B737 captain reported near midair collision with a drone or a balloon on the QUABN3 arrival into bos...

Attributes
ACN	1236124
Time
Date	201501
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	BOS.Airport
State Reference	MA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	STAR QUABN3
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 212 Flight Crew Total 16000 Flight Crew Type 3000
Events
Anomaly	Conflict NMAC

Narrative:

Descending through 7000 feet on the Quabn3 RNAV arrival an object passed by the left side; above and within approximately 50 feet of our aircraft. The acm and I both saw it for only a second or less. The object was football shaped; red and blue in color. It appeared to be either a balloon or a drone.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 Captain reported NMAC with a drone or a balloon on the QUABN3 Arrival into BOS.

Narrative: Descending through 7000 feet on the Quabn3 RNAV arrival an object passed by the left side; above and within approximately 50 feet of our aircraft. The ACM and I both saw it for only a second or less. The object was football shaped; red and blue in color. It appeared to be either a balloon or a drone.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.