I was pulling into the garage of my apartment complex in West Fargo, ND, on the evening of July 1, 2018, when something unusual caught my attention. It was about 9:20 pm, and as I carefully backed my car in, a glimpse out of the corner of my eye revealed an unfamiliar object in the sky. Curious and compelled to get a better look, I put my car into neutral, set the parking brake, and stepped out.
Hovering roughly 5 to 10 feet above the power lines perpendicular to the road was a small metallic sphere, about three feet in diameter. The surface was dull yet distinctly solid metal, an appearance unlike anything I had seen before. I was only about 50 feet away, and the object remained motionless for a moment—then, the moment I recognized it as something extraordinary, it began to move.
I hurried closer to the power lines, pulling my cellphone from my pocket, intent on capturing video. The sphere moved swiftly northeast, cutting directly against the wind with an effortless ease that defied expectation. Unlike any balloon or typical aerial object of that size, it seemed to move “on a rope,” not affected by the current of the wind. In just under five seconds, it accelerated from a hover to approximately 30 miles per hour.
By the time I got my camera ready, the sphere was about 2,000 feet away and climbing to an altitude near 1,000 feet. The video I recorded barely captures its form at that distance, but it confirms the presence of an unusual object.
For roughly ten seconds, I filmed it as it advanced directly into a massive storm cloud, disappearing completely from view. Throughout this entire experience, the sphere was utterly silent—no drone buzz, no engine noise.
My background offers me confidence as an observer; with an extensive history of drone experience and having family members who were F-16 pilots in the Air National Guard based right here in Fargo, aircraft identification is second nature to me. This encounter wasn’t a drone or balloon—it was something otherworldly, challenging my understanding of the night sky in West Fargo.
This mysterious metallic sphere, defying natural forces and vanishing into the storm, remains etched in my memory as an extraordinary glimpse into the unknown.