This sighting is being summarized from one in a series of at least a dozen
identical sightings that have been reported by ranchers in a region of
Utah over the past five years. The sighting is of interest because the
location, size, and description of the object are virtually identical
throughout the time period. Likewise, the timing of the object's appearance
has usually been early evening.
The April 1999 sighting occurred between 4:30 and 5:00 pm before dark
and during the first week of the month. The sky was clear and there was
no wind. The rancher was looking west from his house towards an adjacent
property when he noticed a large, perfectly circular, bright orange object
just above a group of cottonwood trees about a mile from his position.
The object was bright orange to red and from the top and bottom two black
or dark blue “L” shaped protuberances were visible (see sketch). The object
looked larger than a full harvest moon. After about a minute, the object
began to move slowly in a northerly direction, moving just above the trees
and it disappeared behind a ridge to the north. There was no audible sound
coming from the object either when stationary or when it moved. As noted
above, a similar bright, round, orange object has been seen in the same
location by four other eyewitnesses on several separate occasions during
the past five years. The observation position in April 1999 was southeast
of the location of the earlier observations. Yet, the description of the
location “directly above the group of cottonwood trees” was identical.
A check of the position of the sun and moon at the time of the sighting
showed that the sun was seen in the sky simultaneously and further southwest
of the object and the moon was below the horizon at the time.
Sketch of April 1999 Sighting
Eyewitness interview regarding round orange object seen on April, 1999
P. 1. Size of orange ball » full moon
= 31'5” angular
= 1865” angular
a = 1865”
P. 3. Distance from eyewitness's house to orange ball of light » 1 mile = 1.609
km
D = 1.609 km
Estimated linear size (diameter, d) for the orange ball is:
d = aD / 206,265 = (1865”) (1.609 km) / 206,265
= 14.5 x 10-3 km
= 14.5 meters
= 47.7 feet
P. 5. Eyewitness says that orange ball was brighter than the (full) moon. From
this and the distance between eyewitness and the object, we can estimate
the minimum radiated power of the orange ball:
Radiated power of moon = 0.318 lux = 1.8 x 10-3
watts / m2
Distance of object ˜ 1.609 km = 1.609 x 103 m
Estimated minimum energy or power radiated by the 14.5 m (47.7 foot) diameter
orange ball is:
L = 4 p (1.8 x 10-3 W / m2) (1.609 x 103
m)2
= 58.6 kWatts
