Project 10073 Record Card — Beltsville, Maryland, 24 January 1956

This document details an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-81-56) regarding a UFO sighting in Beltsville, Maryland, on 24 January 1956. The report was initiated by the 1401st Air Base Wing at Andrews Air Force Base and evaluated by the 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron (ADC). The primary witness was a 14-year-old civilian who submitted a photograph of an object that appeared similar to a fluorescent light. The observation lasted for thirty-three minutes. The witness used a Nettar Zeiss Ikon 75mm camera with a Novar anastigmat lens (f 6.3) on a tripod, set to infinity. The camera was focused on the moon in an east-southeasterly direction at an elevation of approximately 85 degrees. The report includes topographical maps of the Beltsville area and the specific location of the witness at 11612 34th Place, Beltsville, Maryland. The 4602d AISS concluded that the object captured in the photograph was not an unidentified aerial phenomenon, but rather a time exposure of the moon. They noted that during the 33-minute exposure, the moon traversed the arc depicted in the photograph, creating the appearance of a curved, elongated object with spherical images at each end. The report explicitly states that the observer did not see the object while taking the photograph. The final documentation includes the Project 10073 record card, the formal transmittal letter from the 4602d AISS to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the supplemental AF Form 112 documentation.