“Orbs Over the Pond,” 2024
- Date
- Oct 2024
- Place
- Northeastern United States (same general area as PR001/PR002)
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
An eyewitness's iPhone video from October 2024, roughly 1851 local time, showing a light source below the horizon hovering above a pond about 2,700 feet away, described as a "plasma-like sphere" that intermittently changed shape and luminosity, at times separating into smaller luminous points, with a secondary point near the water that the blurb says did not appear consistent with a surface reflection. Per the blurb, the object remained largely stationary for about 45 minutes before disappearing, with no sound heard. The government states the footage was analyzed and authenticated, and was cropped only to protect the witness's privacy with no other edits or enhancements.
What officials concluded
Unresolved
The file gives no official explanation.
- Agency
- FBI
- Released in
- 123456
Evidence profile
- No: Visual
- No: Infrared
- No: Radar
- No: Video
- No: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- Yes: Other sensor
- Yes: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- No: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- Yes: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Why this rating Single hand-held phone video from one witness; a duration of roughly 45 minutes and a government statement that the footage was "analyzed and authenticated" strengthen the chain of custody but do not add a second independent sensor or witness, and the government does not state what the authentication process ruled in or out (e.g., ball lightning, reflected or refracted light, drone-mounted light, insect swarm near a lens). The description remains a single blurry/distant light source over water, which the brief's own standard treats as weak evidence regardless of duration or drama.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- One civilian eyewitness, filming on a personal iPhone
- Sensors
- Hand-held iPhone camera; footage described as analyzed and authenticated by the U.S. government
- Shape
- "plasma-like sphere" intermittently changing shape
- Lights and colour
- Luminous, changing luminosity
- Motion
- Generally stationary above the pond for about 45 minutes before disappearing
- Duration
- Approximately 45 minutes
- Altitude or range
- Estimated distance about 2,700 feet, hovering just above the water
- Effects
- No sound heard; a secondary luminous point near the water reportedly did not behave like a surface reflection
Pentagon files
FBI-UAP-PR003, "Orbs Over the Pond," 2024
Open the original on dvidshub.net
What the file claims
- Unverified
The government states this iPhone video was analyzed and authenticated, with cropping applied only to protect the eyewitness's privacy and no other edits or enhancements made.
- Unverified
A secondary luminous point observed near the water surface did not appear consistent with a reflection of the primary light source.
On the map
42.50° N, 73.00° W, plotted at the centre of the region named in the record
Show on the map