Project 10073 Record Card — Pesotum, Illinois, 25 April 1957

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and a supporting teletype report regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on April 25, 1957, in Pesotum, Illinois. The sighting was reported by the Ground Observer Corps at 0325Z. The witness described a single, round, bright red object, approximately the size of a dime, which possessed a long white tail estimated to be three times the length of the object's head. The observation lasted between 20 and 25 minutes, during which the object maintained a westward course at a very high altitude. The report notes that the sighting occurred at night under clear weather conditions with winds from the south-southeast at five knots. Following the report, a search of the area was conducted by aircraft from Chanute Air Force Base, but yielded no results. The official conclusion reached by the squadron intelligence officer and the Air Technical Intelligence Center was that the object was very probably the Orend-Leland comet. The teletype communication, sent by the Commander of the 782nd ACWRON, confirms the details of the sighting in accordance with Air Force Regulation 200-2.