Project 10073 Record Card — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15 November 1956

On 15 November 1956, a housewife in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reported observing two round, white objects for a duration of 50 minutes. The witness described the objects as being the size of a nickel, with one positioned slightly below and smaller than the other. She characterized them as emitting an extremely brilliant white light, noting that they moved up and down before disappearing instantaneously, as if a light had been switched off. The observation occurred at night under cloudy conditions with 8/10 cirro-stratus coverage. The report was processed by the 42nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). The official conclusion reached by the military investigators was that the objects were the planets Venus and Jupiter, which were positioned in the eastern sky at approximately 30 degrees elevation at the time. An intelligence officer who interviewed the witness noted that she was very positive about her observation and that the light emitted by the objects was the most intense she had ever seen. A handwritten annotation on the document references standard UFO guidance, suggesting that searchlights on low cloud cover can sometimes create the appearance of such objects, including the effect of them appearing and disappearing.