Project 10073 Record Card — Maywood, New Jersey, 21 January 1956

On January 21, 1956, at approximately 3:39 AM, a plant guard working at a chemical facility in Maywood, New Jersey, observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The witness, who was stationed in a time card house with a clear view of the yard, reported seeing a single, round object moving in a northerly direction. The object was described as being the size of a medicine ball, with a sharply outlined front that appeared to be composed of seething gases. The witness noted that the object exhibited a churning motion and displayed colors that shifted between green, blue, and yellow. Several tail-like shapes extended behind the main body of the object. The witness estimated the object's speed at 500 miles per hour and its altitude at 10,560 feet, noting that it traveled in a straight line parallel to the horizon and made absolutely no sound. The observation lasted for approximately 15 seconds before the object was obscured by plant buildings. The witness, who was 68 years old at the time, later completed a U.S. Air Force Technical Information Sheet regarding the event. In his correspondence with Lieutenant Filwood, the witness expressed his lack of formal education and his deep impression of the unusual event. He suggested that someone skilled in manufacturing neon light products might be able to replicate the appearance of the object. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card identified the sighting as a meteor.