Sighting Report: Petersburg, Virginia, 13 February 1953

On February 13, 1953, at approximately 1820 hours EST, Private Rudolph Yaros, a member of the U.S. Army stationed at Camp Pickett, Virginia, observed an unidentified aerial object while traveling in a moving automobile. The witness described the object as a round, reddish, green, and blue entity with a long tail, which appeared to be a comet. The object was observed traveling at a high rate of speed in a northwesterly direction, with its position at the time of the sighting placed over or near Richmond, Virginia. The observation lasted for two to three seconds, during which the object broke into three distinct parts before disappearing. The sky conditions were reported as clear with unrestricted visibility. Following the report, checks were conducted with Andrews Air Force Base and the Washington Center, both of which yielded negative results for additional sightings. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the object was likely a meteor.