That bright object seen in the western sky from Boulder County on Tuesday evening was a private company’s research balloon, according to the Boulder National Weather Service.

“Too big and bright to be a star, too small for a cloud, and seemingly stationary so not a plane,” wrote one Reddit commenter who spotted the balloon while leaving the Longmont Target at 6:40 p.m.

Another commenter also reported seeing the balloon from southwest Longmont.

The balloon was flying over Granby at about 70,000 feet, meteorologist Zach Hiris said.

The object became visible around sunset, about 20 to 30 degrees above the horizon, and appeared to be stationary. As the sunlight grew dimmer, the object — which at first was bright white and larger than Venus would appear on the horizon — also grew dimmer and

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