Location of Sighting: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Date of Sighting: March 21, 2022
Time of Sighting: 7:30 PM Local Time
(SON’S SKETCH ON LEFT & FATHER’S TO RIGHT.)
Description: My 8 year old son and I were out for a walk outside our apartment in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We stopped to look up at Orion in the clear night sky at about 7:30 PM. There was no wind and the temperature about 76 degrees Fahrenheit.
Suddenly my son pointed and exclaimed “Dad! Look at that!”
It took me a moment to make it out, but distinctly against the night sky there was a dark gray “V” chevron shape to the south moving north towards us, pointy end leading. It was to the southeast of Orion. The object was hard to spot because it closely matched the color of the night sky, but it was just a bit darker. Once we made it out it was quite clear though. The object was totally silent.
The leading tip of the chevron had an angle of about 90 degrees. The rear of each arm of the V cut off perpendicular to it’s direction. All parts had a defined shape and sharp angles.
It shimmered around the front, side and trailing edges, kind of like if I were looking at it through a hazy mirage like light being refracted differently immediately around it. The shimmering began on the leading edges of the object and kind of rolled around it in a ripple. This effect trailed the object for about half to full width of the object, like a wake in water.
I’ll try to describe in more detail the shimmering, roiling ripple effect around and behind the object because it was so odd. Maybe the closest thing is the bow ripple in front of and roiling water in the wake of a ship, but that’s not quite right. It gave me a distinct impression of light being refracted differently in the ripple, like looking at a mirage or the way faraway objects refract when looking through hot air over a hot road in summer, or the way an object refracts when looking at it on the bottom of a pool through water. This effect was only immediately around the leading edges and trailing the object and not present on the body of the object. It appeared around leading edges like a ripple, rolled around the outside of the object and trailed like a rolling turbulent wake that quickly dissipated.
My son claimed to see fewer than 10 dim pinpoint orange-ish lights on the underside in the outline of the V. I didn’t see any lights, although his eyes are sharper than mine. He also said he saw a cube-shaped object closely trailing the chevron, maybe a part of it. I didn’t see a cube, but the shimmering, rolling wake effect I described may have contained another object close to the chevron or otherwise account for the cube my son reported.
We watched the object pass over just to the west of us and cross the Saigon river moving north. It moved in a straight line and uniform modest speed. It faded out on the other side of the river. I couldn’t tell if the light angle changed such that we lost sight of it, or if it just faded and disappeared. We had about 30 seconds of total viewing time.
I have no idea how far up it was because there was no reference point. My gut told me it was not close to the ground, up at least a few hundred meters and probably more. If that’s true it was big. The wingspan (if you can call it that LOL) was about the width of 3 fingers held together at arm’s length. It was much larger than I am accustomed to seeing jetliners.
I have really no clue what this was, other than highly unlikely it can be explained by weather phenomena. I earned my private pilot’s license and enjoy amateur sky-watching. I am familiar with aircraft and things in the sky. This was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The regular shape, sharp angles, uniform speed and direction suggested intelligent control — by whom or what, I have no idea.
Note: The 2nd graphic from top was described by the witness as a photo of the object taken from a site on the internet. I believe that it is a sketch overlaid on a real photo of the sky. The photo of the sky was taken in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Note to Commenters: If you are reporting a sighting, be sure to include the location (city, state, country), date and time of your sighting. Be detailed in your description. You may also use our report form to report your sighting. Comments will only be published if they are in "good taste" and not inflammatory. Also the name that you list in the comment will be posted. Use abbreviations or aliases if you don't want your name listed.
Hi Joe – I’m the witness and wrote the report. Thanks for your message.
I was looking at the sky but I *never* would have noticed the object if my son hadn’t pointed out exactly where it was. Even then it took a moment to make it out following his finger point. It was just slightly darker than the night sky, more a silhouette. Once I saw it, tracking it was easy enough. I didn’t dare take my eyes off it because I didn’t think I’d find it again. I briefly considered trying to take a photo with my iPhone but quickly realized it would never have come out — too little light and too little contrast.
There was no “feeling of dread” or other silly things sometimes reported. I knew I was looking at something remarkable and wanted to view it as long as I could. On the way home my son feared aliens would jump out of the bushes LOL. I told him not to worry about that.
It was a truly remarkable event for me and my son. No doubt at all in my mind that there are things we humans do not yet understand.
Hello Mr. Puckett! I’d like to thank the person(s) who submitted this report of the ‘hazy’ chevron object over Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. This sort of U.A.P. is often reported as being difficult to notice unless it’s looked at directly as you’re aware of. Maybe this is because this type of object seems to be pretty common and often seen world-wide. An excellent report if I do say so myself!
Thanks, Joel. Yes, this is a well documented report and one that deserves attention. I believe that these objects are frequently in the sky, but are hard to see.