What Happened
At 11:54 p.m., while sitting in his garden in Turnhout, Flanders, the observer looked up and saw a “ball of light,” white, glowing, and bright, pass beneath the stars. He described it as larger than a typical bright star, but still a uniform sphere, with no trail, smoke, or sound.
The object was at an unknown distance. Based on an elevation angle of 45 degrees and a bearing of 144 degrees (southeast), it traveled east to west (about 77 degrees). It appeared to move rapidly, crossing the sky in no more than a second before disappearing completely.
Local Context
Turnhout is a small city in eastern Belgium, with open skies on most nights that allow for clear views of the stars. The night of July 10 was warm, with no significant cloud cover, and the area was quiet, with little industrial noise. Fast-moving lights in the sky are not unusual in places like this; meteors, fireballs, and test rockets are sometimes reported. But the witness’s description included no signs of fire or fuel.
What Makes the Report Stand Out
What is striking about the report is how brief the sighting was: the light appeared for just one second, without a sound or any trace. It was also below the stars, making it harder to identify as a meteor, which is usually seen at a higher altitude. The witness also said the object was “larger than a bright star,” suggesting it was relatively close, though there is no precise estimate of its distance or altitude.
Summary
This is an unverified eyewitness report of a fast-moving white light seen for a brief moment. Without video or other witnesses, natural explanations (a meteor or fireball) and artificial ones (drones or missiles) cannot be ruled out. Still, the lack of a trail and the object’s rapid movement at close range make this an interesting case for experts in aerial phenomena to investigate.
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The report comes from the NUFORC (National UFO Reporting Center) database and has not been verified. It includes no visual documentation; the information is based solely on a personal account.
