Project 10073 Record — Columbia, Missouri, 1 July 1952

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-14-52) dated 17 July 1952, concerning a sighting reported by a civilian in Columbia, Missouri, on 1 July 1952. The witness, who identified himself as a former World War II pilot and a Weather Bureau observer since 1947, reported observing a star-like object in the sky to the northeast of Columbia at 0146 CST. The witness monitored the object for over two hours using a theodolite, noting that it appeared to move in opposition to the stars and exhibited irregular color changes from red to green. Through the theodolite, the object appeared to be roughly half the size of Jupiter, though to the naked eye, it twinkled like a star. The report includes a detailed table of elevation and azimuth readings taken by the witness between 0146 CST and 0354 CST. The witness also mentioned that two other individuals, including a CAA communications man and a weather observer, witnessed the object. The report notes that an Aurora Borealis was occurring at the time of the sighting. The official conclusion reached by the investigating officer, Major Otis W. Bauske, was that the object was the star Capella. The witness stated that this was his fifth sighting of an unidentified flying object since June 1950, though he had not reported the previous instances, and he characterized this specific event as the least spectacular of those he had observed. No intercept action was taken regarding the sighting.