tends to make your story believable. What impresses me the most about your sighting is the lasting impression that it made on you. I've been entirely rational up until now, but at this point I'd like to conclude by switching modes. The subjective impressions some experiences leave on witnesses is a facet that some UFO investigators believe may or may not indicate something beyond the mundane. This aspect of the "UFO experience" isn't scientific, but it's not irrational either.

People don't just have the same kinds of reactions to experiencing everyday things, or even unfamiliar things as they do to a UFO experience. So if you felt that you had some unique brief connection to the object that suddenly seemed to shift your reality a little out of phase, then you experienced a psychological effect that many UFO witnesses have reported, and you may well have had more than a simple balloon sighting. The trick is to balance the rational with the subjective, but only you can do that in a way that will make you feel as though one answer or another is right. I'm just glad I could add something new for you to consider. It's been an enjoyable exchange !
 
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They put me in mind of some kind of analytical devices, drones or surveyors, although I can't imagine why they would be following individual people around. We could well have all been followed by one of these mysterious objects at some point in our lives and never known about it.

That would make sense today, but I believe that particular account was from the late 70's or 80's.
 
Thanks for posting this. I had a very similar sighting around 2001. I was shooting an independent feature film (I was the cameraman) and I was setting up for the next shot in Lake Santa Rosa in New Mexico towards the end of July. I was standing in about two feet of water getting the tripod and camera set, when I suddenly felt compelled to look up into the sky. It was a cloudless blue sky that day and the time was about 2:00 in the afternoon. Anyway, I looked up and immediately saw what I've always described as a silver, shiny sphere. It did not move. Not one bit. I stared at it for about 5 or 6 seconds and then it just vanished. It was an unusual experience in that I almost had the experience of 'feeling' or 'sensing' it before I looked up. I mean, I was busy setting up my next shot and so had no reason to stop what I was doing and look up into the sky. After it vanished I looked to see if any of the other cast or crew was nearby, but nobody was. I haven't seen anything like it since.
 
In that 5-6 seconds of observation, did the idea of capturing it using that camera in your hands never occur or were you too busy just puzzling out the image? Do you remember your thought process during that time frame?

When you say it just vanished was there really no motion at all prior to disappearing? Was its vanishing instantaneous or a rapid dissolve?
 
In that 5-6 seconds of observation, did the idea of capturing it using that camera in your hands never occur or were you too busy just puzzling out the image? Do you remember your thought process during that time frame?

When you say it just vanished was there really no motion at all prior to disappearing? Was its vanishing instantaneous or a rapid dissolve?

There was no movement at all prior to disappearing. It looked like a fixed object in the sky. As far as how it vanished, it did it very quickly. I had no sensation of it 'fading away', so probably more of an instantaneous disappearance.
 
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