Project 10073 Record Card and UFO Report — Bakersfield, California, November 1957

On November 7, 1957, two civilian observers in Bakersfield, California, reported a sighting of an unidentified object while they were actively searching the sky for the Sputnik satellite. The witnesses described the object as having an indefinite shape, being the size of a basketball, and displaying white, red, and green lights that appeared to alternate colors. They reported that the object was orbiting and remained visible for approximately one hour. The sighting occurred at dusk under overcast weather conditions. The report was processed by the 75th ACWRON and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). Military evaluators analyzed the report and concluded that the object was the planet Venus. The evaluation included a critical assessment of the observers' claims, noting that if the object were truly the size of a basketball at the reported distance of 10 miles, its actual physical dimensions would have to be approximately 5 miles in diameter, which was deemed impossible. Furthermore, the investigators noted that no other reports of the object were received from the general area, which would have been expected if the sighting were genuine. The final assessment categorized the event as an astronomical sighting of Venus, dismissing the initial report as a misidentification.