Report of Unidentified Aerial Objects — Mt. Palomar, California, 25 September 1950

On the evening of 25 September 1950, at approximately 2036 hours PST, two navigators from the 2d Bombardment Squadron, 22d Bombardment Wing (M)—a Captain and a 2d Lieutenant—were standing outside the Mt. Palomar Observatory in California. While observing celestial bodies, they witnessed an unidentified aerial object. The object appeared as a bluish-white light, comparable in size to a star, and was positioned fifteen degrees above the horizon, near the handle of the Big Dipper. Over a duration of two to three minutes, the object moved at a high rate of speed, traversing from approximately 310 degrees to 100 degrees horizontally. The witnesses reported that the object emitted a loud, swirling, whooshing noise, which they described as being similar to a rocket exhaust. The light of the object was observed to flicker intermittently. No exhaust trail was noted. This incident was formally documented in an Air Intelligence Information Report dated 26 September 1950, prepared by Captain Henry E. Collins of the 22d Bombardment Wing (M). The report notes that the weather conditions were clear at the time of the sighting. The document was later processed under Project 10073, with the record card summarizing the key details of the event, including the location, time, and the specific characteristics of the object observed.