Project 10073 Record Card — Levelland, Texas, 7 November 1957

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype correspondence regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sighting reported in Levelland, Texas, on 7 November 1957. The report describes an object observed by multiple witnesses, including local police, at 0200Z. The witnesses described the object as having the appearance of two basketballs stacked vertically, separated by a horizontal bar, with two antenna-like protrusions on the bottom, one longer than the other. The object was reported to be red on top and blue-white on the bottom, and it exhibited erratic movement, including stopping and starting. The observation lasted for approximately 30 minutes under clear weather conditions. Captain Samuel Goldstein, the Assistant Wing Operations Officer, initially suggested the object could have been an aircraft or a balloon. However, subsequent comments from the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) provided a more specific evaluation. The ATIC assessment concluded that the planet Venus was exceptionally bright at the time and was positioned in almost the exact location reported by the witnesses. Furthermore, the investigators noted that this sighting occurred in the immediate vicinity of another widely publicized UFO report from 4 November 1957. Consequently, the ATIC concluded that the sighting was likely an astronomical phenomenon (Venus) and suggested that 'mass suggestion' resulting from the intense local media coverage of the previous incident could not be ruled out as a contributing factor to the report.