Cosmonauts Manakov and Strekalov Observe Giant Iridescent Sphere from Mir Space Station
On September 27, 1990, while aboard the Mir space station in Earth's orbit, cosmonauts Gennady Manakov and Gennady Strekalov observe a glittering, iridescent, perfect sphere while looking down at Newfoundland through a clear atmosphere. Strekalov calls Manakov, and together they study the object. Strekalov describes it: 'it shone like the balls that hang on trees at Christmas, greenish in color and all shimmering. It was impossible to take your eyes off it.' The sphere appears to be 20 to 30 kilometers above the Earth, is enormous, and has 'an absolutely even shape.' They watch it for ten seconds before it disappears as suddenly as it appeared. They report to Mission Control that they observed 'a kind of unusual phenomenon.' Later they confess to having no idea what it was: 'Perhaps an enormous, experimental sphere or something else.'
Background
On 27 September 1990, Mir cosmonauts Gennady Manakov and Gennady Strekalov reportedly observed, while looking toward Earth near Newfoundland, a large greenish, shimmering sphere for about ten seconds. They estimated an altitude of 20–30 kilometres and reported it as an unusual phenomenon; no photograph was obtained. The observation by two trained spacefarers is part of the published record, but the object’s size, distance and identity were not independently confirmed.