Spherical object, softball to basketball size, slow-moving, within 1000 feet, 3 witnesses saw it and heard it hit groundThree adult witnesses, a man and his wife, and another woman, were outdoors at their front step at 1:05 a.m. approximately. The house is located in Sullivan, Maine.The sky was clear and air temperature was in the single digits F, with no wind.They heard a whooshing noise, and all looked up and saw a circular object (perfectly spherical), bright white, with a close halo of bright yellow flames, moving north to south, coming from over their house at an estimated altitude of probably more than 300 feet, and probably less than 1000 feet.The brightly lit object's luminance overpowered the stars or any planets which might have been visible directly overhead.It was moving slowly, approximately 50 to 100 mph estimated (this speed is slower than a typical small plane, though similar to a helicopter). No "airplane" or "helicopter" sounds were heard.The object, having first appeared directly overhead over the house, as the three stood near the house, came in toward the ground to the south on a curving trajectory. The three witnesses saw this object for 7 to 10 seconds. One witness described the object as sized larger than his hand if he held his hand up to try to block out the view of the object in the sky. His estimate of the actual size ranges from that of a softball to the size of a basketball, but no larger.The object did not appear to "maneuver" but it did make a "whump" as well as a loud "sizzle/pop" when it sounded as if hitting the deep snow-covered ground directly to the south of the house, and it must have landed in deep woods, not in an open field, so the actual impact at ground level was not visible to the witnesses.The male witness believed that due to the dense woods, the object's light would not be visible at ground level if the light had somehow continued shining rather than being snuffed out by the impact. The male witness estimated that the object must have landed perhaps 200 feet to 500 feet from the house, in dense forest. This location is at least 50 feet or 200 feet into the adjacent property to the south.Due to the fact that the landing area is owned by a large landowner who is extremely prohibitive of any trespassing, and does not welcome any foot traffic on his land whatsoever, the male witness does not believe he can get permission to enter the property to look for the landing site and the object, even though it may be within merely a few hundred feet of the house.All three witnesses have agreed they heard the object "whoosh" overhead, and all agreed they heard the object hit the snow-covered ground, with a "whump" sound and "popping" or "sizzling" sound. The male witness was reminded of popcorn popping also when the object hit. The "flames" or rays emanating from the object would only have been short, perhaps a few inches. These "flames" were evenly distributed all around the perfectly round (spherical) object as it traveled overhead (the front flames were not swept backward). The white central round area had no visible variations within it, but the object was presumed to be spherical.No media, police, FAA, or airports have been contacted as yet in regard to this sighting. A proxy is used to report this to NUFORC, as the three actual witnesses have not agreed to report anything and have not agreed to identify themselves, at least not at this time. If the proxy can get permission in future, it may be possible to provide identification of the three witnesses to this event. (Flight radar systems may show some tracking of this object and need to be checked ASAP.) This was a low-flying atmospheric object which could have been an extreme hazard to passenger or military aircraft. Location of sighting is on the coast of the Gulf of Maine, directly south of Bangor International Airport, Bangor, Maine.No recovery or investigation on the adjoining property for this object has been initiated yet due to lack of permission from the property owner. It is highly unlikely permission would be granted if asked. If any future permission is gained and if a search is done, more information will be provided to NUFORC.