Project 10073 Record Card — West Haven, Connecticut, 26 August 1956

On 26 August 1956, a civilian witness in West Haven, Connecticut, reported observing an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The sighting, which occurred at 0645Z, involved a single, round, white object that appeared to be rising slowly in the northern sky. The witness described the object as having the apparent size of a quarter held at arm's length and noted that it would periodically increase in brightness. The observation lasted for one hour and thirty-three minutes, and the object remained visible at the time the initial report was filed. A teletype report was generated by the 773rd ACWRON at Montauk, New York, and transmitted to various Air Force commands, including the Air Defense Command at Ent AFB and the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB. The report confirms that there were no radar contacts associated with the sighting and that the weather conditions were clear. Following an evaluation of the report, the Air Force concluded that the sighting was likely an astronomical event, specifically the star Capella. Investigators noted that the witness's estimation of the object's size was clearly in error and suggested that the sighting likely resulted from the star being viewed under atmospheric inversion or other unusual atmospheric conditions. Consequently, the case was classified as an astronomical observation.