Project 10073 Record Card — Blue Mound, Illinois, 17 Sep 55

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype correspondence regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon sighting near Blue Mound, Illinois, on September 17, 1955. Twelve witnesses, including a local dentist, observed a star-like object for two hours and twenty minutes. The object was described as appearing at a very high altitude, exhibiting a bobbing motion, and alternating between green, blue, red, and white colors. The observers used field glasses with 75-coated lenses to view the object. The military report from the 791st AC&W Squadron notes that the object was positioned to the left of an aircraft at the time of the sighting. While the initial record card suggests the object was likely an astronomical body, such as a first-magnitude star, the follow-up teletype message notes that an Ozark Airline flight was departing Decatur, Illinois, at the time, and concludes that the phenomenon could very possibly have been a balloon. The report confirms that no radar contact was made and no photographs were taken.