A RED RUBBER BALL

From the mid-1940's through the 1990's reports of round - sphere like - red objects, often glowing with inner luminescence have formed a backbone of UFO reports.

If they were seen in the distance, traveled a downward arch or disappeared quickly the tendency was to label them as "meteor", "fireball", "ball lightening" or distant aircraft.

One of the most common shapes and colors  (after white and a disc shape) reported is the ball or round, circular object (oval to egg shape, with a red glow to it from some light source inside the object.

In some cases, the object was reported overhead, silent, and the glow of orange-red tinged with tones of yellow or white. In other cases, the object descended or moved so oddly that no aircraft or balloon could explain it at all.

In some cases the length of time observed, the motions and maneuvers, and the speeds achieved convinced all that something odd had been seen.

In some instances reports were that the light was hiding a gray or silvery object behind it and the light was more an intense floodlight that obscured what was behind, above or below it.  In some instances the shape of the object behind seemed to change or perspective caused apparent shape to change: a side view produced an oblong, an upward view might produce a sense of a delta or triangular shape, or sometimes openings or windows might seem to  give a different tone of color (yellow-red).

In most cases no sound accompanied these objects, one or two rare cases indicate a slight buzz or hum, might have been there, especially just be for acceleration.

In some cases - and these might well include the more explainable ones - reports of the common aeronautical lighting colors of red, white, green and blue might be reported with an occasional yellow light.   More rare are reports of purple, all blue, or all green.