Circular Object (Fiery?) over Warwick, RIUFO sighted at 8:42pm, today, August 17, 2012 moving Southwest to Northeast over Warwick, RI; specifically over the Oakland Beach area. Object appeared as a small orange light and seemed to be on fire as it flickered in intensity. No other lights were seen on the object. A Southwest Airlines 737, on the downwind leg for Runway 23 at Providence was trailing the object at less than 1 mile and at the same altitude. I estimated the speed of the object to be around 160-190 knots. I was able to judge the speed because the Southwest jet was keeping pace with it and then start to overtake it.The object was observed for about 30 seconds before suddenly disappearing. It'd be interesting to discover if the Southwest crew reported anything.Weather conditions were: Temp: 75 degrees F.Dewpoint: 67 degrees F.Visibility: 10 miles Heat Index: 79 degrees F.Wind: 260 degrees; 5 knots Altimeter: 29.82 Clouds: Few 050, Sct 140, Sct 250 I am a former military air traffic controller. This was no aircraft. No photo was taken as I did not want to lose sight of it.The object was also witnessed by my son.